"Jesus…who was it this time?" the guy asked Billy.
"Bret Mitchels," Billy replied. He sighed and bent down to Billy's height, inspecting his face.
"Paul, I'm fine, let's just go okay?" They walked out of school and followed Ashley, a good distance behind her.
"See that girl up there?" Billy said. Paul nodded.
"She helped me. She kicked Bret's ass…and he cried." Paul smiled at the thought of Bret crying for a moment, and then decided he owed her a thank you. He jogged up to meet her, and tapped her on the shoulder. She stopped in her tracks and turned around, startled.
"Oh…did you need something?" she asked.
"No, no, I uh, wanted to thank you for helping out my little brother today in the hall, sorry he caused you trouble." Paul was mesmerized as he looked at her shining eyes. She tucked a piece of her brown and blonde highlighted hair out of her face. All he could see was sheer and utter beauty.
"Yeah, no problem." She smiled slightly and turned back around, shifting her book bag onto her shoulders.
"You walkin' home?" Paul beckoned after her. She turned again and nodded.
"Let me give you a ride to pay you back." She thought it over and decided he was harmless. And pretty hot. So she accepted the offer and walked with him and Billy to Paul's van. "Bill, get in the back." He sighed and obeyed Paul's order. "So, where do you live?" he asked Ashley as she sat in the passenger side.
"Oakwood and Berkley," she replied. He started the car, and there was silence for a moment before someone finally spoke.
"So, I never got your name. I'm Paul," he said.
"Ashley," she replied. "She kicked his ass. He cried, I'm telling ya," Billy said, still in shock over the whole incident. Everyone laughed. "It's not a big deal," Ashley replied, picking at a patch on her book bag. "Well, I think it is. Making Bret Michels cry is like…making a cat obey a mouse. I haven't seen you around in school. Are you new?" Paul asked her. "Yeah, we just moved here from New York. It's been about two weeks I guess," she replied. He nodded. "New York, huh? Where at?" he asked. "Manhatten," she replied, picking at a patch on her book bag. They rounded the corner of Berkley, and Paul stopped on the corner, just as Oakwood started. He looked out the window and realized that he was sitting outside of the biggest house he had ever seen in his entire life. A Hummer was sitting out front, a BMW next to it. Hooked to the Hummer was a trailer, containing two jet skis. Billy's face was pressed against the glass, and Paul blinked to regain consciousness. "Thanks a lot for the ride. You sure your okay Billy?" she asked, turning around in her seat. "Yeah…" he said, his eyes glazed over, looking at her house. She turned to face Paul one more time and took in his face, trying to remember it. He smiled and rubbed his hands together. "Um, there's like this little thing at my house tonight, just some friends hanging out, your more than welcome to come if you want to," he said, blushing a little. He wrote the address down on an envelope that was lying on the floor and handed it to her. "Here's the address…I'd give you the number but we don't have a phone so, yeah," he said. "Oh, well, that's okay. I'm sure I'll find it…around 8?" she asked. He nodded. "Okay, I'll see you then. Thanks again," she said, opening the car door, getting out and shutting it. Paul breathed in her scent and watched her walk up the driveway and made sure she got inside before pulling away. "Holy shit! Dude, she's rich!" Billy exclaimed, crawling into the passenger seat. Paul nodded. "Money isn't everything, you know," he replied. "Look at us. We're happy and poor." Billy made a face. "There's nothing happy about being poor, Paul," he replied. Paul scorned. "I work hard to have what we do. Two jobs and school isn't exactly the fucking childhood dream, ya know…" he said, raising his voice a little. He sped up, and they reached the house in no time. It was old, tattered, and dreary, but it was home. Billy felt bad for making the comment he did, and decided to shut up and just let it go. They got out of the van and walked inside the cold and empty living room. Paul threw his keys on the cut up coffee table and entered the kitchen. He flipped through the mail he had brought inside when he had come home for lunch but didn't have a chance to look at. 'Bill, bill, bill, postcard…' he thought to himself. "Viva Las Vegas" screamed across the front, and he flipped it over.
Hey Boys! In Vegas with the showgirls. They say hello! I wired you $50, I hope
It covers you for a bit until I can send more. I'll write soon.
Love,
Uncle Jack
Paul bit his lower lip with excitement. He wasn't going to lose the van, after all. Billy strolled into the room, and Paul handed him the card. "It's from Uncle Jack and the show girls in Vegas," he said, laughing. Billy grabbed it out of his hands and read the back.
"Fifty bucks…wow. What are we doing with it?" he asked, excited.
"Well, if we want to keep the van, it goes towards that," he replied. Billy nodded. They walked into the living room and flopped down onto the dirty sofa, relaxing from the days events.
"We need to clean," Paul said after a pause of silence.
"Because?" Billy asked.
"A girl is coming over. A very pretty girl that smells good," he replied.
"Like she's gonna care anyway. This place is a dump. She lives in a castle," he said. Paul hadn't thought of that before. He suddenly felt ashamed of the home he had worked so hard on. Maybe he shouldn't have invited her, after all.