Date: Tue, 01 Dec 2015 04:55:39 +0000
From: Chezdon <chezdon1997@gmail.com>
Subject: Innocence Waning Chapter 5

Chapter 5

After retrieving the plastic bottle of water that was thrown at me, I
sheepishly return inside the flat and close the door. The clicking and
snapping of both of the latches seem ominous as the locks I hear thunder
rumble the south of Melbourne indicating physical storm is
brewing. Spirited conversation is taking place in the living room however
the riotous laughter that was consistent with activity on display mere
minutes ago is now missing. I hear the sound of the crackle of lightning
resonating to Southbank and beyond. I take a moment to briefly ponder what
is in store for me as I return to the face the jury.

Nearly three years ago to the day, I fondly recall another lazy Saturday
afternoon that was filled with angst at this apartment. I had just returned
home with my father after an aborted game of footy because of the
unpredictable Melbourne weather where instead of me proving my masculinity
out on the pitch with my peers and running my arse off in the mud chasing
an oblong shaped ball, we instead had an early lunch at McDonalds and
retired home. My birth mother did not expect her loving husband and only
son to return home so early and that was evident as we found her enjoying a
session of intimacy with work colleague of hers. What eventuated was some
rather foul language that a thirteen year old teenage boy should not have
been privy to by three adults along with the sight of my mother's breasts
as she took refuge from the lounge room whilst her lover scrambled to find
his underpants and clothes for that matter which were strewn across the
kitchen. The lightning struck and the sound reverberates against the glass
just as sharp and poignantly that day as did the slamming of the door not
thirty minutes after my mother left with a bag that my father packed for
her in haste, long after her gentleman friend was vanquished after being
called fifty shades of cunt and other clever language that I had never
heard at school. I never spoke with my mother again after that day despite
her many attempts at reaching out and I am left with the haunting sounds of
the clicking and the snapping of the lock along with the thunder and
lightning after closing the door which brings me out of a state of
reflection. James having departing nearly as fast as my mother's lover, I
stand in our humble foyer wondering what storm is brewing now in the lounge
room.

I return to the gaze of my friends and notice that the adults are nowhere
to be seen. 'Mysterious Skin' is still playing and I simply go to the
kitchen to get another bottle of wine. I need to take the edge off and calm
down and some alcohol seems to be a viable solution. From the kitchen I
hear some murmuring as Bryce had previously turned down the volume of the
television so everyone could kindly share hyperbole and conjecture behind
my back. I retrieve a new glass, this time one of the large Riedel ones
after standing on my tip toes as they were high up on the top shelf. The
last thing I needed to deal with is broken glass since I didn't know what
my father was thinking after I invited a twenty-five year old around that
nobody except for me knew of. In hindsight it probably wasn't the best
decision that I have ever made, however blaming it on the wine and being
somewhat intoxicated will quell the innuendo or at least any concerns for
my sanity. My decision making hopefully will be the only thing that is
called into question. The cork is exhumed from the bottle and the wine is
delicately poured. It is now time to face my executioners.

Walking back into the lounge room, I pay more attention to what scene is
playing out in 'Mysterious Skin' which ironically involves Joseph
Gordon-Levitt acting out his role as a male prostitute. I take a beat
before catching the eyes of Austin and then Jayden followed by Bryce before
sitting down and taking a very long and loud sniff of the wine. Waiting for
the commentary to begin drags out like the movie 'Boyhood'. I think about
asking Bryce to change the movie to something else which has more of a
happy theme since he is still holding the remote control but think better
of it since everyone appears to be distracted by the flick. Even Megan Fox
running around being chased by Transformers would be better than the rape
scene that is being carried out in the movie which acts as the catalyst for
Jayden to begin to speak. "So mate, do you have anything that you want to
tell us?"

Austin is picking his teeth and Bryce suddenly starts to examine the
ceiling. I wonder if he can notice the repairs that were carried out to the
ceiling three years ago after inanimate objects damaged it. Objects were
thrown at my mother's lover and then back at my father by my mother back in
the day. Words being thrown cause emotional damage but lamps and heavy
Kosta Boda glassware do quite a fair share physical damage. I still don't
know how my mother managed to thrust something at the ceiling and miss my
father by so many metres but given her awful throwing skills she at least
managed to miss one of the panes of glass which provide a view out to
Melbourne. Then I thought that she should apply for a job with the England
cricket team as her bowling action would be valued.

I offer some commentary to break the ice. "Look we all do crazy shit when
we have been drinking, I haven't done anything bad. Don't worry about it."
I then start examine the ceiling and can actually make out the areas that
were repaired. I raise the glass of wine back to my nose and inhale as hard
as I can which encourages me to cough from the smell of alcohol before
enjoying the entire contents of my glass in nearly one gulp. I decide, or
perhaps the wine makes me decide that I don't have anything to lose. "What
do you want me to say you pricks? That I am into guys?" A dramatic pause
encourages me to reach for Jayden's glass of wine that he has conveniently
set on the glass table near me. I take it, smell it and then proceed to
drink the contents whilst considering my next words. All eyes are on
me. "Well, I do and if you have a problem with that, well you can get the
fuck out of here."

Bryce raises his glass in my direction. "Hear! Hear! brother! No big deal,
but of course I already knew."

Austin seems the most bemused. "I don't care and being that it is
confession time, I do too. I would rather this not be passed around but now
that the cat is out of the bag, I suppose I shouldn't be bothered."

Jayden starts to laugh a bit nervously. "Mate, why didn't you tell me this
ages ago?"

"Why do you want my cock or something?" I manage a forced laugh before
getting distracted by the contents in the wine glass that I borrowed and
then regret saying it as it was inappropriate.

"No, I just thought we were mates."

"I always figured that if you asked, I would tell you the truth. You never
asked. Who cares anyway?" Now that confession time seemingly is over I
return to the window and look at the rain pouring against the panes of
glass and the bolts of lightning striking in the distance. Two seconds
later the crackling boom vibrates the windows and the core of my being. I
feel relieved that I told my little secret but still wonder how things will
change between my friends and I. I find it convenient to pull the phone out
of my back pocket and notice that I received a message during perhaps the
most stressful confession of my life.

0499456000: Hey Chez. Awkward situation I must say. If you want to still
meet up tomorrow if you aren't grounded haha, I am keen. Maybe just closer
to Brunswick and not the city? X James

Chezdon: Sure. Sorry about that mate. I blame it on the wine haha. Just
text me when and where and I should be goooooood

"Austin, you are too pretty to like guys." Jayden breaks the ice since
Austin hasn't said a word.

"That is supposed to work to my advantage but all of the birds seem to take
more notice mate." Austin reflects without taking his eyes off the
movie. He looks really annoyed and crosses not only his arms but his legs.

I find confidence and meddle in the conversation. "What are you saying my
arse isn't hot enough? My jeans are not skinny enough and my fringe not
long enough?" I do my best to make the conversation less serious.

"Honestly mate, I can imagine you getting it up the arse. Not Austin
though, he just looks like he would break." Jayden looks at Austin and
continues. "So would you hook up with Chezdon?"

"Well no, obviously only because he wouldn't want me anyway, he likes older
guys." With Austin's comment the eyes of the room return in my direction as
they are reminded of my transgression of allowing James to come around and
meet me and this rogue gallery of teenagers in my abode. "What was that all
about with that bloke James mate?"

"I guess I am just horny. I am going to see him tomorrow anyway. I still
blame it on this fine wine and getting some courage. Maybe it is just a
series of inconvenient timing and events being played out. We need more
wine I reckon." I start to look around like a waiter is supposed to be
serving me. Bryce has fortunately sat up quietly during the confessional
and the resulting commentary and takes the hint. He gets up and goes into
the kitchen and starts fussing about in the wine refrigerator. Mel then
appears in the room like a plume of smoke.

"We are off to Costco. Try not to burn down the place whilst we are gone
boys." Mel is looking at me whilst she speaks. Like my father, they have
mastered the art of not being confrontational and skirting around the
obvious. This is most likely why my father ended up with Mel and never
figured out my mother was cheating on him with her colleague until it was
far too late. "Don't worry we will get stuff for dinner." My father appears
suddenly rattling his set of keys with his hand looking uncomfortable and
it is only a matter of seconds before the adults head towards the front
door nearly as fast as they appeared. Relieved, I turn around to see Jayden
shuffling through the pocket of his skinny shorts.

After the front door closes, Jayden produces the small bag of white powder
that was liberated from my father's room and tosses it on to the glass
table. "Bryce and my fag friends, look what we have here!"

Austin is the first to react. He sits up quickly and reaches over to grab
the small bag and begins to inspect it. "Where the hell did you get this?"

Bryce is shaking his head and has a beaming smile on his face. "This is
turning out to be the most bizarre but interesting. You see Austin, young
Jayden here lifted it from Chez's father's room earlier when Chezdon was
searching through a drawer attempting to find a stash of cash so he can buy
his new phone."

"Mate, I think this is the sort of things that destroys families and
friendships. I am not trying to be the fun police, because I have wanted to
try coke for a while, but I don't think Daniel is going to be too happy to
find his stash and cash missing. This will end in tears. Trust me." Austin
looks concerned and after directing his comments and words of wisdom at
Jayden makes his opinion well and truly known to all of us. This is a brief
period of silence.

"You worry too much pretty boy. I have a good plan and no families will get
ruined today. Let's do this." Jayden looks like a man possessed and is
hell-bent in taking these illicit drugs. "Look, let's do this and I will
solve the problem. Trust me."

"Have you even ever done coke mate?" Bryce asks in an inquisitive
manner. "There is no need to lie either after Chez and Austin made their
personal proclamations, nobody is going to judge you."

"No I haven't." Jayden happily admits.

"Well I haven't either." Bryce then looks curiously at Austin.

"Nope, but I am game I guess. I want to see what it does provided Daniel
isn't going to go ballistic and kill Chezdon or Mel when he finds out his
stash is missing." Austin looks at me.

"I haven't had the pleasure either. Not even sure if it will be a
pleasure." I laugh. "Yeah, Jayden has an interesting plan. He told us
earlier and I am confident that it will work."

"That is the spirit. Bryce another round of wine my good man." Jayden opens
the bag and empties all of the powder on the glass table in front of him
and then proceeds to push it all together into a mound using his ATM
card. A picture of Hilary Clinton is on the front of newspaper glaring at
us with a very scornful face. Bryce walks around the table and fills up our
glasses with wine and we anxiously crowd next to Jayden on the lounge as he
acts out what we have all seen collectively at least one hundred times in
various movies. Praise Hollywood. Jayden begins to separate the mound of
cocaine into four smaller ones and then like a magician uses his plastic
card to turn each of the mounts into a line that are relatively equal,
about four centimetres in length. We watch Jayden act like we know what he
is doing and exchange amused and excited looks between one another whilst
Jayden navigates the silence of human beings and hushed breathing only to
have some commentary being provided by Joseph Gordon-Levitt and a bloke on
the television. I reach for the remote control whilst Jayden continues to
design four equal lines and change the media content from the disturbing
movie and instead opt for music to add to the mood. I select Muse 'The
Resistance' which seems to be appreciated by all of my friends judging by
the silent nodding of their heads in the affirmative.

"Done." Jayden happily proclaims. "Does anyone have any cash?"

"I do." Austin is the first one to volunteer that he has some Australian
legal tender on him and reaches into his pocket and produces a ten dollar
note. He hands then hands it to Jayden. We all know what it is for. Jayden
rolls the bank note into what could be confused with a colourful
straw. "Thanks Daniel. Here is to you mate!" Jayden picks up his glass,
raises it in my direction as if toasting me is the same as thanking my
father directly for supplying the illicit drugs without his knowledge. The
next sound I hear mimics a nasal decongestant being snorted up Jayden's
nose. If the pollen count was higher today, this snorting sound would have
been expected but the sound you make vacuuming powder off of a glass table
through your nostril doesn't sounds very attractive. Jayden has no problem
using the blue ten dollar note as the loading mechanism and ingesting his
line in one motion. It is a sight that looks rather ludicrous and one that
I will never forget in my lifetime. I wonder if the person who has their
picture plastered on the ten dollar note would disapprove like I know
Hillary Clinton would.

Jayden then hands the rolled up note to Austin and then shifts his body
weight directly into me indicating that I should move over too. I
comply. Austin moves into Jayden's position. "So what is your awesome plan
to deal with replenishing these party favours, Jayden?" He then leans over
and after three long deep snorts are heard as I gaze out the window to see
lighting striking on the horizon. A few seconds later, Austin has cleaned
up every possible speck of powder from the glass table with his nose, the
sound of the thunder consumes me.

"Simple." Jayden has a smile on his face again. "We simply replace the
contents of the bag with flour or something like that and I put it back
where I found it. What is Daniel going to do? Write a letter of complaint
to the drug dealer?"

Austin coughs whilst rubbing his nose and manages a hearty chuckle. "It all
sounds so simple but it seems like that will work." Austin coughs again and
wipes his nose. He looks at the side of his finger and seems satisfied when
he finds only a small amount of mucous glistening on the side of his index
finger.

"Give me that note and move over!" I demand. The stress of the last thirty
minutes is telling as I never thought I would be so enthusiastic to do
drugs. The boys all shuffle to the left, and Austin hands me the rolled up
ten dollar note. I finish the glass of wine and then bend over and greedily
snort up my line in one fluid motion like I am an experienced coke
fiend. "Goddamn I say! Goddamn!" Why Uma Thurman's character from 'Pulp
Fiction' suddenly comes to mind makes me laugh out loud.

"Are you sure that you have never done this before mate?" Bryce quizzes me
with a look of intrigue on his round face. "You look like you are in your
element. Move over bitches!"

"Seriously I haven't. Just a stressful day shopping, meeting new people and
coming out. You know it is enough to make any normal teenager be driven to
drugs and booze." I hand our custom made straw to Bryce as he takes the
helm in front of the last line after Jayden and Austin shuffle
over. Another cycle of human vacuum sounds are made and soon the only
evidence of drugs occupying pride and place on the glass table is the
quantity that is left in the plastic bag. "What are we going to do with the
rest of this fine product?" I put a finger over one nostril and sniff hard
taking the snot back into my throat and gulp.

Jayden licks the side of his ATM card and unrolls the ten dollar note and
inspects it as he speaks. "Well first I thought we would do the rest, but
it is better to be safe than sorry, so um, Chezdon get up mate. Follow me."

I get out of Jayden's way and I notice him put the ten dollar note in his
pocket as he gets to his feet and walks to the kitchen. Austin seems to
have forgot it belongs to him in all of the excitement. I follow him
transiting after he grabs the small plastic bag off the table. "Do you have
any flour?"

"I am not sure." I start opening the cabinets looking to see if I can find
any of the white powder that belongs in a cake instead of a bag of
coke. Both Austin and Bryce by this time have followed us into the kitchen
and are watching us. Finally I locate a one kilogram bag of flour in the
back of a cabinet and think that Mel must have bought twenty of these
things in bulk from Costco at some point. I remove it knocking some bottles
of paprika and cayenne pepper on to the floor in the process. I hand the
bag of flour to Jayden who then sources a small spoon from the drawer of
utensils as I clean up the mess that I made on the floor. Before I have
time to clean up the spilled spices, Jayden has cut the bag of flour open
and scooped a small portion of the baking product out and put it in the
small plastic bag and has sealed it at the top.

"That should be enough." Jayden starts to shake the contents of the bag and
then feeling satisfied exclaims, "Problem solved!" Jayden hands me the
sealed bag of hybrid drugs and I retire to my father's room with the
intention of putting it back where we originally discovered it. I decide to
return the cash that I took earlier from my pocket as it would be obvious
if I told him I 'borrowed' some money there would be a good chance that he
would assume that I saw his plastic bag.

I return to the living room hoping to retrieve the bottle of wine only to
find it along with all of the empty bottles missing. My friends have
cleaned up our mess and lined up the bottles on the kitchen bench. Someone
has taken the liberty to retrieve some large bottles of San Pellegrino
sparking water from the refrigerator as I notice two of them on the counter
next to the empty bottles of wine and Austin guzzling the contents of yet a
third.

"I need to piss." After Austin vanquishes his bottle of water of every last
drop, he toddles off around the corner.

"So what is it like to suck a cock?" Jayden asks me whilst he swirls the
contents of his wine glass.

"I wouldn't know. For some strange reason I thought I was going to score a
good blowie today bringing James back here, not really thinking that wasn't
going to happen obviously with you blokes, my old man and Mel in the
unit. I really don't know what I was thinking. I blame the wine." I
laugh. "Maybe he would have blown all of us if the oldies weren't
around. He does look like he would be into such a thing."

"I think if you and Austin hooked up it would be hot. I would watch!"
Jayden takes a drink and rolls his eyes. "I could make a fortune filming a
porn of you two and selling it on Xtube."

"I heard that arsehole!" Austin appears.

"Jesus man, is your bladder as small as your cock? You were only gone for a
few seconds." Jayden looks astonished.

"Naw man it is my mutant ability. Why waste time dragging out the art of
pissing?" Austin leaves the room to presumably look for his glass of
wine. I hear him trying to sing the lyrics of the Muse song that is
playing; a song that sober people can't even interpret unless they look the
words up online.

I take out my phone and check for new messages.

Dad: Going to get steak. Austin and Bryce aren't vegans are they?

0499456000: Meet me at the Grace Darling in Collingwood at 4:00 PM
tomorrow. I am sure that they will serve a teenager.

The conversation in the kitchen starts to become rowdy. Bryce has let down
some of his barriers and begins a deep and meaningful conversation about
the existence of man and why the Earth and humankind would be better off if
a great plague wiped out 90% of the population, starting in Africa for good
measure. I take a moment to respond to my father and confirm that we are
all keen to eat steak and whatever they want to buy will be greatly
appreciated. I then take a few seconds to consider how to respond to James
and simply say that I will see him at the proposed time, if I am not
grounded of course.

I return to the edge of the living room with a new sense of
excitement. Bryce has another bottle of wine in his hand and given that I
am feeling the effects of alcohol I figure that Bryce and Jayden are
experiencing the same. I try to remain logical and realise that Austin
arrived after our little party not long after we decided to start drinking
earlier in the day, so his intoxication should be close to all of ours. I
return to the kitchen and get a bottle of San Pellegrino from the
refrigerator and polish it off in a series of continuous gulps before
heading to the toilet myself.

Conversation remains lively and a myriad of topics are discussed after I
return. Topics include the act of terrorism that took place in Sydney,
ISIS, the current government and gay marriage. When the conversation
becomes too lively, Bryce successfully guide it to the more banal and we
cover off who is hot and who is not, the size of Kim Kardashian's breasts
and Austin shares his opinion that Kayne West is a homosexual. Bryce
proclaims that he wants to fuck Naomi Watts. Jayden emphatically states
that he is going to dump his girlfriend since the only thing she will let
him do is touch her "little tit" which we all giggle at. I find this
fascinating since Jayden bragged in the past about having sex with her. We
collectively stop laughing when we hear the front door close. A flat-bed
trolley appears with boxes of food, beverages, toilet paper and cleaning
products which is pushed into the kitchen by my father.

"You kids seem to be having fun." My father looks at me suspiciously. Mel
is following him.

"Nobody else is coming over, don't worry." I reassure my father who looks
annoyed that he hasn't had the pleasure of gambling and drinking all
day. "Jayden is going to break-up with his girlfriend because she has small
tits it seems."

Mel scoffs. "Don't be so shallow."

We all start laughing. The adults move on into the recesses of the kitchen
and start putting their bounty away and then later interrupt our petty
ramblings by moving past us and going onto the balcony with a large plate
of uncooked meat. We all follow like dogs after being asked how we like our
steak prepared.

My father turns the knob on the gas bottle, ignites the BBQ and quickly
closes the lid. "How much have you boys had to drink?"

"Not enough." Bryce claims. "In fact, I wouldn't mind a little more." He
wanders back inside after saying he likes his meat prepared medium rare.

"It is all good Daniel. I had a late start compared to these blokes."
Austin then curiously skips back inside the flat after he says he will have
his steak prepared in the same way Bryce will have his.

"Same here." Jayden then goes inside and like a wine-sensing missile, finds
Bryce opening another bottle of wine.

I am left alone with my father on the balcony feeling drunk.

"Who is that James character and how did you meet him?" He then opens the
BBQ after inspecting the thermostat, being satisfied with the heat.

"He seemed cool and I just started talking to him when I was shopping
earlier." I say innocently.

"Well you should probably get to know someone for more than an hour before
inviting them around. Since your friends were here, I am not too bothered
just so you know. I just don't want to end up robbed or taken advantage
of." Steaks are tossed on to the barbeque grill. I wonder if prawns have
ever touched the grill and ponder what has for a few seconds. The
conversation is not as awkward as I thought it would be and at first. I am
also relieved that nobody wanted their steak prepared well-done only as it
probably saved Bryce from embarrassing himself with his opinion that the
Africans should be removed from the Earth via a burning meteorite. Knowing
that I would have to endure a question and answer question for more than a
mere five minutes on the balcony would be like trial by fire, so I feel
very relieved.

"I understand. It will not happen again." I turn around to go inside.

"Do you want my unsolicited advice?" My father simply asks, which causes me
to stop and turn around before I set a foot inside. "Not like I offer it
much, but consider it a lesson learned."

"Sure."

"If you are going to keep drinking tonight, have a glass of water in
between each glass of wine. You will not only be the last one standing but
you will not feel like hell tomorrow."

I realise that I can't feel like death the next day since I am planning on
going on a date, and then take a few minutes to ponder the topic, and say,
"A very good idea Dad!" I then return to the living room just in time to
see the music being changed to 5 Seconds of Summer.

"Hey Chezdon, it is your favourite band!" Bryce shouts over the
music. "Which one of them would you have your way with if you could make a
wish right now?"

I don't know where Mel is, but I choose not to answer the question
directly. I simply just laugh and then fumble around in my back pocket
looking for my phone. A new message is waiting to be read and I use that as
an excuse to ignore that question. James expresses his hope that I do not
end up grounded as he is really looking forward to seeing me, which makes
me smile.

"You do have posters of that band up in your room, mate. Surely it isn't
just for the music since you are a fan of Muse." Bryce questions me. "Just
tell us. It is okay, we will not judge you."

"Um, I think we need more wine." I walk into the kitchen and find Mel
putting the elements of what seems to be a salad in a bowl. I rummage
around in the cabinet and find another bottle of Marsh Estate and return to
the living room without making eye contact with Mel.

"So...." Bryce insists and pushes his glass and the corkscrew in my
direction. "Admit it goddamnit!" Bryce pushes his wine glass further
towards me as I stand contemplating the message that James sent me.

"I would have the drummer." I finally admit in a voice not loud enough to
carry. If it does I really doubt Mel will know what we are talking about or
care as long as Bryce doesn't get too rambunctious and then just decides to
listen in for her own amusement.

"What Ashton Irwin?" Austin interjects with a renewed sense of life and
pushes his glass towards me. "Man, what I would do to him if I had one
night. No wait, just one minute. It would be bliss."

Jayden starts to laugh.

"Yeah I knew it. Still, I don't mind their music." Bryce reflects whilst I
pour him a glass of red wine. "Just don't tell anyone."

"He looks so perfect standing there in, umm, his black skinny jeans."
Austin attempts to sing along but fails miserably. My father returns with
the cooked flesh from the barbeque.

"Children, can we eat at the table and be somewhat civilised?" The steaks
are placed on a plate, and in turn it is put on the long marble dining
table that inhabits what could be dead space in the apartment between the
kitchen, the living room and the panes of glass.

The children that are scattered around in the immediate area all get up
with their respective glasses. Bryce guzzles the contents of his quickly
and walks to the dining room table freeing the way for the rest of us who
find it more convenient to follow him. Mel meets us there with a large bowl
of healthy looking produce and then returns to the kitchen for plates and
silverware.

"I didn't really expect for this to turn into the Jimi Hendrix experience
tonight guys." My father looks at us and judging by the blank look on our
faces realises we have no clue who Jimi Hendrix is. Bryce starts
laughing. "Just try to keep it under control. I don't want to end up in the
shit from your parents. I would prefer if everyone stayed here tonight
especially if you are going to drink more." Bryce laughs some more.

"It is only 5:30 PM, let's get on it!" Jayden insists after looking at his
watch as Mel puts a plate in front of him. "Don't worry Daniel, we are good
for the long haul. If my mother asks, my wayward friend Mark and I drank a
box of wine in the park that he stole from his parents. No worries."

"That is reassuring. I would hope that you can keep it under control so you
don't have to have the conversation with anyone." My father reaches for the
bottle of wine after Mel places a glass in front of him. Bryce continues to
snicker.

I walk over to the refrigerator and retrieve another bottle of San
Pellegrino and drink the contents of the 750m bottle in thirty seconds
flat. I put the empty bottle down next to the growing graveyard of empty
wine bottles only to see my father watching me. He gives me an approving
wink.

As Mel takes a seat at the table she looks around and deftly comments on
the silence being enjoyed between the played and queued track of the 5
Seconds of Summer debut album. Coinciding with the break in conversation,
she says, "So, school starts up again on Monday. I am sure everyone is
excited."

"That is an understatement. I can hardly wait. Not." Bryce is the first to
respond.

"Hopefully you can say the school holidays have been filled with new
experiences." Mel starts to put some produce on her plate. "After all, life
is about doing new things."

The teenagers at the table simultaneously look at Jayden who is playing
with his food. He looks up at me and makes a sound that resembles a boar
inhaling its feed.

"Nothing too interesting I must say." I take an interest in cutting a
portion of my steak into four strips, taking care to make them all the same
size resembling the process that I witnessed earlier in the day. "Nothing
too out of the ordinary."

"Well Austin did admit he wants to have a long and hard night with the
drummer from 5 Seconds of Summer." Bryce gleefully adds.

"Revelations and experiences are different." Jayden slurs before putting a
morsel of steak in his mouth. "I am not too hungry. Is it OK if I save this
for later?"

Mel being the most accommodating hostess in all of Melbourne is quickly on
her feet and taking Jayden's plate from the table and walks to the
kitchen. I see her get out the roll of plastic wrap.

Jayden takes a sip of wine. "Chezdon never said which one of 5SOS he would
do. I don't think."

My father looks mortified. "Probably not the best kind of talk to have at
the dinner table Jayden."

"Whoops. Sorry." Jayden then starts smelling the wine again and closes his
eyes.

"This is damned good food. Thanks Daniel. Thanks Mel." Bryce finally
stopped giggling and focuses on eating.

"Yeah, I am not too hungry either Mel." After eating my four strips of
steak slowly I admit. "It must have been the big old burrito that I had for
lunch."

"I bet you wish you had a big old burrito for lunch. Um. Sorry, don't mean
to be crass. I apologise." Austin back pedals and then then returns to
eating. He seems to be the only one with an appetite.

Jayden gets up from the table and returns to the living room and starts to
scroll through the available music. "Time to change this." Jayden looks at
Austin. "Oh Ashton, Oh Ashton, come drum for me personally Ashton Irwin."

"Oh give it a rest mate." Austin wipes his mouth and gets up. "I really
appreciate the food Daniel and Mel. Many thanks for the hospitality." He
picks up his dish, only to be intercepted by Mel who takes it from him and
returns it to the kitchen.

~~~

I open my eyes and wonder why I feel like I am burning up. It takes a
minute of deep breathing to be able to focus my eyes and reconcile where I
am at. I see the television is on and I finally realise that I am in my
room. The public broadcaster ABC is screening 'Rage' on the television
which happens every Friday and Saturday night and continues on into the
early hours of the following day, so it provides a perspective on time. The
show is a continuous and commercial-free exhibition of music videos and I
am stirred to consciousness by Katy Perry singing 'Roar' which causes me to
look for my watch which I discover is still on my wrist. It is 3:00
AM. Feeling as hot as if I was standing at the gates of hell, and sleeping
on wet sweaty sheets, my bladder is at capacity and I feel very
dehydrated. I then notice there is a body next to me and see Austin
sleeping on my bed snoring with just his boxer briefs on. His body is being
illuminated from the light emanating from the television and looks really
beautiful. I do not spend much time looking at his bulge as vacating my
bladder is my highest priority. I nearly fall onto my floor after rolling
out of bed only to find Bryce sleeping on the floor on top of a fair amount
of my dirty clothes which have been collecting for the last week since the
maid last cleaned. Bryce has wine stained lips which have taken on a morbid
hue thanks to the light coming into the room from the buildings outside
since nobody could be bothered to close the blinds. Bryce is also snoring
and somehow managed to wad up a collection of my dirty underwear, socks and
a few shirts and converted the dirty clothes into a makeshift pillow. There
isn't enough time to be stop and be amused as I stumble over Bryce taking a
second to notice the waning moon in the distance over the Melbourne skyline
and then make my way to the toilet. Before I reach my bathroom I see Jayden
asleep on the tiles naked. There is vomit mostly in the toilet bowl however
some of the mess lays happily next to him on the floor. He too is
snoring. As I liberate my penis from my boxer briefs, the only clothes that
I have on my body, the feeling of relief is pure and utter bliss as I
vacate my bladder and take my time shaking off the last remaining drops of
urine from my dangling manhood before tucking it away behind the security
of the cotton fabric. Stepping around Jayden, I take notice of his exposed
phallus and neatly trimmed public hair when the lingering noisome odour
from his vomit finally overcomes me. I lunge back to the large porcelain
telephone and the contents of my stomach speak into it; up and out over and
over until there is nothing left to purge. Rather than collapse next to
Jayden and share the cold floor with him, I stagger to my feet and wash my
mouth out first with water directly from the tap and then Listerine
straight from the bottle before grabbing some toilet paper and wiping the
tears off my face and blow my nose for good measure. I leave Jayden and his
limp dick behind, hell bent to stumble to the kitchen to retrieve a much
needed bottle of water.

The journey to the other side of the apartment resembles running a
marathon. Thoughts start cycling through my head trying to process what
happened last night. The lack of memory from the time onward when Austin
thanked my parents for his meal has escaped me. Upon entering the kitchen,
I find twelve empty bottles of wine and numerous empty San Pellegrino
bottles. Barely able to process math, I decide that conservatively my peers
and I consumed at least nine of these bottles, which would explain my
feeling of death. Upon a retrieving another cold bottle of San Pellegrino,
I find solace putting the cold glass against my forehead and then move it
to the base of my neck before enjoying the taste of the sparking
water. Never has my body been so happy with me putting anything in it and I
feel a sense of joy after I put the open bottle down on the countertop,
which conveniently also props up my body so I don't topple over.

I return to my bedroom with the half consumed glass water bottle and
carefully get back in bed and lay next to Austin. I gently rub my hand over
his shimmering warm chest and manage to prop myself and muster the courage
to lick his right nipple. I look at him and listen momentarily to his
rhythmic snoring and then listen to his rapid heartbeat all the time
wondering if his eyes will open and he will decide that he wants to have me
there and then. My hand continues to feel his chest and then his navel
whilst I keep focus on his face before my hand finds the bulge being hidden
behind his cotton black boxer briefs. Emboldened, my hand then quickly
disappears down his Bonds underwear first to find pubic hair and then his
resting penis. My hand continues downward and feels his ball sack. I start
to feel dizzy and retreat from my sordid adventure and quickly stumble back
to the toilet only to have my mouth desperately want to make another urgent
call into the large porcelain phone where the contents of my stomach are
liberated once again. Being spent, exhausted and dizzy, I fall backwards
only to find comfort on the cold tiles next to Jayden. I am jealous of him
having found such a magical resting place as the frigid floor cools me as I
quickly drift off into a deep sleep.


*****

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