Ascension (The Ascension Series) (6 page)

Sarah unbuttoned her shirt and tossed it to Clark.

“You think we have enough time?” he asked.

“Well, I hope so,” Sarah shrugged.

“What if your parents catch us?”

“Then they’ll probably kill you.
”

“Um
,” Clark mumbled, “Do they think you’re a virgin?”

“Yeah, probably.”

“Then if they catch us they’ll kill me twice.”

“Shut up, you’re wasting time,” S
arah groaned. “Are you ready or not?”

Without a verbal reply, Clark speedily removed his shirt and unzipped his pants. This would be their first time
having sex at Sarah’s place and a new locale was always thrilling, Clark thought, especially when the severity of getting caught was being killed twice. Minutes later, Clark and Sarah heard a clanking at the door. They rushed to get all of their clothing back on, a chore they had become quite good at, and were fully dressed by the time Sarah’s mother was in the living room.

Sarah’s mother was a short dark haired woman in workout clothes. She was sweating with several bags in her hands when she walked
back to Sarah’s room. Sarah opened the door and her mother was standing in the doorway.

“
I didn’t know you two were here,” her mother said, still catching her breath.

“Yeah, mom,” Sarah said. “We just got here.”

“What are you doing back here?” her mother asked.

“Oh, I was just showing Clark around.”

“Okay,” her mother said. “Well nice to see you, Clark. I think we briefly met about a month ago.”

“Yes ma’am, we did,” he said politely. “Nice to see you again, Mrs. Ryan.”

Mrs. Ryan turned her attention back to her daughter, “I’m going to jump in the shower and get ready for dinner. Your father should be coming up now.”

Sarah’s mother turned
around and made her way into her master bedroom.

“Your shirt isn’t buttoned up right,” Clark told his girlfriend. “And your hair is kinda ruffled.”

“She didn’t notice,” Sarah said as she buttoned her shirt properly and grabbed a brush to straighten her hair. Just as she finished the front door opened again and her father made his entrance. Clark and Sarah sprinted to the living room to greet him.

Sarah’s father was an average sized dark haired man dressed in a brown suit and blue tie. He removed his dress coat which bared his nametag. It read, “
Lawrence Ryan: Bank Manager.” He waved to his daughter after closing the front door.

“Hi Sarah,” he said.

“Hi dad. Mom’s in the shower. This is Clark.”

“Why hello there,”
Mr. Ryan said as he shook Clark firmly by the hand. “Now I finally have a chance to get to know the young boy my daughter’s dating. How long now?”

“A few months,” Clark said.

“Then it’s definitely about time for that dinner meeting,” Sarah’s dad said.

“Dinner
meeting?”
Sarah asked her father.

“Well, that’s just a business term I like to use.”

“So is mom cooking?” Sarah asked.

“Goodness no,” her dad said. “
Don’t you remember the last time she tried to cook? I ordered food from a really nice restaurant though. They should be delivering it any moment now.”

Her dad walked over to the dinner table and strategically rearranged the centerpiece bowl of potpourri. He turned the bowl a few centimeters to the left and smiled, “Perfect.”

Minutes later, Sarah’s mom entered the room in a flowery dress with her hair down.

“Laura, you look terrific,” Sarah’s dad told her mom.

“Thanks, Lawrence,” her mother replied.

The doorbell rang and Sarah’s dad informed them that it was the delivery boy. He opened the door, paid the b
oy, and was handed several boxes of food. They all went to the dinner table when Sarah’s dad began separating the boxes. He opened each of the boxes and pulled out a plate which he gave to each of them. The meal consisted of steak, mashed potatoes, steamed broccoli, and a skewer of shrimp. Sarah’s mother made lemonade and minutes later they were all enjoying dinner when Sarah’s dad decided to strike up a conversation.

“So Clark,” he said. “How are these grades of yours?”

“3.0 GPA,” Clark said.

“Good, that’s very good.”

“That’s terrific,” Sarah’s mother added.

“Keep it up,” Mr. Ryan told him. “So what do you want to do with yourself?”

“Well I want to try out for the football team.”

“Football?” Mr. Ryan scoffed, “Son, I’m talking about professionally. For the rest of your life.”

“I guess I’m still thinking about it,” Clark said.

“Yeah?” Mr. Ryan said, “Definitely give it some thought. A 3.0 GPA is pretty good. Put those smarts to use.
And college is a must.”

“Yes
, sir,” Clark said.

“Clark’s great at Eng
lish, history, math,” Sarah added.

“And how about you, Sarah?” her dad asked her. “Any future plans?”

“I’m going to college,” Sarah told her father. “And then I’m thinking about being a fitness instructor like mom.”

Her mother smiled while her father shot her a stern look.

“I think that’s super,” her mother said. “You definitely have the body for it. You know that, Sarah? You take after me.”

“Just stick with the education,” her father said. “Now Clark, what do your parents do?”

“My mom’s a secretary at the Hyde Park Community Center.”

“Beautiful place,” said Mr. Ryan.

“And my dad is a machine operator at BioTech Industries.”

“BioTech Industries,” said Mr. Ryan, “owned by Paul Walsh. His son is, er, Charles Walsh. I know he goes to the same school as you two. You know him, Clark?”

“I… I may have seen him around,” Clark said.

“I wouldn’t want you being friends with that kid,” Mr. Ryan said while chomping on a piece of steak. “I’ve heard bad things about that spoiled kid. He’s the type that thinks of girls as pieces of meat.
Wouldn’t want a guy like that around my daughter.”

“Oh, I’m definitely not like that, sir.”

“Good.”

“Clark is the nicest boy I’ve ever met,” Sarah said. “He’s always kind, considerate, and really sweet.”

Sarah’s mother smiled, “That’s really nice. It sounds like you’ve found the right young man, Sarah.”

“I hope so,” Mr. Ryan said. He raised his glass
of lemonade and asked for a toast as the others followed. “To Clark!”

They finished dinner but not before S
arah asked her parents if she could attend a little “social gathering” on Saturday night. Her father was reluctant but gave in after her mother said she was perfectly fine with it. They then had a small disagreement when Sarah’s mom agreed to let her stay out until midnight. Her father said she’d have to be back home by eleven. They finally came to an agreement on eleven thirty.

Clark made his exit when dinner was over. He refrained from kissing his girlfriend with her parents in s
ight so he merely waved her bye. Then he sent a text message to Charles. Clark realized that Charles was either in the vicinity or was driving at breakneck speed because Charles arrived only two minutes after Clark texted him.

“How’d it go?”
Charles asked as he drove off with Clark in the passenger seat.

“Not bad,” Clark said, “Her dad’s a hard hitter but he didn’t have much to grill me over. So it went okay.”

“That’s why I’m not into the relationship stuff, man,” Charles told him. “Don’t feel like confronting a bunch of alter cocka daddies.” 

“Alter cocka?” Clark asked. Charles laughed.

Prying father aside, Clark was crazy about Sarah and wasn’t going to let anyone or anything get between them. The meeting with her parents went well enough; at least Sarah’s mother liked him. With that out of the way, Clark was able to devote the rest of his week to putting together his Saturday night party. It couldn’t come soon enough. And little did he know, it would change their lives forever.

CHAPTER 3

John awoke on Thursday morning, got dressed, and said bye to his father─ who was drunk and passed out in his recliner at the time, and got a ride from Charles with the intent of staying over at Charles’s place for the remainder of the week. Staying true to his word on both counts, Charles took John out for burgers and fries after class on Thursday. They went to some expensive downtown restaurant, at Fountain Square, that John had never heard of.

“You’re the best, man. I really owe you,” John told Charles on more than one occasion before sweeping his long blonde hair out of his face as he did so frequently.

“Maybe it’s time for a haircut,” Charles said as they both laughed.

Charles also made John feel right at home when
he stayed at the Walsh mansion for the rest of the week. He ate incredible meals, was in a more cheerful spirit, and didn’t have his recliner-ridden father around to annoy, anger, and depreciate him. He consistently took time to thank Charles who told him not to even think about it. On Friday night John even went on a double date with Charles after Charles picked up two girls he had met only hours prior.

“Dude, I don’t know how you do it,” John whispered to him during
the date.

“It’s easy, my man. A lotta confidence and a lotta money goes a long way.”

John laughed and returned his attention to his date, a redheaded teenage girl named Olga who paid more attention to Charles than him. But John didn’t mind─ he was having a splendid time far away from where he usually laid his head and that was more than enough for him. Fifteen minutes into the date and Charles was on one side of the table making out with his blonde haired companion while John was dryly telling Olga about his favorite philosophers.

John wasn’t able to win his date over until he finally turned the conversation to something she was at least faintly knowledgeable of─ they began chatting about music and John finally got her to smile. She was even more fascinated when John told her that he was staying at Charles’s house.

“You’re staying with Charles?” she questioned him with intrigue.

“Yeah,” John told her. “He’s got a pretty big place.”

“You’ve been friends with Charles for a while?” Olga asked.

“Uh-huh.”

“Well any boy who knows Charles is cool in my book.”

“Hey,” John finally confronted her, “Are you interested in me or do you just want to know Charles?”

“I think you’re fine and all,” the redheaded girl said, “But Charles is, well, Charles.”

“Yeah, I know,” John sighed.

“Sorry
,” Olga told him, “You mind if we end it here?”

“Sure, why not?” John said as Olga left him to move closer to Charles. 

Before long, John was making out with two girls. Both of them were invited back to his place and John was happy to surrender his date to Charles. John happily went to bed alone that night and noticed the two girls leaving his buddy’s room the next morning. While having breakfast, Charles informed John that a chauffeur had given the girls a lift home. John asked if they were going to return.

“Olga and Steph?” Charles said, “They’re not coming back. John, my man,
look around. A date a day is what I like to say.”

“So you
’re not into keeping any of them around?” John asked him.

“Nope,” Charles said bluntly.

“You wouldn’t even think about it?”

“Well,” Charles said, “I suppose if it was really the right girl. She’d have to not only be drop-dead gorgeous but a really interesting person who could keep my attention.”

“You’re a real character, Charles. You really are. But there’s gotta be at least one girl…”

“Now that I think about it,” Charles said, “There is this one girl at school who I think fits the bill. A nice chick named Chloe Li.”

“Oh yeah,” said John. “I know exactly who she is. Captain of the math team. She’s really smart.”

“And pretty hot too,” Charles added.

“Y’know, she’s gonna be at Clark’s party tonight.”

“Cool,” Charles said, “Think I might ask her out then.”

John nodded and sipped from his cup of hot coffee when Charles nearly choked on his.

“Oh shit!” Charles balked.

“What!?” John asked.

“I freakin’ forgot,” Charles told him. “I was supposed to be gettin’ the goddamn alcohol for Clark’s party tonight.”

“Well we got all day,” said John.

“Yeah, but I need to get on it
ASAP. Clark is counting on me. Come on, we gotta get out of our freakin’ pajamas and get going.”

While John changed into his usual attire, Charles just changed into another set of pajamas; a comfortable red silk pair with his initials “CW” ornately inscribed on the right breast pocket. When John asked Charles why he was still wearing pajamas, Charles told him it’s what his hero, Hugh Hefner, would
have done. Upon hearing this, John playfully shoved him as they took the mansion’s elevator to the third floor. When they got off the elevator, Charles took John into a large marble parlor room. In the corner of the parlor, with its crystal vases and gilded furniture, was a home bar stocked with liquor.

“Wow, you’ve got everything in here,” John said.

“Not quite,” Charles told him.

Charles grabbed a crate from behind the bar, handed it to John, and told him to fill it with every drink that looked any good. John filled the plastic crate with cognac
, tequila, and rum.

“I think we got enough,” John said after several crates were filled.

“No,” Charles said, “We need more. And besides, we’re outta vodka. My parents must’ve drunk it all.” Charles held a large vodka bottle upside down to demonstrate how empty it was.

“Is that all we need?”

“Goddamn,” Charles said. “We need beer too. There’s no beer in here. We need, like, kegs of it.”

“You know how to get it?” John asked him.

“Yeah,” Charles replied, “I’ll just call Big Dan.”

“Big Dan…
Daniel LaRent?”

“Yeah,” Charles answered, “He looks like he’s in his twenties and he’s got a fake ID. Problem solved.”

Charles phoned Big Dan who was happy to oblige in helping out. Big Dan arrived at Charles’s place an hour later in a pickup truck. It wasn’t quite Charles’s style but he hopped in along with John and they headed straight for the liquor store. Big Dan’s fake card was readily accepted when he purchased large quantities of beer and vodka. Charles had given him a roll of hundred dollar bills in order to “pay for the drinks and keep the change.”

Big Dan rolled a cart full of alcohol out of the shop and stocked it in the back of his pickup truck. Charles was sitting in the truck when his phone rang; it was Clark on the other end of the line.

“Hey Charles, how’s it going?” Clark asked over the phone.

“The going’s good, Clark.”

“Did you get the alcohol?”

“Yeah, man. I got all the sauce we’ll need. In fact, I’m with Big Dan and John right now. We’re stock piling as we speak.”

“Awesome, everything’s going really good then,” Clark said. “Can I get a ride around seven?”

“Sounds like a plan, my man,” Charles said coolly.

“Great, see you then.”

***

Clark was in the backseat of Charles’s car at seven and they, along with John in the passenger seat, were headed for the other side of the tracks. Charles was driving slower than usual because Big Dan was following behind them in his pickup truck. When they finally made it to the other side of the tracks, the sun was setting and the road was so bumpy that even Charles’s car was feeling the brunt of it.

“Wow,” Charles said, “no wonder no one comes out here. It’s bumpy as hell.”

“I come out here every now and then,” John said. “But not this direction.”

Finally they reached a smooth grassy area of wide fields that contained only the occasional tree. They
got out of the car as the once bright-hued sky turned to night. Clark threw numerous tree branches together in order to start a bonfire. In the distance he could see the rickety old barn and for a moment he thought he could see a faint flicker from within it.

“Hey Clark, what ya looking at?” John asked.

“The old barn,” Clark told him. “Wonder what’s inside.”

“Oh, there’s nothing in there,” John said. “
I’ve been in there before. It’s empty. Come on, let’s get ready.”

Clark turned his attention back to the stack of wood and branches they had set up when several cars pulled up to the grassy area. The cars were jam packed with students from Franklin Pierce High. They were followed by another car carrying Clark’s girlfriend, Sarah, and all of her cheerleader friends.
Sarah jumped out of the car and ran towards Clark, greeting him with a hug.

“I’ve been waiting on you,” Cl
ark told her. Then he opened Charles’s trunk and pulled out the stereo set. He set up the stereos and stacked the four of them on the ground. Suddenly the music was blasting and students were arriving by the dozens. Big Dan was pouring drinks from the back of his truck and kids were scattered about the field. Andrew Lockman, wearing his usual rosary, arrived minutes later along with several other students. They were followed by a car full of nerds that included Donny the Geek.

“I’m really feeling this,” Charles said as he gulped down a cup of beer. “I think I’m gonna go hit on a few of the cheerleaders.”

“Good luck!” Sarah yelled to Charles as he ran off.

Clark had his arm around Sarah’s shoulder, enjoying his handiwork when he remembered the final component. He took a
match out of his pocket, struck it against the box, and dropped it into the garble of branches. The fire blared and the music blasted.

♪
Champagne, real girls, rockin’ on big sails
♪

Clark and Sarah walked over to Big Dan’s truck and decided on vodka. They were drinking, laughing, and dancing while a couple of other kids were
tossing toilet paper over the trees. Other kids were dancing on top of their cars and pulling off their shirts. Eventually, one last car pulled up. Out of the passenger seat walked Chloe Li. She caught the eyes of both Charles and Donny the Geek. Charles, of course, was the first to greet her.

“Hey Chloe, how you doin’, honey?” Charles aske
d as he handed her a cup. “The party’s just getting started.”

Chloe followed
Charles over to a group of popular students as a frown crept over Donny’s face. Clark approached him with a cup in each hand.

“Hey Donny,” Clark said. “Why’re you lookin’ so down?”

Donny said nothing but Clark saw him looking over to the group that Chloe was chatting with.

“She’s with Charles,” Donny finally said.

“Who? Chloe?” Clark asked, “I don’t think she’s really into Charles. Believe me, he’s definitely not her type.”

“You think so?” Donny asked.

“Definitely,” Clark said.

“I’d like to talk to her,” Donny said.

“Then do it!” Clark said.

“But I don’t wonna bother while she’s hanging out with someone else.”

“Dude,” Clark said, “This is a party. That’s the whole point. Now take this.” Clark handed him a drink. Donny hesitated at first but seconds later took the cup and drank its contents.

“Ugh,” Donny said, gasping for his breath. “What was that?”

“Liquid courage.”

“Whoa. I think I feel drunk already,” Donny buzzed.

“You probably are,” Clark patted him on the back.

They both looked over to Chloe who had walked away from Charles and the other group of students.

“Dude, now’s your chance!” Clark said.

Donny sprinted over to Chloe who, wearing wedge shoes, was slightly taller than him.

“Hey Chloe,” Donny said.

“Hey Donny.”

“Havin’ fun?” he asked her.

“Yeah, this is cool. A nice change of pace. I’m usually studying in a stuffy room,
” she laughed.

“That’s cool,” Donny said. “I was just wondering…”

Donny hesitated as Chloe took another sip from the cup that Charles had handed her.

“Yeah?” Chloe asked as she put the drink down and smiled.

“Well, Chloe…” Donny said, “I was wondering if you were seeing anyone.”

Chloe burst into a fit of half drunken giggles. “No, Donny,” she said after laughing, “I’m not seeing anyone. Why do you ask?”

“Because the truth is that I’m really crazy about you,” Donny cooed under the influence of his first cup of vodka. “I really like you, Chloe. I think you’re beautiful. You’re hot to the point of me being totally unable to control myself when I see you. But you’re so much more than that. I love how smart you are.

“I’m madly in love with you because you know the entire Dewey Decimal System by heart. I’m crazy about you because you can calculate line graphs faster than me and
because I’ve never met anyone that knows trigonometry as well as you do. And that’s the whole truth, Chloe Li.”