Chapter 5: Chapter 2: Zavier (Version 1.1) Part 1

“I’m going to a junior college across the state. It’s my first choice, and I’m very excited about it.” Zavier lied with a grin. 

“I’m so excited for you, I think you could do great things.” replied May in a cheerful tone. At least Zavier wasn’t the only one lying.

Zavier smiled and kept sweeping the fries on the floor into the pan. It was past closing time and Zavier was very much ready to go home. He didn’t really need this job at this burger joint. He had enough of a scholarship that his parents could cover the rest of his looming tuition payments. It just felt nice to have a little play money for his last semester of high school. When he got paid, he fantasized about using it to go to clubs in nearby Seattle or blow it on some vain girlfriend but in reality his existing pattern of expenditures was currently just on his computer gaming account. There was always the possibility of next week or the summer though for things to happen. But that was likely a lie he told himself.

Zavier made his last round sweeping around the restaurant. As he finished, he sighed and prepared to lock up. May was gone. She never stayed until the end of the shift. The manager didn’t mind as long as it was 10 or 15 minutes beforehand and not overly egregious. Zavier suspected he would get the same leniency but he did not want to bet his job on that assumption. Zavier signed out at 11:00 sharp, walked out, and hopped into his Toyota Camry. It was about a twenty minute drive through town to his parent’s home where he lived. He turned on the bluetooth, started his music playlist labeled “chill”, and pulled his car onto the road. This in many ways was the best part of his day; The drive home. His job was not all that strenuous so it was not really the elation of finishing. It was more about driving around the town during the night with the synthesizer beats blasting through that gave him a free flowing feeling that he enjoyed. He felt the most free during these times. His independence, not from his parents, but from the uninspired path he felt at every other moment of his life, never seemed more real than now. It was a terribly cliché feeling, but it never got old.

As he pulled up to his house, he parked his car along the curb of the front yard. There wasn’t enough room in the garage with his parents' cars. Bzzz. His phone buzzed. It was a text from May. 

“Come smoke.”

Zavier pulled his car back out of the lot.

He wasn’t much of a stoner or a pothead. He smoked socially which meant he did whenever someone he did not hate asked him to. May was one of those people. She was really hot. There was no way around it without being blunt. But Zavier knew he didn’t have prayer. He wasn’t a bad looking guy but to continue with being blunt, he just kind of sucked. 

Zavier reflexively attempted to correct this overtly negative self-talk that May had unknowingly triggered with her text. He did not suck or was overtly offensively terrible. There was just not much that was decisively positive about him or his life. At eighteen, he was a minimal existence woefully short of anything noteworthy. Because of this, May texting him to smoke was just something he had to speed off for every time it happened. At the very least Zavier could feel like he was doing something that someone else wished they could. Those other wishers for May’s time were primarily just an avalanche of horny guys. But he got May’s invite consistently because she knew he was not about that. She knew he was not stupid enough to run full sprint to rejection.

Zavier pulled the car to the empty movie theater. This was the meeting place for late night rendezvous. Most movie theaters stayed open past midnight during the summer but this one was small, old, and it was a Wednesday. The lot was empty except for a few parked cars by the only street light. These must be extra cars or those owned by the maintenance workers. Either way Zavier went to the dark end of the lot. By the spot. He sat there waiting, surprised that he got there before May.

God I hope she's not bringing someone else.

Her car pulled up. He waited for a few more moments. She must want me to come to her. So he did. The passenger door opened. Zavier glanced around inconspicuously. There was only May in the car.

The radio was off and the A/C was all the way up. May liked things way too cold in Zavier opinion.

“Are you too cold?” May asked as he settled in the passenger seat. 

“Nope. It's the middle of June. You ready to do this?”

“We’ve got to go pick up.”

“I’ve got extra in my trunk. If you’ve got five or ten dollars-”

“I don’t want your stuff!” There was about ten seconds of the A/C blowing after May yelled. She brought her voice back to pleasant to resume their conversation, “Look, I’m trying a new guy. I’ve heard the stuff is good.” Given the inherent risk of buying from someone new, it was becoming increasingly clear why Zavier was invited.

“How far away?” Zavier asked. He slumped in his chair and stared out the window.

“Only across town. And I’ll give you half for free, I just don't know this guy very well. I’ve actually never met him.”

“Is this a good idea?”

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“Oh come on, he camps out by the mall with the Nordstrom. Listen Zavee, you might be leaving me in two months but I got one more year stuck here. And another summer after that at the damn burger place before college. If he’s got good stuff it's going to make me a very happy girl next year. You wouldn’t want me to be sad, would you?”

“You know I’m only going to be 45 minutes away, I could just come back.”

“What would you come back for?” Zavier’s heartbeat beat a little harder than he would have liked after that response from May.

“I guess my parents,” he said dismissively. 

“Ok, that’s… reasonable.” May trailed off and put the car in drive. 

They drove in silence the entire way there. The car finally lurched to a stop when they reached their destination. They were behind the mall they had set out for. Or more accurately they were behind the grocery store connected to the mall. Zavier had not been to this mall in years. A lot of people from his high school came out here because it had some brand stores that his side of town did not. He was not that type of consumer. His needs were met with convenience more so than variety or prestige. The back of the megastore mainly consisted of service entrances and loading bays. Despite being near midnight, Zavier was quietly shocked people got away with dealing here. Despite his own doubts, about five minutes after they arrived another car pulled up and stalled its engine on the curb.

“Let’s go.” May said quietly as she turned the key and slinked out.

Zavier quietly followed. They walked together over to the second car. The window rolled down. Inside was the scruffy looking guy. He was an odd looking fellow with buggy eyes, a patchy shadow on his chin and neck, and hair that was unsymmetrical in a less than pleasant way. He looked like he was in his thirties but there were enough youthful facial features that Zavier knew he was much younger, most likely around their age. He just looked older..

“Hi, I’m May, are you the spider?” May said in a hushed voice.

Zavier was thoroughly unimpressed with this man as it was and could barely keep a straight face upon learning his name. The man did not respond to the question. He looked past May and gave a dead-eyed stare to Zavier. Something about this guy was just insulting to Zavier. He felt a growing urge to tell him to go fuck himself that was getting closer to an action with each passing second.

“Excuse me, I’m May, Hi. Are you going to sell me weed?” May said again, this time rather impatiently with only a thin veneer of false kindness.

Not taking his eyes off of Zavier, he replied in a low, annoyed voice “I’m here to buy as well.”

“Oh, so you’re not our guy,” Zavier said as he grabbed May’s arm, “Well don’t let us ruin your night.” He turned and started heading back to May’s car with her following behind. He didn’t want to admit it, but May letting him guide her back was rather exciting despite the circumstances that preceded it.

“Hello May.” called out a new voice as they returned to her car. Another man emerged from behind one of the truck bodies. This man was clearly an adult and dressed in a nice suit with his hair slicked back. “I apologize for being late.” Now here was someone who looked like they sold weed to high schoolers! This American Psycho knock off was most definitely The Spider.

“You’ve brought so many friends. I thought this was a small transaction.” The Spider said in an amused but clearly uncomfortable voice.

“This is Zavier, my friend, and I have no idea who the hell that is.” May said, eyeing the stalled car across the lot.

“Is he coming out?” the Spider asked in a friendly, mature voice.

They all looked at the car. Nothing.

“I need to talk to him then, it isn’t a good practice for me to have people just hanging out while I deal.” The Spider’s smile had washed away to a scowl as he sighed, tensed up, and walked towards the car. As he approached it, he knocked and motioned for the other man to roll down the window. He had returned to a smile but this one was pretty deliberately unfriendly. The window did not roll down. The Spider knocked again on the window a little harder, “If this dude doesn’t…”. His temper began to flair as the inconvenience had become too much for him. Suddenly the door flung open and a brilliant flash of yellow light bloomed out of the door knocking the Spider flat on his back.

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