At the Arab Express...

Thor
I'm telling you, bro, she's just fricking weird.

Lanzo
Oh, I hear you. No crazies for me, no thank you.

Ravi
Who's crazy?

Thor bites into a mutabbaq. Lanzo picks away at some fries and ketchup. Ravi sips a Club Spritz.

Thor
Allie. At first she was really nice, great kisser.

Ravi gets some Spritz down the wrong tube, and coughs.

Thor
No tongue, though. I don't wanna sound shallow... but she wouldn't put out, either.

Lanzo
I know exactly what you mean! Women. Present company excluded.

Ravi
Why am I excluded?

Thor
Cause you got a di... different... uh...

Lanzo
You just don't seem the type. There's a difference between... respectfully declining affections, and leading someone on.

Ravi
The type to not... put out? I'm thirteen. You guys are... what?

Thor
Fifteen, held back.

Lanzo
Fourteen.

Ravi
(Is small.) Oh.

Lanzo
I'm sure when you're older you WILL put out. You just don't HAVE to yet.

Ravi
I, uh...

Ravi remembers it's almost Halloween. She decides not to remind them.

Thor
Wait, isn't it almost Halloween? You should totally come to the Dude Ranch!

Ravi
(Point-blank.) To be completely honest, I'm scared of what I'll try to do to you. Knowing you're single is like removing a straitjacket.

Thor
(Laughing, not really understanding.) Sorry, but I don't really like dudes, or dude-ladies. Gay people are like, kinda gross, but as long as they keep it to themselves, it's alright by me.

Ravi
(Blank-faced.) Well that solves that, I guess.

Ravi sips her drink again, while Lanzo seems completely flushed. Like something he'd planned for the rest of his life had just been washed down a drain. Ravi gives him a sly tongue-out face, eyes scrunched. He gives one back, aggressive but still playful.

Thor
Yep, I'm just looking for a girl right now. Someone about yay high, sporty, and a little spicy.

Thor holds his hand up to his shoulders, which doesn't work because he's sitting, so like... yeah, don't think about it. Lanzo tries to save face.

Lanzo
(Sweating.) Y-you know Amira's Arabian, so she can probably... do a belly dance.

Ravi
That's a Roma thing, or Turkish-

Thor
(Making an 'unf' face.) Oh, hell yeah. I can't wait to get one on my lap. A lap... belly dance. That'd be SO hot, bro.

Lanzo
(Faking enthusiasm.) Awww yeah, that's... what it's all about.

Thor
It's nice to be friends with a gay dude and a girl who's actually a guy, so we can talk about this stuff. And none of us want the same people!

Lanzo and Ravi share a knowing glance. It's not even a jealous look – they both seem to share the pain of trying for the homophobic hunk.

Lanzo
Anyway. You guys wanna go in on some candy for the party?

Thor
Oh, absolutely! Candy's vegan, right?

Ravi squints. She sips at rolling ice, quietly as impossible.

Ravi
No, candy is not vegan. Even if it was, it's like... literally carcinopasic.

Thor
It's what?

Ravi
Cane sugar feeds cancer. I already died once, I'm not looking to go again – I don't think I have a second chance at this point.

Thor
Is that, like, a metaphor or something?

Ravi
(Shaking her head slowly.) No. I'll just get some no-sugar dark chocolate or something.

Lanzo
(Squinting.) Are you sure?

Ravi
Yeah, I'll bring a scary movie instead.

Thor
Augh, that reminds me. Allie acts super nice and normal, but secretly... she's into supernormal stuff.

Lanzo
...huh?

Ravi
Do you mean 'paranormal'?

Thor
Yeah! My dad met a guy once, he led a Church of Satan. He was arrested for shoplifting a black candle, but he got let go cause he was such a big deal. Allie had a bunch of different candles in her room, and one of them... was black.

Ravi
...yeah?

Thor
Also, she has a ouija board, and all these fantasy encyclopedias. I think she might be a witch! Right after we broke up, I got this rash on my back...

Thor takes an oily hand and scratches his back, and brings his hand back with bloody, oily nails.

Thor
See this shit, bro? I'm bleeding! It's gotta be a curse.

Lanzo
Or a hex. She could have put a hex on you.

Ravi
(Rolling her eyes.) Yeah, I'm sure she put a hexagon on you. Maybe even a heptagon.

Thor
Whoah, I've heard that name before. Where did you hear it?

Lanzo
What name?

Thor
Hexagon... I think it's the name of a demon.

Lanzo
Buddy, that's a shape.

Thor
(Alert.) Wait, did you say 'heptagon'? Are you saying I caught something?!

Ravi
...what?

Thor
That must be where I got this rash from! That's so gross! Ugh, this is why I hate dating, you never know where someone's been. She's probably had, like, eight hundred boyfriends already.

Lanzo
Thor, a heptagon is just a seven-sided shape. You have nothing to worry about.

Thor
Thanks, man. Is that from a song or something?

Lanzo and Ravi share another glance, agreeing it probably wasn't worth it from the start.

Ravi
(Shaking her head with frustration.) Anyway, we should head back before recess is over.

Back at Brass Knoxton...

Ravi and the dudes sneak back into the schoolyard, unnoticed. Thor and Lanzo walk off, planning the Halloween party this weekend. Ravi sees Allie watching them. She's a somewhat shorter blonde girl, green-eyed, with dark roots and eyebrows. Her face is a little bit hard-edged, but her features are cute, and she's got a boyish lank to her soft body that makes her seem approachable – while her smaller curves make her look downright huggable. But she's also got a wistless uncertainty that makes her look a little unpredictable. At first, Ravi's scared that Allie is going to tell on them. Then, Allie sighs and looks down. The bell rings, and they all go inside. All except Allie, who hides in the brick alcove instead.

Ravi ducks behind a slide to avoid being seen by the supervisor, and watches the reflection on a nearby play-mirror. It's Coach Fadel, and he's caught the boys.

Coach Fadel
Well now, I don't remember seeing either of you this entire lunch recess. I don't suppose you've been sneaking off-grounds, have you?

Lanzo
Who, us? No way. We were...

Thor
We were just behind the building, and in the alcoves.

Coach Fadel
Doing what, exactly? Making out like queers?

Lanzo
No way, not us. We're not gay.

Thor
Yeah, I'm definitely not. I think Lanzo is, though.

Lanzo
(Terse.) Dude, shut up!

Thor stifles a laugh, and Lanzo elbows him. Thor elbows back.

Coach Fadel
Let's go, you know the punishment for leaving school grounds. That's lunch detention for a whole week, AND, you're gonna spend today's game washing whiteboards.

Lanzo
Oh, man... I told Amira I'd go and cheer her on.

Coach Fadel
(Shaking his head.) And now you're letting my daughter down in her finest hour... for shame.