Welcome to California, Chanel., chapter 5
"That was weird..." Chanel commented.
"Yeah." Billie agreed, as they made their way to a row of cars. ".... So, you got a car?"
Chanel laughed.
"Well, we wanted to get out of here."
"Billie, I don't even have my driver's license, how the hell am I supposed to have my own car?"
"You don't have a driver's license?" Billie chortled.
"I failed the test too many times. I'm gonna retake it in June."
"Oh. We can take my piece of shit then," he said, recovering keys from his left pocket. "So, where to, m'lady?"
"Dunno," Chanel said.
"There's the mall, there's 7-11... there's Gilman... my offer from weeks ago still stands, if you want to go... "
"Gilman can wait. Maybe... the mall?"
***
".... No sir. I'm... uh... twenty-six, twenty-seven in... in... June? Isn't that right, Sarah?" Billie lied, and held Chanel's hand.
They were facing a bald, red-faced, portly security guard. They had stopped by Orange Julius to get a drink, after several hours of mindless browsing, and it just so happened he was on his break and by the time they had bought their drinks, he was enquiring about their age.
"You do look a lot like a couple," The security guard marveled.
"What? You're not twenty--" Chanel hissed in Billie's ear, but before she could finish Billie stepped on her foot. "Oh! Right, yes.... You really need to work on your foot coordination, hon."
"We're here to buy his Aunt... err... Frederica a present, but we wanted to take a break and get a drink," Chanel continued, thinking creatively. "She's in the hospital with... scarlet fever."
"Oh. Well, I hope she gets better then. Have a nice day." He turned and walked down the bustling path.
When he was out of sight, Chanel let out a long sigh and let go of Billie's hand.
"What a dumbass security guard," she snickered.
"Yeah. Scarlet fever?" Billie laughed.
".... Who the hell would think you were twenty-six?" Chanel added thoughtfully, pushing her way through the crowds, not noticing that three security guards were now following them.
"I know... Jesus," Billie replied. From the corner of his eye, he could see the bald man discreetly escorting two other men over to them, except these were policemen.
"Chanel... run," he said.
She looked behind her quickly and understood. She took off, Billie far off in front of her, and despite all the shocked customers staring at the scene unfolding in front of them, the security guard and policemen followed in pursuit.
One of them was getting dangerously close to her. She tried to speed up, but two strong, muscular arms held her back.
"You're going to the police station, young lady."
She said nothing, and watched as Billie was tackled to the ground just outside of the entrance.
And she remembered that it was her choice to go here.
***
"I'm disappointed in you, Chanel Marie Mostel."
Her mother sighed. "What happened to you? We move to a new town and all of a sudden you've adopted a new attitude. Skipping school isn't right. What's wrong with you?"
"Nothing. I'm fine," she lied.
"Tell me, hon. we could move to-"
"I'M FINE," she said loudly.
Before Chanel knew it, she was standing up.
"I like it here. I like Pinole Valley High. I like our shitty house. I like our neighborhood. I like the Bay Bridge. I like my new FRIENDS. I LIKE BILLIE."
She was practically screaming by now. But it felt good, like the same rush she had in Algebra.
"I LIKE CALIFORNIA. And I SURE as HELL won't leave him," she finished triumphantly, and sat down, arms crossed.
Him...
Chanel set it aside.
"Okay, hon," her mother said, as if Chanel hadn't said a word. "Let me take care of the ticket, and we'll go pick up Soph and Gabriel."
Chanel nodded and was quiet. She waved at Billie and followed her mom up to the desk, where she watched the money be paid out, and walked back to the car. She was completely silent the whole drive up to Pinole High, even though her mother thought Pinole High was located in Oakland and it took several routes back and forth on the freeway to find the actual CITY of Pinole, which wasn't too far from Gabriel in Rodeo.
Soph was waiting impatiently at the front of a school on a bench, and didn't even look up when she heard another car roaring by. It took several shouts of "Soph!" to get her attention.
She climbed into the back seat.
"This kid with green hair offered me a ride a few minutes ago. Why'd you take so long?" Soph asked.
"Had to pick up Chanel at the police station... "
"Oh, wow."
Chanel finally spoke up.
"So, how was school...? Vanessa or Ann bitch about me?" Chanel said, turning around to face her in the back seat.
"Eh. Vanessa thinks you're weird... And Ann says you're a whore," Soph said conversationally.
"Oh, that little bitch, I fuckin' swear I'll--"
"Language," her mother interrupted, although it was a lost cause. No matter how much she tried to prevent Soph and Chanel from swearing, it only got worse, even when they heeded her warnings.
Chanel bit her lip. "God, I hate her..."
"It's only been one day, Christ..." Soph said.
"Soph!" their mother said sharply, as she pulled up to Gabe's school, where, unlike Soph and Chanel's school, the classes were just getting out.
"Sorry mom..." Soph murmured, as she opened the door for Gabe.
"Gabe, honey, how was your day?"
"It was fun, Mom! We learned about this thing called greater than and less than... and I made a friend!" Gabe exclaimed.
"That's great, honey. What's his name?"
"His name is James."
"Ooh. So, Soph, did you make any friends? And you Chanel, anyone else you made as a friend besides that guy you got arrested with?"
"Arrested? Chanel, you got arrested?" Gabe asked.
"Gabe," Chanel said. "Things are fine. I got into a little run-in with the police-"
"No! You almost went to the place where the bad people go. Mom, I don't want Chanel to go to jail! " Gabe wailed, tears starting to stream down his face.
Chanel looked at Gabe and felt hurt. She hated seeing him upset, but had no means of comforting him.
"It's alright, Gabe," Soph said, hugging him. "Chanel isn't going with the bad people. They gave mom a ticket for truancy, she paid it, and Chanel won't go to jail."
"Really?" Gabe sniffed.
"Really," Soph answered, smiling.
"Anyways, I did make a couple of friends. One's named Ann, that's the one Chanel didn't like... another one's Vanessa, that's that boy's girlfriend... "
Chanel scoffed quietly at the mention of Vanessa's name.
"And there's this girl Cindy from my Algebra class, even though she's really stupid, she's nice, and her friend is Alyssa... and Chanel made friends with a bunch of punks," Soph finished.
"Yeah, there's Carrie (she's got a green mohawk), and this guy Mike I talked to during lunch, along with Billie... that's the guy I got caught skipping with," Chanel said.
"Hmm. A green mohawk?" Chanel's mother said thoughtfully, as she turned off the freeway and down Gilman. "Almost home... "
'Almost... ' Chanel thought bitterly.
***
I didn't know why she fascinated me. There was just something about her, something different. I wasn't in love with her image... but it was different. She was a new piece of eye candy.
She had wavy black hair... unusually flat and lacking mousse, unlike the way you would see the girls at my school; with hair so thick looking they were like poodles. She was wearing mascara and red lipstick, but nothing else... another offbeat oddity. Her shirt read "Generation X", or from what I could see from the top story window, and every time her hand would go up, to ruffle her hair, I saw a lace glove.
Behind her, in the back seat, was the girl I offered a ride to earlier. Dyed blonde hair, inflated with mousse, lacy gloves, like her sister, and a nautical-looking tube top. Her make up was dramatic and heavy, instead of barely there, like her sister's. Next to her I caught a glimpse of a little boy, with black hair like his older sister's, but this had been fixed into impromptu spikes.
They were parked at the stoplight, which gave me a few seconds to watch and wonder who they were, until they zipped down the road. I'd probably forget her in a couple of days... but I'd like to know her.
***
"You got arrested? With your fuck buddy?"
"Mike."
"Okay, okay. You got arrested with Chanel?"
"Yeah. Some bald guy saw us," Billie said, leafing through a pile of papers and photos strewn across the kitchen floor. He had the phone, the cord stretched far away from the receiver, in one hand, and a paper with a phone number scribbled on it.
"That sucks."
"Ollie's pretty pissed."
"Hmm."
".... So, Bill, you really sure you're only friends?"
"Fuck you, Mike." Billie laughed.
"Love you too, Billie-kins... see you tomorrow."
"Yeah." Billie agreed, as they made their way to a row of cars. ".... So, you got a car?"
Chanel laughed.
"Well, we wanted to get out of here."
"Billie, I don't even have my driver's license, how the hell am I supposed to have my own car?"
"You don't have a driver's license?" Billie chortled.
"I failed the test too many times. I'm gonna retake it in June."
"Oh. We can take my piece of shit then," he said, recovering keys from his left pocket. "So, where to, m'lady?"
"Dunno," Chanel said.
"There's the mall, there's 7-11... there's Gilman... my offer from weeks ago still stands, if you want to go... "
"Gilman can wait. Maybe... the mall?"
***
".... No sir. I'm... uh... twenty-six, twenty-seven in... in... June? Isn't that right, Sarah?" Billie lied, and held Chanel's hand.
They were facing a bald, red-faced, portly security guard. They had stopped by Orange Julius to get a drink, after several hours of mindless browsing, and it just so happened he was on his break and by the time they had bought their drinks, he was enquiring about their age.
"You do look a lot like a couple," The security guard marveled.
"What? You're not twenty--" Chanel hissed in Billie's ear, but before she could finish Billie stepped on her foot. "Oh! Right, yes.... You really need to work on your foot coordination, hon."
"We're here to buy his Aunt... err... Frederica a present, but we wanted to take a break and get a drink," Chanel continued, thinking creatively. "She's in the hospital with... scarlet fever."
"Oh. Well, I hope she gets better then. Have a nice day." He turned and walked down the bustling path.
When he was out of sight, Chanel let out a long sigh and let go of Billie's hand.
"What a dumbass security guard," she snickered.
"Yeah. Scarlet fever?" Billie laughed.
".... Who the hell would think you were twenty-six?" Chanel added thoughtfully, pushing her way through the crowds, not noticing that three security guards were now following them.
"I know... Jesus," Billie replied. From the corner of his eye, he could see the bald man discreetly escorting two other men over to them, except these were policemen.
"Chanel... run," he said.
She looked behind her quickly and understood. She took off, Billie far off in front of her, and despite all the shocked customers staring at the scene unfolding in front of them, the security guard and policemen followed in pursuit.
One of them was getting dangerously close to her. She tried to speed up, but two strong, muscular arms held her back.
"You're going to the police station, young lady."
She said nothing, and watched as Billie was tackled to the ground just outside of the entrance.
And she remembered that it was her choice to go here.
***
"I'm disappointed in you, Chanel Marie Mostel."
Her mother sighed. "What happened to you? We move to a new town and all of a sudden you've adopted a new attitude. Skipping school isn't right. What's wrong with you?"
"Nothing. I'm fine," she lied.
"Tell me, hon. we could move to-"
"I'M FINE," she said loudly.
Before Chanel knew it, she was standing up.
"I like it here. I like Pinole Valley High. I like our shitty house. I like our neighborhood. I like the Bay Bridge. I like my new FRIENDS. I LIKE BILLIE."
She was practically screaming by now. But it felt good, like the same rush she had in Algebra.
"I LIKE CALIFORNIA. And I SURE as HELL won't leave him," she finished triumphantly, and sat down, arms crossed.
Him...
Chanel set it aside.
"Okay, hon," her mother said, as if Chanel hadn't said a word. "Let me take care of the ticket, and we'll go pick up Soph and Gabriel."
Chanel nodded and was quiet. She waved at Billie and followed her mom up to the desk, where she watched the money be paid out, and walked back to the car. She was completely silent the whole drive up to Pinole High, even though her mother thought Pinole High was located in Oakland and it took several routes back and forth on the freeway to find the actual CITY of Pinole, which wasn't too far from Gabriel in Rodeo.
Soph was waiting impatiently at the front of a school on a bench, and didn't even look up when she heard another car roaring by. It took several shouts of "Soph!" to get her attention.
She climbed into the back seat.
"This kid with green hair offered me a ride a few minutes ago. Why'd you take so long?" Soph asked.
"Had to pick up Chanel at the police station... "
"Oh, wow."
Chanel finally spoke up.
"So, how was school...? Vanessa or Ann bitch about me?" Chanel said, turning around to face her in the back seat.
"Eh. Vanessa thinks you're weird... And Ann says you're a whore," Soph said conversationally.
"Oh, that little bitch, I fuckin' swear I'll--"
"Language," her mother interrupted, although it was a lost cause. No matter how much she tried to prevent Soph and Chanel from swearing, it only got worse, even when they heeded her warnings.
Chanel bit her lip. "God, I hate her..."
"It's only been one day, Christ..." Soph said.
"Soph!" their mother said sharply, as she pulled up to Gabe's school, where, unlike Soph and Chanel's school, the classes were just getting out.
"Sorry mom..." Soph murmured, as she opened the door for Gabe.
"Gabe, honey, how was your day?"
"It was fun, Mom! We learned about this thing called greater than and less than... and I made a friend!" Gabe exclaimed.
"That's great, honey. What's his name?"
"His name is James."
"Ooh. So, Soph, did you make any friends? And you Chanel, anyone else you made as a friend besides that guy you got arrested with?"
"Arrested? Chanel, you got arrested?" Gabe asked.
"Gabe," Chanel said. "Things are fine. I got into a little run-in with the police-"
"No! You almost went to the place where the bad people go. Mom, I don't want Chanel to go to jail! " Gabe wailed, tears starting to stream down his face.
Chanel looked at Gabe and felt hurt. She hated seeing him upset, but had no means of comforting him.
"It's alright, Gabe," Soph said, hugging him. "Chanel isn't going with the bad people. They gave mom a ticket for truancy, she paid it, and Chanel won't go to jail."
"Really?" Gabe sniffed.
"Really," Soph answered, smiling.
"Anyways, I did make a couple of friends. One's named Ann, that's the one Chanel didn't like... another one's Vanessa, that's that boy's girlfriend... "
Chanel scoffed quietly at the mention of Vanessa's name.
"And there's this girl Cindy from my Algebra class, even though she's really stupid, she's nice, and her friend is Alyssa... and Chanel made friends with a bunch of punks," Soph finished.
"Yeah, there's Carrie (she's got a green mohawk), and this guy Mike I talked to during lunch, along with Billie... that's the guy I got caught skipping with," Chanel said.
"Hmm. A green mohawk?" Chanel's mother said thoughtfully, as she turned off the freeway and down Gilman. "Almost home... "
'Almost... ' Chanel thought bitterly.
***
I didn't know why she fascinated me. There was just something about her, something different. I wasn't in love with her image... but it was different. She was a new piece of eye candy.
She had wavy black hair... unusually flat and lacking mousse, unlike the way you would see the girls at my school; with hair so thick looking they were like poodles. She was wearing mascara and red lipstick, but nothing else... another offbeat oddity. Her shirt read "Generation X", or from what I could see from the top story window, and every time her hand would go up, to ruffle her hair, I saw a lace glove.
Behind her, in the back seat, was the girl I offered a ride to earlier. Dyed blonde hair, inflated with mousse, lacy gloves, like her sister, and a nautical-looking tube top. Her make up was dramatic and heavy, instead of barely there, like her sister's. Next to her I caught a glimpse of a little boy, with black hair like his older sister's, but this had been fixed into impromptu spikes.
They were parked at the stoplight, which gave me a few seconds to watch and wonder who they were, until they zipped down the road. I'd probably forget her in a couple of days... but I'd like to know her.
***
"You got arrested? With your fuck buddy?"
"Mike."
"Okay, okay. You got arrested with Chanel?"
"Yeah. Some bald guy saw us," Billie said, leafing through a pile of papers and photos strewn across the kitchen floor. He had the phone, the cord stretched far away from the receiver, in one hand, and a paper with a phone number scribbled on it.
"That sucks."
"Ollie's pretty pissed."
"Hmm."
".... So, Bill, you really sure you're only friends?"
"Fuck you, Mike." Billie laughed.
"Love you too, Billie-kins... see you tomorrow."
