You Laugh Cause I'm Different, I Laugh Cause You're All The Same
Chapter 2
By: Mollye
Randy hung towards the back of the line as the door swung open. Manda and her friends giggled incessantly as the members of the band popped their faces up to see who they were going to spend the evening with. The anorexic guitarist walked up to them first.
“Hey guys, so you girls hungry?” He smiled at them and Randy stayed passive as the girls took turns giving him a hug. No thanks, Randy didn’t really want to look like a stalker. She wasn’t going to hug someone that she didn’t know. She gathered that his name was Billy. Funny, she liked calling him ‘anorexic guitarist’ better.
Billy motioned for them to come in and it was funny how he didn’t seem to notice Randy. That wasn’t really that much of a problem. That’s how most people looked at her. They glanced at her and forgot that she existed. Randy’s favorite quote about being fat happened to be, “You asked me for my name and before I got it out of my mouth you had already forgotten.” She was used to it by now. In fact, she really couldn’t take it when people noticed her. It wasn’t something she dealt with all that well. She ended up being more cynical and rude in those situations.
Once inside, she shoved her hands into her pockets and stood as far away from them as she could. Manda and her friends went around and talked to the other band mates and Randy gathered that the bassist’s name was Paul and the drummer’s name was Chris. She quietly made observations about them and decided that they could possibly be good guys.
Randy suddenly felt like she was being stared at. She glanced over to find the lead singer staring at her. As well as the other guitarist, she realized that the two of them were twins. Oh Goody. She nodded her head and leaned back against the door.
The lead singer looked over at Manda and asked, “Did she come with you?” His voice was filled with skepticism. Randy smiled to herself and wondered how her little sister would introduce her.
Manda’s blue eyes darted over to Randy and filled with annoyance, “You’ll have to excuse my older sister. She’s only here as a chaperone. She doesn’t even like you guys, so you can ignore her.”
‘Thanks Manda’, Randy thought as she laughed quietly. She looked down at her shoes and waited for them to get done deciding where to go to eat. Once again she felt as if someone was staring at her. She looked up to see that guitarist still staring at her smugly. Randy had gotten that look before, it was a look of a true smart ass. She figured that this jack ass would have a few choice words for her. And all she could seem to think is, ‘Bring It’.
The guitarist finally stated, “Ah, now we can’t ignore anyone. And I must know, why do you not like us? I’m really intrigued.” Yeah, definitely going to be interesting talking to him. They were going to knock heads. And Randy prided herself in having a hard head.
“You’ll have to excuse Benji, he’s a bit of a smart ass.” The lead singer stated.
“So I gathered.”
Randy hadn’t stopped staring at Benji who smiled smugly at her when she said that.
“Why don’t you come over and join the party, I’m sorry I didn’t catch your name.” The lead singer offered.
Randy slowly made her way over to him, deciding to ignore Benji for the moment, “That’s because I didn’t throw it, I’m Randy.”
“Cool. I’m Joel.”
“So you didn’t answer my question,” Benji said as he sat down next to Joel, “what is it about us that you don’t like?”
Randy blinked at him. She knew what he was doing, he was trying to call her out, make her look like a jackass. She smiled, well, he wanted to truth. Hopefully he could handle what she had to say.
“Well,” she began as she pushed her black hair out of her face, “First off, I cannot stand the phenomenon that you guys have started. It’s like you are the fucking Backstreet Boys with a new face. I don’t agree with the fact that you’ve spawned so many little girls to dress like this,” she motioned to Manda who was now talking animatedly to Paul and Billy. Chris was in the middle of talking with the other clones. “These girls have some want to be with you and that’s just sick because they are fourteen and you guys are like…well, older by a lot. I do not think that you guys have any heart in your music. Sure, there are a few token songs that I think that you should be commended for, but other than that, your lyrical content sucks and you lack the talent to put raw emotion into your song. You connect with fans on a superficial level and cannot put them into the song. To me, you’ve worked yourself into a corner and in three years, I predict that people will say, ‘Good Who?’” Randy finished and folded her hands in her lap.
Joel and Benji blinked at her like she had just sprouted another eye. Benji’s smile had disappeared from his face and now he looked as if he had just swallowed a worm. Joel’s mouth was slightly slack-jawed, but recovered more quickly than his brother.
“Which songs did you think were commendable?” The way he said it caused Randy to look at him more closely. There was a desperation in his eyes. She almost felt bad for him.
“I thought that ‘Emotionless’ was your best one. Very heartfelt and made people want to cry. Good job on that one. I also liked, ‘Say Anything.’ It was filled with a desperation that many people can connect with. ‘Bloody Valentine’ was genius. I commend you guys on reading Poe. Lastly, I liked ‘Story of my Old Man’. That was a very bitter diatribe that most couldn’t sing about. It was nice to catch a glimpse into your life.” Randy finished feeling somewhat like a music critic.
Joel’s face softened and he looked like he was somewhat comforted. Benji on the other hand looked like he was going to shit bricks. Guess he didn’t like it when he was put in his place. Nor did he accept criticism well. He had asked for it. She shrugged her shoulders at him and leaned back on the couch.
Joel smiled, “Well, I can say that I am glad to hear an honest opinion. There are so many people out there that will lie to our faces and tell us that our shit don’t stink that I can no longer tell who is who. Thanks for the honesty.”
Benji just shook his head and got up. Randy called out to him, “Nothing to say Benji?”
“Not to you. You guys hungry?” He directed the question to Manda and her clones.
“Yeah! But we don’t know where to go.” Manda said, looking a bit like a lost puppy.
Benji smiled evilly and turned back to Randy, “Well, you seem to have knowledge of good food. Have any ideas?”
Randy laughed, “Ooooh, that was below the belt, try to keep the gloves up.” She knew his game and decided to play along. Benji wouldn’t win.
“I know a good place that has live entertainment. It’s called ‘Johnny Rockets’. Good burgers and service. You guys wanna try that place?”
Joel nodded, “Yeah, why not?”
“Sounds like a plan to me,” Chris stated as he walked to the door, “Let’s get a move on!” He was hungry and didn’t want to listen to the girls around him gibber incessantly.
“Lead the way Randy,” Joel said as he motioned to the door.
“Yeah, lead the way, we’ll follow in your wake.” Benji said, still trying to get a rise out of this smart ass girl in front of him.
Randy tossed a look back to him which oozed feigned sweetness. “Alright, I will. Cause lord knows that you certainly cannot lead anyone.” She winked and left Benji staring at her ample figure.
Benji gritted his teeth. This wasn’t going to be an easy night. This was possibly one of the first people that he couldn’t get a rise out of. He knew that tonight was going to be interesting.
They walked out to the back doors and found that a black escalade waited for them. They piled into the car (which was a tight fit because there were nine of them), Randy opted to sit in the front. She didn’t really feel like being in close quarters with Benji. She had known him less than a day and already knew that she didn’t like him. He was a jackass, a prick a… he was too much like her.
Randy gave good directions to the driver and was mostly silent. She listened to Manda and her friends talking wildly to the band and decided that tonight was her sister’s night. She wouldn’t interrupt her good time by sparring with Benji (every once in a while, she did feel a certain need to be nice to her sister).
They arrived at Johnny Rockets about twenty minutes later. The place was relatively empty. Randy got out of the car and hoped that her friend Robert would be there. She frequented this place often and was friends with most of the people that worked there. She left the group behind and walked inside.
The interior of the restaurant was a sterile white with checkered red and black tiles covering the floor. Booths and tables sporadically filled the area up to the fifties-esque bar. Oldies poured out of the jukebox and each table had their own jukebox and for a quarter, one could pick the song they wanted to listen to.
A spry black man, about the same age as Randy walked over with a rag thrown over his shoulder. He wore a white collared shirt and a pair of faded blue jeans that were rolled at the feet, revealing his biker boots. He had a pack of cigarettes rolled in his inner sleeve and this made Randy laugh. He looked like he had jumped out of the fifties.
By now, the rest of the group had filed in (Manda and her friends hadn’t stopped talking yet). Randy didn’t turn to them, but instead went to Robert with open arms. “Robbie! Where have you been all my life??”
Robbie smiled, revealing beautiful white teeth and took her hand. The contrast of her pale white skin and his dark skin had always been a comfort to Randy. Robbie kissed her hand and replied, “I’ve been here, slaving away until the day that I have enough money to buy you a ring!” He winked at her and Randy laughed at his cheesiness.
“Promises, promises.” She then turned back to the group. Paul, Chris and Billy, who hadn’t actually met her yet, stared at her strangely. She nodded to them and offered, “By the way, I’m Randy.” They waved and then she turned back to Robbie.
“The usual, garcon.” She couldn’t help but here Benji snicker at this comment.
Robbie bowed out and led them to a long table in the non-smoking section in front of the bar. They all seated and he brought them the menus. Randy popped a few quarters into their jukebox and punched buttons for ‘Twist’ by Chubby Checker, ‘Johnny B. Goode by Chuck Berry, and ‘Sherry’ by the Four Seasons. Once again, she felt like she was being watched. This time though, it was a new set of eyes looking at her. Chris smiled warmly at her and asked, “What songs did you just pick?”
Randy told him and Chris nodded in approval. “Couldn’t have picked any better myself.”
“Good to know.” Randy replied. She winked at him and then Robbie came back to get their order. Once ordering was done, Randy felt eyes on her again. She thought maybe Chris wanted to continue talking.
She thought wrong. Benji, who had conveniently taken the seat directly across from her, gave her that infamous shit-eating grin. Randy rolled her eyes and tried to ignore him. Benji would have none of that.
“So, what did you order? A whole cow?” He traced the top of his drink with his forefinger. Randy wanted to break it off.
Before Randy could reply, Manda groped for Benji’s arm. She was obviously a little too hyper. She smiled insanely at him and said playfully, “Did you know you’re my favorite?”
Benji smiled generically and replied, “No, you’re my favorite.”
Manda giggled and Randy gagged. Benji and Manda turned to Randy.
“Something bothering you, Randa??” Manda asked venomously.
“Yeah, is there?” Benji asked with a air of sarcasm. Manda was thrilled to see that Benji was backing her up on this one.
Randy rolled her eyes, “Three words for you: Jailbait and Cradle Robber.”
Manda blushed immensely and it pleased Randy to see Benji flushing red too. She laughed at both of them as she sipped on her drink. That was a priceless moment. She would remember that one. She was snuffing Benji so hard that she wanted to dance around the room. She always won verbal battles. Always.
Joel was eyeing her from down the table and all she did was shrug her shoulders. Then, ‘Twist’ came on the jukebox. Randy smiled, the show was about to begin. She focused on Robbie and the other six servers that were gathering around the bar.
The bartender called out, “You guys know what time it is?” This gathered all the attention to the bar area. The servers were already starting to stomp their feet and clap their hands.
Robbie replied boisterously, “It’s time to get down!” With that, he and three other servers jumped up on the bar and began to twist around with the best intentions. The other servers kept clapping their hands and stomping their feet.
“Come on you guys clap!” Robbie yelled towards Randy. Randy smiled at him and started clapping her hands and laughing. Robbie hopped down from the bar and approached the table. He clapped around the table and made an idiot of himself until all the band (and even Manda and her clones) were in stitches. By the end of the song, their food was ready.
Randy spent the meal in relative silence, noticing that Benji was steering clear of talking to her at all. Better for her anyway. She spent the rest of the meal, wondering why he had so much animosity towards her. What had she done? Well, besides basically telling him that his music was crap…nothing. But Joel had taken the criticism well, why hadn’t he? Whatever his problem was was his own, she wouldn’t take responsibility for his pompous nature.
Shortly thereafter, everyone finished eating and Randy left Robbie a huge tip. While everyone filed out to the car, she gave him a hug and parted ways. She strolled out to the car and found that Chris had taken shotgun. He smiled at her and shrugged his shoulders. Randy understood, after an evening with Manda, who wouldn’t want to not sit by her?
Randy opened the door and came face to face with Benji. He glanced at her once and did his best to scoot far away from her. Randy rolled her eyes and sat down next to him. He really needed to get over his rock star attitude. She had had her fill of his shit.
Three minutes into the ride, Benji quietly said, “Nice Shirt. I trust that you don’t like vegetables?” Was he seriously trying to start this up again?
Randy looked down at her shirt that covered her fleshy body and replied, “I like them as much as I like you.” She batted her eyes at him and realized that he was too close for comfort. She turned her head and scooted a couple of inches away from him.
“Do I make you uncomfortable Randy?” He asked, emphasizing her name. He inched closer to her and Randy was now annoyed.
She tossed her head back over to him, making sure her long black hair hit him squarely in the face, “No, it’s just that your breath is foul and I don’t want to breath it in anymore.”
There was silence in the car, all accept the snickering of Joel. Benji glared at Randy and turned away. The rest of the ride was silent…well all except for Manda. Randy really wanted to throw herself out of the car. She wanted this night to be over.
Finally she got her wish. They pulled back up to the Lone Star Arena and Randy was the first one out of the car. She stuffed her hands into her pockets and kicked at the gravel as the rest of them filed out. The wind was sultry that night and made her want to take a walk. She was annoyed when Manda and her clones wanted to take pictures now. She rolled her eyes as every band member got their picture taken and all autographs were given. When she saw Benji smirking happily in one of the posed pictures, that was it.
She took a step forward and stated, “Manda, I’m at the car. Nice meeting all of you,” she said to all of them and when her eyes fell on Benji, she corrected herself, “Well, almost all of you. You, I would like to forget.” She gave a quick wave to the rest of them and disappeared off to her beloved Bronco.
While sitting in the car, waiting, she sighed a sigh of relief. Now it was time to go back to the land of reality. She couldn’t wait to get home and get back to her life. This night had made her appreciate her regular schedule.
Too bad that it would all change soon.