Lennon's Jinx by Chris Myers

let Jinx
know you’re going to show her how to dress in the morn? I bet she doesn’t get
out of bed until late afternoon.”
    Thanks
to the kitten ordeal I almost forgot, so I text Jinx now. I don’t get a
response, not that I’m expecting one.

 
CHAPTER
EIGHT
JINX
     
    After my audition, I pick up a
latte, head home, and shower. I scrub with a scouring brush until my skin is
raw and in some places bleeding. Oh God, He touched me. I feel the panic pressing
on my chest. If I have an attack in here, that will be far worse. I could pass
out, hit my head on the tile, and kill myself, then Step-monster would have to
rescue me. That sends spiky chills up my spine.
    Feeling
dizzy from lack of oxygen, I sit down in the shower and hug my knees to my
chest. If only I could take back the night I screwed up, I’d still be with
Zach.
    The
clown horn on my phone honks at me. It also buzzes until it slides off the
counter and lands on the hard tile instead of the rug. Shit. I get out and wrap
a towel around me. Its warmth and thickness feels good against my butchered
skin.
    I
pick up the phone. Several hairline cracks splinter across its face. Dammit. I
can’t afford a new one.
    The
cracks fragment the text from Lennon so that I can barely read it. He wants to
take me shopping, so I can buy a dress for the Winthrop wedding. At what time? And
I don’t have any money.
    Damn
him. What’s wrong with using my clothes? And why did it have to be his band?
    I
cinch my robe on tight, run to my bedroom where I close and lock the door, and immediately
call Rena.
    “How
dare he tell me how to dress,” I say after telling her about my audition and
the job.
    She
giggles. “The Winthrop daughter is getting married. The wedding has to be perfect
for Daddy Winthrop, even if it won’t last.”
    “It’s
not funny,” I say.
    Katie
Winthrop has seen her share of backseats. She was a senior when we were
sophomores. Every guy in school chased after her, except Zach and Lennon. “Why
do you always take Lennon’s side?”
    “You
joined his band. Put up or shut up.”
    I
let out an exasperated breath. No sense talking to Rena about Lennon when all
she sees are stars.
    “You
can go back to your job at the mall,” Rena teases.
    “I
so love folding women’s underwear.” Lounging on my bed, I scan my room. The
dresser drawers are open, and the clothes normally piled at the bottom of my closet
are scattered on the floor.
    “Dammit,”
I say, getting up to check my stash. I pull out the Takamine and feel inside
the sound hole. Phew. My weed is still taped inside. Getting stoned is
sometimes the only way I can make it through the day.
    “What’s
wrong?” Rena asks.
    “Step-monster
went through my things again. I don’t need Mom ragging on me, too.”
    “He
didn’t find anything, did he?”
    “No.
I’m safe for the moment.”
    “Why
is he out to get you?”
    “Probably
because he goes out of town when Mom’s not here and he wants something to hold
over my head.” Amongst other things.
    God,
I need a distraction from Step-monster and Lennon’s fashion control
freakishness. “Let’s go clubbing tonight.” Mom’s out of town and the less I see
of Step-monster, the better. Two birds, one stone.
    “I
don’t know. I have a ton of homework.”
    “Come
on, Rena,” I say. “We don’t have school tomorrow. You have the whole weekend
plus Thursday and Friday to do it. Iz and Gabby will want to go, too.”
    Rena
hesitates. “Don’t you have a kajillion songs to learn before this weekend?”
    “I
won’t have even a fraction of them memorized whether I take one night off or
not.”
    “If
you want to play with the big boys…”
    “Puh-leeze,”
I beg. “We’ll have fun. We could take the train into Chicago, so we won’t have
to drive. I have to get away from Step-monster.” That seals the deal every time.
    “Okay,
but you can’t get as hammered as you did the last time. I can’t carry two
people home.”
    Iz
is normally the