Mason by Thomas Pendleton

and party.
    â€œWhat’s up?” she asked. “You all look like we’re going to a funeral.”
    The comment brought a crooked grin to Ricky’s face and Tara barked three short, high-pitched giggles. Lump just looked at his shoes.
    Hunter took Lara’s arm lightly and turned her awayfrom the others. He led her out from under the willow tree to a patch of grass near the river’s edge. Behind him the carnival lights looked blurry, like chalk dots smeared by careless fingers.
    â€œYou’re going to do something for me,” Hunter said.
    â€œDon’t I do everything for you?” Lara said with a giggle to make the question sound dirty.
    â€œYeah, whatever,” Hunter replied. “It’s about that friend of yours. Rene.”
    â€œGod, don’t even talk about her,” Lara said, her system thrumming now with the bump of crystal. “She’s such a bitch.”
    â€œShe is,” Hunter said. “We need to teach her a lesson, right?”
    Lara tried to process her boyfriend’s words, but they got tangled in the Wild Turkey and meth. She didn’t understand. “You’re not going to hurt her, are you?”
    â€œDo you care?”
    â€œNo,” Lara said. She laughed too loudly, feeling a strange mix of excitement and fear. Even though she was wasted and trying to impress her boyfriend, Lara wasn’t sure. Part of her remembered what a good friend Rene was.
    Yeah, she used to be cool. Now she’s all like a parent or a cop or something .
    â€œLook, we just want to punk her for disrespecting us,” Hunter explained.
    â€œOh totally,” Lara said. “We could egg her house or leave dog crap on the stoop.”
    â€œYeah, right. Like that. Only I had something a little more creative in mind. Are you in?”
    â€œTotally!”
    â€œCool. Here’s what you’re going to do.”

11
Focal Point
    Rene and Cassie walked over the red carpet. The scents of popcorn and nacho cheese sauce filled the air. The movie, a typical teen comedy, was over, and now the audience wandered toward the glass doors, passing the people waiting in line for the next show. Both girls pulled cell phones from their shoulder bags and turned them on. Rene noticed she had missed a call. Cassie looked at her display screen and apparently saw no message alerts, because she said, “Figures,” and tossed the phone back into her bag.
    â€œEric didn’t call?” Rene asked, already knowing the answer.
    â€œNo- ooo ,” Cassie said, adding an extra syllable to express her frustration.
    â€œHe will. He’s just playing that stupid boy game. He probably has a three-day rule.”
    â€œWho teaches them this crap?” Cassie wanted to know.
    Rene pointed over her shoulder with a thumb. “We just sat through ninety minutes of it.”
    Outside in the warm night air, people stood on the sidewalk, many of them chatting. Cassie looked annoyed, her pretty face scrunched up with thought. She twirled a lock of hair around a finger.
    â€œSo what do we do now?” Cassie asked. “It’s only, like, nine o’clock.”
    â€œYou drove,” Rene reminded her. “Where do you want to go?”
    They tried to think of someplace new, but the conversation always came back to Frank’s.
    â€œJust don’t let me order fries,” Cassie said as she opened the car door. “I cannot deal with carbs this week.”
    Â 
    The restaurant was busier than it had been that afternoon when Rene and Mason stopped in for ice cream. People were shoved into booths or standing in crowds around the counter, but the girls still managed to get a table. Cassie immediately brightened up. Rene watched her friend continually search the room with darting glances.
    She was totally scanning for Eric. It made Rene alittle jealous. She hadn’t had a boy to look for since Carter Dane.
    The school year is just starting , she told