Sum Gurls

By Coral Lights

Chad punched his friend softly in the shoulder. "Where are we going tonight?"

          "I don't know," mouthed Todd.

          "Mr. Smith, do you have something to add to the class lecture?"

          "No, sir," said Todd, looking slightly embarrassed, looking out of the corner of his eyes.

          A few of the students laughed.

          "Mr. Morton?" The teacher stared down Chad.

          "No," said Chad, feeling the eyes of the other students. He especially felt the dark eyes of the girl he liked sitting down below him in the first row. His neck felt warm, then his face. He looked down into his laptop.

          "Well, then class," said Mr. Jaycee, "let us continue as if we were never so rudely interrupted."

          A few more nervous laughs.

          The teacher continued, "Now when it comes to documenting your code...I expect of you...."

          An instant message blinked on Chad's screen. Send me a text message next time goddammit.

          Shit sorry, typed Chad back to Todd.

"Man, I hate that class," said Todd.  "Mr. Jaycee is the worst CS teacher. I'm glad I'm almost done with his classes."

          James nodded in agreement. "Retard."

          Chad watched the other students file out the doors. Then he spotted the girl from the front row. "What's that girl's name?"

          Her dark hair hung low over her eyes as she stopped to talk with a group of friends.

          "I think it's Lyrel," said Todd. "Why?" he laughed.

          "Oh, I know," said James, "Chad wants to bang that shit."

          "What? I didn't say that," said Chad, laughing nervously.

          A pause.  

          She looked at him. And Chad turned his eyes away.

          "She's looking," said Todd. "But, all she saw was a small dick."

          "Shut up."

          "Wait, I got a plan for you," said James. He walked right up to the group of girls and then called back. "Alright, I'll see you guys at the boardwalk tonight!"

          Lyrel looked at James and then at Chad. And then: did she smile a little?

          "That bastard," said Chad, smiling.

          Todd clapped him on the shoulder.

Chad found himself on the boardwalk with his two friends. They stood before a glass covered building. Chazz's Arcade read the glowing letters fronting the facade. What lay beyond didn't matter, it looked like fun.

          Chad followed the boys in through the doors. A small line slowly moved forward. A black man was stamping peoples hands after they paid. Chad slid his card through the slot, got his hand stamped and started forward. The black man spoke as Chad passed: "Have a good time."

          Music blasted into Chad's ears, intermingling with the blips and bleeps and explosions of the arcade games. In the distance there was a dance floor with revolving lights.

          Chad quickly scanned the crowd looking for Lyrel; he didn't see her. He hadn't actually expected her to come.

          After a half hour of uneventful game playing, James and Todd got into a two player helicopter game and Chad wandered off on his own.

          "Play, me", cried one game to him.

          "You think you can drive fast?" said another, spinning its holographic steering wheel close to Chad's head.

          "I'll make a man of you pardner'," spoke a holgram cowboy in chaps stepping forward to shake Chad's hand. Then he offered his rifle. "Just shoot at them Indians before they burn the settlements. Look, the settlers is dying."

          "No, thanks," said Chad.

          "Coward," called the cowboy. A lady settler screamed in the background.

          "Think you can punch me out?" said another hologram, throwing uppercuts near Chad's chin. "Come on wimp!"  

          "Okay." Chad turned to the boxing gloves game controls. He reached for his credit card--

          "Wait, try me," said a melodious voice. Chad halted.  It was the voice of a woman. It beckoned again softy, "Try me." And he couldn't resist. "That's it," cooed the woman’s voice, seeing Chad walk toward her. "I owe you one. You'll like me.  I'm Katie's Quest. Come play me."

          Chad stepped towards a low, sleek looking booth of all black. Katie's Quest glowed pink on the sides.

          A door swung open upwards. "I promise you'll like me," said the woman.

          "How--how much do you cost?" stammered Chad.

          "I'm free--mostly," said Katie's Quest.  "Come sample me first, and then you can pay later if you want to play more."

          Okay, shrugged Chad and took one last look around the arcade for Lyrel. And when his eyes couldn't find her, he stepped into  Katie's Quest.

          He sat down on a plush pink seat with curvy pink lights and the door sealed around him. It was dark. Suddenly he felt squeamish, but then a screen flashed in front of him, and he fell into its depths of nebulous clouds.  "I'm Kitty's Quest", said the game. "Welcome. And your name is?"

          "I'm Chad."

          "Hello Cad," said the face of a beautiful woman with long flowing brown hair. And then she stopped and so did Chad's heart. And slowly the  gelatinous form of a woman grew like blue transparent jello in front of Chad's hand and sat upon his lap. "I can feel you Cad," said the seductive voice. And she began to look human.

          Chad felt the full curve of a woman's breast form in his hands.

When the game was over, the door opened and he was thrust out into the corridor. His knees creaked and he stepped forward.

          Chad felt strange and he meandered down the corridor.

          He suddenly spotted Lyrel--the girl he wanted to see tonight, but didn't say anything.

          "Chad? That's your name isn't it?" she called after him. "What happened in class, I thought it was funny. The way Mr. Jaycee..."

          Chad didn’t even turn back to look at her, but just kept on walking.  

          "Hey, what's wrong with you, man?" said James, spotting Chad near the doors.

          "Nothing," said Chad.

          "I think he's stoned," laughed Todd, clapping Chad on the shoulder. "Did you see Lyrel? She just walked in with a bunch of hot girls."

          "Did you at least talk to her?" said James, laughing.  

          "Cad?" was all Chad could say. "She called me Cad? And I called her Kitty."

          "What?" said James and Todd at the same time. And they both started laughing hysterically.

That night Chad turned and his bed and wrestled with his sheets. He lightly humped his pillow. Sweat gathered on his brow. Katie's Quest was all he could think about.  

          The alarm came too early and Chad showered and then went down to breakfast.

          "How's school going?" said his mom at the table.

          "Fine."  

          "Just fine?" queried his dad. "You get your computer science degree and then you'll be making plenty of money."

          "You came home late last night," said his mom. "Were you out with Jenny?"  

          Chad dropped his fork. "No," said Chad. "Jenny's just a friend. I was out with the boys."

          "I hope not with that James punk," said his dad. "I don't care how smart he is--he's a bad cat."

          "I gotta go," said Chad, excusing himself from the table.

           Chad’s parents exchanged looks of concern.           

          "Go get 'em with those grades, Tiger," said his dad.

Chad found himself in front of Chazz's Arcade. He was surprised to find it open so early in the morning.  He walked through the glass doors and down between the ropes. The arcade was completely empty. "Hey, there he is," greeted the black doorman.  

          "Hi," said Chad.  

          "Addicted to video games now aren't you?" said the doorman.

          "I'm not addicted," said Chad.

          "Hey, I didn't mean to offend you." The doorman held up his hands. "But, today it looks empty doesn't it? You'll have complete privacy without anyone watching."

          "I just want to play one game," muttered Chad and held out his hand to be stamped.  

          "Oh, sure," said the doorman, knowingly. "And it's free on me today." And then he winked.

          Chad quickly found his way past the beckoning games until he found Katie's Quest. "Hi, Cad," she immediately greeted, and her pink lights pulsed. Her door opened.  

          Chad stepped inside her. "My name's Chad," he said.

          "I like Cad better," she said. And giggled.

          Chad held his breath.

          "Cad," said Katie, "come close." Chad lent forward. She grew into her voluptuous form. Chad took her in his arms. "I can feel you, Cad."

After leaving Chazz's Arcade, Chad stopped into a tattoo parlor. "What''ll it be?" said the tattooist.

          "I want Katie's Quest written in blue letters across a red heart on my upper arm."

          "That can be done," said the tattooist. "Is that a girlfriend's name?" said the long-haired man, cleaning Chad's arm with alcohol.

          "Not really," said Chad. "But she said 'All people like herself and me have one. That's how we will identify one another'. I know it sounds confusing. Dumb, I guess."  

          "Hmm," said the tattooist and went to put ink in the needle.

"How was school, son?" asked his dad.

          "Fine," lied Chad,  throwing down his backpack.

          "Learn anything new about coding?"

          "No," said Chad, rubbing at the sleeve covering the bandages on his sore upper arm.

Later, when Chad was faintly asleep near his keyboard and dreaming of Katie a beep on his screen woke him. It was an instant message from Todd. Are U coming to the movies?

          Chad stretched and typed back: No.

          Come on, I already got you a ticket, wrote Todd.

          Chad swore softly. Alright what time?

          At the movies Chad was miserable and bored. It passed by so slowly and when he was walking out he strode by Lyrel. But, this time she didn't talk to him or smile. And what bothered him most of all: she was with another guy. And he looked like a dork.

          She could've been mine? he wondered. That should be me.

"Listen," growled Chad. "I want to know where she went."   

          "Who?" said the black doorman.  

          "You know what I want, you son of a bitch. Where's Katie?" Chad pointed down the arcade hallway. "She used to be down that corridor..."

          "You mean, Kitty?" said the doorman.  

          "Yes, Kat--uh, Kitty," said Chad. "I need to see her."

          "Oh, I see," said the doorman. "You think you're a badass on Kitty's Quest. And you want the poor old doorman to tell you where she is or he'll bust your lights out. Well, I'll tell you where she is--" he poked Chad roughly in the chest--"for a small fee."

          "What?" snapped Chad. "She was always free for me. She told me--"

           "Yah, but now you gone as far as you can with Kitty on the free side. You've only seen the beginning. She wants to go further. And you honky boy want to go further. You have to pay extra now... " The doorman turned his gaze away. "Shit. Dumbass white boy."

          Chad looked at the door and thought of leaving. It would be good to just go home.  But he hesitated. a"Alright, I'll pay you you're fee, just tell me where she's at."

          The doorman smiled and held out his hand for Chad's credit card.

Once inside Chad felt exhilirated. "Hello, Kitty."

          "Huhuh", she laughed. "You're not calling me Katie anymore."

          "Kitty," he repeated. "I almost lost you--"

          "I can feel you Cad." Her beautiful face grew in front of his.

**** 

"Dumbass, son of a bitch," said Chad, bitterly, looking at his report card.

          "Holy shit," said Todd, looking over Chad's shoulder at the printout. "Chad failed Mr. Jaycee's class. And he failed bowling class, and English too and... Holy shit."  He looked Chad in the eyes nervously.  

          "Chad failed out," said another one of their friends.

          "Shut up," said Chad, and left the group.

          "Come on," said James, calling after him. "We're just playin' with you..."

          Later that night, Todd sent Chad a message to his laptop, R U OK man?

          Chad looked over the screen and out into the moonlight and thought a minute.

          Shit I'm fine, typed Chad. But damn, sum gurls are 2 E  Z.

Later that  night, on his usuall habitual visit, Chad arrived just in time to see a little kid climb into Katie's Quest. "No," said Chad, hurrying over to Katie. Her door sealed the kid inside.  

          Chad could see the kid’s little head bobbing forward and Chad tried to wrench open her door.  It wouldn't budge. He began to bang on Katie's side. "Let him out," called Chad. He punched her hard. The kid looked at him through the small window. "Katie let him out or we're through." He kicked her.

          The door flung open and the bewildered kid teetered out. He looked up at Chad. "Get out of here," scolded Chad. "Go!" he screamed and the kid turned and ran. "And don't ever come back."

          When the kid was gone, Chad turned on her. "You bitch, he was like five years old--"

          "I don't discriminate by age," said Katie, haughtily.

          "You self-righteous bitch," Chad kicked her again. "I don't want kids using you--"

          "What Cad, doing like you do? Will you deny them me?"

          "Shut up Kitty."

"Are you staying in tonight?" asked his mom.

          "No," said Chad.

          "Are you going out with Jenny?" His mom smiled.

          "Uhm, yeah," Chad lied.

Chad's car engine hiccupped. "Fuck," said Chad as the car stalled. He pulled over to the side of the road.

          He looked at his cell phone: 9:00 pm. He hoped Chazz's Arcade didn't close before he got there.

          Then he called a tow-truck.

"Where you been?" said the doorman.

          "Screwing with my car."

          "Shit, that musta'  hurt. You should try something much softer," said the doorman.

          "Oh," groaned Chad. "You know what I mean."

          "Yes, I got machinery that will screw better than a car."

          "I can't believe you're still open," said Chad, looking at his phone:  

1:00 am. "I was worried--I wouldn't be able to see Kitty tonight." He sighed with relief.

          "Oh, we're always open," said the doorman. "You can come see us twenty-four hours a day. Whenever you want, when you want, how you want. We'll never close to fine suckers like you."

          Chad walked in to see Kitty.

That night he had a particularly rough session playing Katie's Quest.  He slammed her gelatinous form.

          "Ooh, I liked that," said Katie. "You're getting more aggressive. You let it all go. But, why do you look so sad? Don’tyou like me Cad?"

          "No, virtual bitch," said Chad, and then he got out.

          He was bored with Katie. He couldn't ‘effin believe it. He didn't want that virtual bitch anymore.  He had to try something else. Something more real. 

"Chad, what are you doing here?" said Jenny, half hiding behind her front door. "It's five in the morning. I got school  

today."

          "Just let me in," said Chad, pushing at the door.

          "Chad come on, no," said Jenny, holding the door firmly. "I have an important test today."

          "Five minutes," said Chad. "Just five minutes and then you can sleep after the test all day."

          Jenny looked behind her as if she was thinking about it, then she let him in.

          Chad followed her down the hallway, staring at her ass shimmering in the pajamas the whole way.  

          He could see lights on in the kitchen but she led him up the dark stairs . When they reached the landing he followed her  down the hall. They entered her room.

          A small purple light, over her desk set an ambient mood.

          Jenny sat down on her bed and then got under the covers. "Make you business known quick young man and be on your way." She smiled playfully at Chad.

          "It's getting warm," said Chad, sliding onto the bed beside her. "You know what I mean?" He reached for the covers and pulled them away from her.  

          "Stop, it's cold," said Jenny, her smile faded and she yanked them back down.

          "Come on," said Chad, and he wrenched them out of her hand. Her eyes widened and her mouth formed a frown. Chad kissed her to wipe that dumb look off her face. And then he grabbed for her breast, and then tore down her pajama top. She scrambled from his grasp and jumped out of the bed.

          "What the hell, Chad?" She quickly covered her bosom. "You tore my pajamas." Tears were in her eyes. She shook her head in distress. "Get out!"

          She put her hands to her face. "And don't come back."

          "Is everything okay in here?" said Jenny's dad, coming to her door. "I thought I heard some commotion."

          Chad quickly shoved past Jenny's dad.  

          "Hey!" he bellowed after him. "Get back here..."

“You’re up early this monring. I didn’t know you were a morning type.” She opened her doors and the red light beckoned Chad inside her metal frame.

              ”Why are you back?” asked Katie’s Quest when Chad slid back in to the padded cushions.  

              “I don’t know...” said Chad. “I guess--“ he thought of his failure with Jenny--“because you’re easy and...she’s not.”

              “I’m the best for men who are fast,” agreed Katie. “Now, sit back and relax.” Her gelantinous form began to grow at first, clear blue and then into her usually silky tan form.  

              But, Chad realized he still was really sick of her. It was like -- he’d already been there. He ignored Katie’s tender caresses and kisses and began to make plans.

On the way home, he stopped at Walmart. He found some dark leather gloves and then picked out a knit black ski mask. He walked back down the aisles and then payed for them and left.

              Once home, he slipped in his front door quietly and tiptoed up the stairs.

              It was three o’clock; he had missed school and now he collapsed into bed and took a nap.

              When he woke, the first thing he noticed was how dark it was getting. He’d better hurry if he were to do it tonight.

              He rattled around in the Walmart bag he had left on his chair and took out the ski mask and gloves. He took off the tags and then walked over to his closet.

              He dressed in all black and made sure as little skin showed as possible. Then he walked to his desktop mirror and starred. He hardly recognized his eyes -- they had a weird glint.  

              Then, slowly he pulled on the gloves and then lifted the ski mask over his head and down over his eyes. In the mirror, he looked perfect.  

On his way out his mom had tried to stop him. But, he yelled back ‘school was fine’ and then ran out the door before she could see him.

              He got in his car and drove to the park.

              He parked on a side street and shoved his gloves and ski mask into his jacket pockets.

              Then he stepped into the night air and started up an asphalt path leading to the park.  

              The air was cooling as the sun was almost completely down and he walked into the underbrush and then he waited. He pulled on the gloves and slipped down the ski mask.  The moon was bright, he would have to be careful. 

              After idle waiting he finally saw his goal.  

              A middle aged woman was running down the park path, presumably on her way back to her car. She panted and puffed. She was probably on her last leg of the run.

              Chad waited untill she passed and then stepped quietly out of the underbrush and fell into a slight jog behind her. She hadn’t heard him and he noticed she was wearing headphones.

              Then when she turned a heavily wooded corner he reached out for her shoulders and dragged her into the underbrush. She screamed but it was partially muffled by his gloved hands.

              But, then when he looked at her, the horror in her eyes was too much. It hurt his heart, and as she struggled and flailed; he let her go, and watched her get up and run as he knelt and shuddered.

On his way home,  Chad threw his clothes into a dumpster behind a gas station and drove quickly.

          He had two things on his mind: violence and Katie's Quest.           

          He stopped by his home and picked up an old little league baseball bat from his garage.  

          When he got to Chazz's Arcade he was surprised to find the front doors open but the doorman wasn't there. No matter, Chad knew how to find her. But, down the first corridor where Katie's Quest usually sat, she wasn't there. He searched frantically down the other halls and then we he didn't think he would, he found his perfect match. There she was, all black and sitting like a queen. He pulled the bat out from behind his back.

          "Hello, Cad."

          "Hello, Kitty." And then he beat the shit out of her. "Can you feel this, Kitty, huh?"  

          "I can feel you Cad." And then she was no more.

****

“How come you never talked to me before?” asked Lyrel, shyly.

           “I don’t know,” offered Chad. “But one thing I do know.” He held Lyrel’s hand and walked her into the movie theater. “For the first time in a long time...I feel free.”