Smile Society
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The smile society was a club for girls who were really popular with guys. They had the power to get whatever they wanted, and when they did it would be their idea the first time around. The more people that joined the club the greater their influence in school.
They didn’t have to join because it was something fun but also so they could keep an eye on everyone else’s social circle: make sure nobody new got in. There would always be some new kid coming in from the country or someone who moved up from another area.
When that happened there’d usually be one of two reactions; the kids either tried to befriend them and get rid of any bad influences (they were often too friendly and easy-going for a Smile Society member), or they just shunned them until they left town again (as far as you knew).
I’d been part of this clique back home in Texas when I lived there during my teens. It was a great place to learn how to lie, cheat and manipulate people into getting what you want.
I’d come across the name in old letters between a few ex-friends. One of them told me about their little secret. At first, I wasn’t sure if I should trust them, but then I thought about how much they meant to me and decided it might be best to let someone know so at least there wouldn’t be another victim next time.
After all, we were only young teenagers once and most of us never made it out alive. I wrote the letter off to the unnecessities of high school life and sent it along with a copy of my police report to the detective in charge of the case.
We hadn’t found a single clue yet and now they were trying to find him without anything substantial. The police weren’t going to do anything without a solid lead and the whole thing was starting to look like a complete waste of time.
“Why don’t you come with us, honey?” A girl asked me while she rubbed her hand across my crotch through my jeans. “It’ll be so much more fun.”
She looked familiar but I couldn’t quite place where I’d seen her before. She wore dark red lipstick, which added to the unbelievability of her appearance since everyone knew it didn’t belong to anyone living in our small town.
“You can leave anytime,” one of the others said. She’d been leaning against a wall and talking nonstop to whoever cared to listen. “We won’t even care.”
I felt hands running over my body. I glanced behind me and saw that a bunch of them were watching and grinning at me. This was not something I was used to and my stomach tightened at the humiliation of it all.
If I was honest, I hated attention, especially from girls like these, but my pride wouldn’t allow me to show it. As long as I could remember, I’d always tried to stay away from trouble as much as possible.
I didn’t want anyone looking down on me, especially for being a loser. I’d already lost a lot of friends and family when I was younger, including my brother, so now I kept myself under lock and key. No way in hell was I going to end up dead because I had a temper on me.
Besides, there was no way I was going to be beaten by those bitches. I’d seen enough movies to know how things played out in real life. And besides, if I ran, it’d probably ruin my chance of finding whoever did this to me.
It was almost like he wanted to see who would stand up for themselves. I knew I needed answers; it was my duty as an American citizen to try and solve this case. But then my mind started to spin, and my stomach began to knot up. What if I couldn’t figure out who did this?
A few girls came close to me and grabbed my arms. Their hands were cold and hard. “You’ve got to stop fighting it.”
My heart pounded in my chest as I tried to resist.
“Come on, man,” one of them shouted, “it’s just us.”
I heard laughter, and the smell of smoke filled my nostrils. My head started spinning and my vision blurred. I was dizzy as a wave of nausea washed over me. Something snapped inside me, and I pushed everyone back at once. Screaming with rage, I turned around and threw something toward a couple of the girls closest to me. A moment later, I felt a sharp pain in my back, then everything went black.
***
I woke up in bed with my face wet with tears. I sat up and noticed I was alone in my apartment. All the lights were still on and the TV was flickering through the channels with loud static.
I looked down at my hands and noticed that both my wrists were bandaged. A strong odor reached my nose from my armpits. My fingers were numb as well. There must have been some kind of sedative involved since it took me so long to wake up.
I’d never experienced anything like it. Whatever happened last night was so terrifying. I didn’t feel like I’d gone to sleep, but it seemed like my memory was wiped clean. I’d barely remembered the nightmare.
After taking several deep breaths, I jumped from the couch and went outside. The sky was clear, and I could tell that the sun was setting fast. Most people would call it a beautiful day, but right now it didn’t seem like such a great idea.
The air was cold as ice and sent goosebumps all over my skin. I shivered as I headed south toward a park where I’d often gone walking during lunch breaks or after work. It wasn’t far from my apartment and the scenery was gorgeous, even though most of it had changed since I was a kid.
The only thing left was a small patch of green grass and a couple of trees standing tall in the middle. They were old and worn-out but still stood firm among the new development nearby. After passing through the park and onto a residential street, I noticed an odd car parked at the corner of my street.
It was a shiny silver Mercedes convertible with two girls sitting inside. As soon as they caught sight of me, both of them waved. One of them opened the door and called out to me.
“Hey! You’re awake!”
One of the girls stepped out of the driver’s seat and rushed toward me. She’d put her hair up into a ponytail and wore a tight blue dress with a white collar and a necklace shaped like a pendant attached to a chain. Her legs were bare, and she had on a pair of high heels that made her look taller than she actually was.
“It’s you, isn’t it?” I said.
She smiled and nodded. “Yeah, it is. I’m your cousin’s roommate.”
I rubbed my eyes and shook my head. “Your what now?”
As soon as we were closer, I recognized the other girl. She was the same height and had long curly hair. “Are you Nikki?”
Nikki gave me another quick hug, and we laughed together as we hugged each other. I noticed that she smelled like cinnamon and vanilla; it was intoxicating. I’d never smelled anything quite like it before.
“You’ve come a long way since yesterday,” Nikki said, pointing down at my clothes.
The shirt I was wearing had bloodstains on it, so I’d taken off most of the jacket. Now I was just wearing a simple sweater and a pair of jeans, and my shoes had been tossed aside when I got home last night. My feet were filthy, and the soles were dirty and cracked from walking on asphalt streets for too many years.
“Did you find out who did this?” I asked.
“No,” she said, shaking her head. “We don’t know yet.”
“What happened to me last night?” I demanded.
She took a seat on the concrete wall next to me and looked at me with pity in her eyes. “Last night … You went to the club and got into a fight.”
I looked around me. The neighborhood was full of kids playing basketball and riding bikes and scooters along the sidewalk. The sounds of their shouts and screams filled the air as they played on the playground equipment.
We were close enough to hear the sound of their laughter and shouts if we stopped talking. The sun was getting low behind the buildings, and I knew that soon the street lamps would start turning on one by one until the whole block was lit. It was almost dusk, and the sky was starting to turn orange and red.
“How about you?” Nikki asked, looking over at me. “Where do you usually go when you’re having a bad day?”
I shrugged and pointed at my bandaged wrists. “That’s not mine. It’s something else.”
Nikki’s eyes widened and her hand flew to her mouth. “What are you saying? Did someone attack you?”
She pulled me close and held my shoulders while I started to cry again. “They wanted me to kill myself … And then they did it anyway.”
***
After Nikki had gotten rid of the crying mess that was me, we climbed into the Mercedes and headed north. Nikki told me we were going to her apartment where we could get ready for our trip. I hadn’t seen Nikki for more than ten years, but somehow the two of us had ended up roommates in college.
We’d grown apart after graduating from the same university, but we had a lot of mutual friends.
“When do we leave?” I asked as soon as we walked in the front door.
My first thought was to change my clothes, but I saw that the bedroom and bathroom were both empty, and Nikki’s suitcase was open on the bed. A large mirror hung against the wall, and Nikki took the opportunity to fix her hair while we waited for her to answer.
The room was big and airy with plenty of sunlight streaming in through the windows. There were posters from movies and bands I hadn’t heard of hanging on the walls. They all seemed old, and probably belonged to Nikki when she was younger. It was an eclectic collection, and it made me wonder who else besides Nikki had spent time in that apartment.
“Tonight,” Nikki said finally, pulling a brush out of the bag that held everything I needed.
“Can’t you drive?”
Nikki shook her head. “Nope. I can’t drive at night, and even if I could, it wouldn’t be safe with a girl alone like this.”
I didn’t feel much safer being around two women instead of one, but there wasn’t much point in asking for a guy who was willing to give me a ride. I felt better having Nikki there anyway; she had been raised by a cop family, and she always knew things about a crime that no one else knew.
While she brushed her hair, I grabbed my duffel and unpacked the clothing I’d need for our journey: a pair of jeans, four shirts, underwear, a hoodie, socks and a couple pairs of shoes. Then I pulled out the knife that I wore hidden under the bottom of my shirt.
It had belonged to my father, and he’d given it to me when I was fourteen years old. He’d said, “You’ll never have to rely on anyone else when you carry this.” At the time, I didn’t understand what that meant, and now I wished he’d explained it to me properly.
Nikki turned away from the mirror, her expression sad as she looked at me in silence. Finally, she said, “It isn’t your fault.”
“Why did they want me to hurt myself?” I asked quietly.
“Because you were supposed to be a monster,” Nikki said, shaking her head. “And maybe because of something else, but they didn’t say anything when they found you unconscious in a gutter somewhere.”
“But why would they think I’m a monster?” I whispered.
“Because there is nothing else left for you. Not in life or death. But we’re going to stop them before they find another way to make themselves right.” She paused, and I saw tears in her eyes. “We’re leaving tonight, so I’ve got time to pack some of your stuff. Do you know if your dad has any guns? Unloaded ones would probably be best.”
“Yeah,” I answered quickly, nodding. “He kept a shotgun in the closet, but I don’t think it’s still there. Why do we need weapons?”
Nikki sighed. “Don’t worry. This isn’t a trip for the faint-hearted. And you’re not the only person we’ll be picking up along the way. If we leave right now, we should have plenty of time to reach Seattle and pick up our friend before morning.”
The End