Chapter 9: Busted
Remember, Ginger Rogers did everything Fred Astaire did, but backwards and in high heels. ~Faith Whittlesey
If you looked up lame in Wikipedia, it would have a full description of DAI’s Back to School Dance. However, it was Thrace’s senior year, and I could not convince him that we should ditch and head to the rave that night instead. The one good thing about the dance was that it was a Sadie Hawkins Dance. It was a tradition for the girl to come up with an elaborate way to ask her date. As of Wednesday night, I was still clueless about a creative way to ask Thrace. As I was venting to my dad about the problem, he came up with a devious plan and helped arrange it. I believed Thrace’s lack of fear of my dad was no longer gonna be an issue.
One of dad’s cop buddies busted Thrace for me after karate class. (And they say fireman and cops can never be buddies!) He cuffed him, read him his rights, and turned on his flashing lights—which was a nice touch. I got to play the confused girlfriend for the audience’s benefit, which was most of our karate class. Luckily, we got permission from his parents for this gag. I think his dad actually wanted us to film it for him. Officer Dan told him he was under arrest for drunk driving. They caught it on tape, and they only recently got the tape back from the crime lab with the license plate number. He took Thrace to the old 8th Precinct Police Station, which was abandoned but still had its cells. It looked like a cross between a gothic mansion and a church. Officer Dan also took the really, really long way to the station to make Thrace sweat a little more. He put Thrace in one of the cells and interrogated him for a few minutes on the ‘incident.’ I think Thrace finally got it was a joke when Officer Dan started to interrogate him on the 21 steps. What website it came from? What search terms did he use to find the 21 steps? He didn’t videotape it, but thank heavens I was spying because I have never laughed so hard in my life. Finally, Officer Dan said he had one phone call and suggested he call me. The transcript of the phone call is listed below:
Me: Hello?
Thrace: What the FLOCK did you do, Calli?
Me: I would rethink the yelling at your one phone call person, Thrace.
Thrace: I thought you forgave me for the whole pool party thing.
Me: I did. This has nothing to do with the pool party.
Thrace: Is it payback for the 21 Steps Thing?
Me: Wrong again.
Thrace: (yelling again) What, Calli, What!!?
Me: Thrace Oeagrus will you go to the Back to School Dance with me? And, keep in mind, only one answer will get you out of that cell.
Thrace: (loud sigh) Whose idea was it to have me arrested, Calli?
Me: It was my dad’s. He’s still pissed I won’t tell him what you did that warranted 100 Forgive Me Balloons.
My dad and I now walked into the room with the holding cell. Thrace saw us and just shook his head.
Me: Dad, Officer Dan, can you give me a few minutes alone with the prisoner?
Dad: Don’t cave honey. Stick to your guns.
Dad and Officer Dan headed outside. I walked up to the bars. I pulled a white rose from behind my back and gave it to Thrace through the bars. He looked at it puzzled as he took it in his cuffed hands.
Me: I still haven’t heard your answer. If you insist, we could stay here all night long.
Thrace: (annoyed) Fine….Fine….but we are going in Justin’s limo after this fiasco.
Me: Deal. You are going to look back on this and laugh. It will be classic.
Thrace: You notice I did not fold under interrogation. The 21 Steps are still a mystery.
Me: (laughing) Nice that you kept your mouth shut because my dad was right outside the door.
Thrace: (gulping) Calli, can we go before he convinces you to let me rot in here.
Me: The key to the cuffs is in the rose petals and the cell door doesn’t lock.
End of Transcript
Thrace unlocked his cuffs, opened the door, picked me up, threw me over his shoulder, and hauled me out of ‘the precinct.’ Thrace’s car that I had driven there, dad’s car, and Officer Dan’s car were all sitting out back where we left them. Dad and Officer Dan laughed as they saw Thrace carrying me out the door. He smacked my butt, then set me down in front of the passenger door of the Mustang. Thrace stalked back to the driver’s side of the car looked at Dad and Officer Dan and said, “I take it I’m free to go, Officer?”
Dad and Officer Dan both laughed. Officer Dan said, “If you ever drink and drive, son, today is going be paradise in comparison to what you would face. You may take the Greek Princess home as long as you abide all traffic laws.”
Thrace looked relieved and said, “Done. Lethe, are we even now?”
Dad stared at Thrace in a thoughtful manner, “As always Thrace that depends on you. Don’t f*** up again.”
Thrace solemnly nodded, “Yes, sir.” He got in the car and was very careful not to peel out. Thrace finally asked, “I take it my parents knew?”
“Yeah, they are big believers in the punishment fitting the crime, especially since they are ungrounding you for the dance.”
We discussed the details of the very lame dance for the rest of the ride home. The one redeeming feature of the dance was that it was at The Gem Theatre. The Gem was built in 1903 by the Century Club, a group of remarkable women that wanted to make Detroit a better place by bringing more art and culture here. We still needed a little help in that area, since it was almost torn down for a baseball stadium. I was astounded they managed to move the whole building five blocks so they could build Comerica Park. (It is in the World Records Books for heaviest building to be moved on wheels.) I started to mock his friends for renting a Hummer limo for the dance even if it is at The Gem. Who does that? The answer occurred to me very quickly--A group of kids that wanted to pre-party, party, and after party with a guaranteed DD. Oh well, relationships were always about compromise--jail time vs. limo time.
When dad got home, he asked me a very unusual question. Officer Dan said the police department was getting a rash of parental complaints that their teenagers were staying out all night then coming home all beaten up with memory loss. Of course, the police didn’t really believe memory loss excuse. They believed they had a Fight Club in Detroit and wanted it stopped. In addition, there was a rash of missing teens in Detroit, and the Mayor wanted to put a task force together to address the issue. I told my dad that I hadn’t heard of a Fight Club, but I would ask around. I called Thrace that night and asked if he heard anything. He didn’t find my question odd or let me explain the details. He just went off on a boy tangent on the movie Fight Club and how cool it would be to have one in Detroit. Sometimes boys really were from another planet. I then called Rafe and asked him the same question. He immediately wanted to know the story behind the question. He was definitely interested in the topic but didn’t mention why.
I spent most of Friday doing two things. First, I had to explain my arresting Thrace as a dance invitation about 100 times to various classmates. I was now a legend at our school that inspired both fear and awe in most people but Siena.
As I walked by her at lunch I heard her snide remark, “Guess she has to arrest someone to actually get a date.”
I merely looked down at her with one eyebrow raised and my fists clenched. She shut up. If I was capable of having someone arrested that I love, what could I do to someone that I hated? My Ice Queen persona just grew and grew.
My second project on Friday other than schoolwork was doing research on my school’s facilities and finances. This was where the crappy school dance came in handy. I found out how much it costs to rent an incredible venue at least four times a year versus restoring our own Grande Ballroom. Now, all I needed to do was finish my historical research and create the PowerPoint for my meetings next week. Rafe and I were finalizing the presentation with Sadie’s help on Saturday. I think I was more excited about the Seymore Saves the World concert tonight than the dance.
Thrace picked me up for
the concert at nine. I was wearing my “I’m with Stupid” gift shirt, but it would be the first and last time I wore it. The concert was kinda in a deserted area of town, but I tended to enjoy getting off the beaten path whereas Thrace just got jumpy. The concert was definitely fantabulous and was worth the pool party fiasco. However, some very odd things happened that were non-concert related. Odd Thing Number 1: Saw a petite and pixie like girl lift up and throw some drunk dude that was hitting on her into a storage room door several feet away. Weird, right? Odd Thing Number 2: This incredibly hottie looking dude was talking to this very nervous girl when she dropped her beer and in flash he caught it before it dropped 6 inches. Odd Thing Number 3: We had just pulled out of the parking lot and were going at least 25 mph when some running guy passed us. Seymore Saves the World must have an extraordinary following. I noticed odd things like that when I went to raves too, but everything is sorta distorted at raves.
Saturday before the dance Rafe and I worked hard to finish up the PowerPoint for all the groups we were presenting to next week. Delian came in while we were working, and I froze like a deer caught in headlights. Rafe told him what we were working on while I tried to remain calm.
Delian then turned his attention to me and commented, “Well, with Calli presenting I am sure it will be very persuasive.”
My eyes got big with his allusion to my nonexistent charm. I answered to his feet because I could not be caught in his mesmerizing gaze in front of Rafe, “It’s called research, not persuasion.”
Delian laughed as I saved our work and pulled my flash drive out of the computer. By the time he was done laughing, I was up and heading out the door as I explained, “Look at the time. I gotta run. See you tonight, Rafe. Always a pleasure Delian.” I still had no idea about my reaction to Delian, but today there was no time to dwell because I had to head home to get ready for the dance.
The pre-party was at Justin’s house. His parents were rather lax on their supervision skills. As I parked in Justin’s drive, Thrace gave me a box with a wrist corsage in it--unbelievably dorky, yet sweet. As I pulled out the rose, I saw underneath it was a piece of paper that said Step 3: Kissing on the Forehead. I laughed, leered at him, said “Nicccccceee” and kissed him on the forehead. As we entered the party hand-in-hand, several of my classmates were already drunk. Jazz and Key were already there with the basketball boys. Unfortunately soon after we arrived, Justin headed our way with a beer for Thrace and a “wazzzzup” for me.
Thrace looked at me and begged, “Please?”
When I shook my head, Thrace drank defiantly as he announced, “I bypassed probation and went straight to jail, so I think you owe me at least one drink.”
I commented, “I suppose even my dad would allow you one drink for that stunt.”
Mention of my dad immediately slowed Thrace’s progress down on the beer, and I didn’t see him drink the rest of the pre-party. However, the majority of my classmates actually sped up their drinking because they could only bring their flasks not their beer into the limo. Tiffany actually threw up before we even left. Justin, her date, warned her that she better not puke in the limo. My amusement for the night was going to be watching Rafe fend off Siena. Right now, she just had him in verbal handcuffs, and he was looking for a rescue. However, the more she drank the more he would have to fend off her other advances.
The dance was everything I had expected it to be. Beautiful setting. Lame music. Awkward dancing. Several couples broke up. Several new couples hooked up, and plenty of girl’s bathroom drama. Jazz, Key, and I sat back and watched it all while the guys disappeared at intervals to get more refreshments. We laughed at Rafe’s attempts to fend off Siena’s attack. Rafe had managed to escape Siena for a couple minutes and was talking to me when I looked up at one of the balcony areas on the opposite side wall and saw Delian and another dark-haired hottie. I couldn’t make out his features, but it was clear that he was gorgeous.
My breath caught and I stuttered, “What is Delian doing here?”
Rafe seemed as shocked as I was. He then did something surprising. He stepped in front of me blocking my view of Delian and vice versa. Then, he walked toward me making me step back until we were in the shadows.
He finally commented, “I promised I would keep Delian away from you. I’m always a man that keeps his promises. You definitely don’t want Delian and Thrace in the same room.”
I nodded and agreed, “True dat. Do you know who the other guy is with him?”
Rafe looked worried for a second before he gave me a devilish smile and commented, “He is a fraternity brother of Delian’s. They are probably scoping this place out for their fall event. Three guys willing to display their feathers for you are not enough. You need to enchant another one.”
I snarked, “When have you ever worried about the competition, Rafe Hermes?”
He sighed dramatically, “With you, every minute of every day.”
Rafe glanced back over his shoulder and the coast must have been clear.
As we walked back toward the dance floor, we saw Thrace and Siena dancing. I guess since Rafe escaped she decided to pay me back. Siena had her arms wrapped around Thrace like an octopus. I looked at Rafe and said, “Come on. Let’s go rescue my boyfriend.”
Rafe shook his head as I pulled him out on the dance floor. “Hey, why should I save him?”
I instantly replied, “Because you said yes to her invitation and Thrace didn’t.”
Rafe whined, “I have only had a 10 minute break so far this whole evening.”
We slowly danced to them, and I attempted to kick Rafe into submission, but he was too quick for me. He finally sighed and tapped Thrace on the shoulder and asked, “Can I cut in?”
Thrace looked like he wanted to give Rafe a hug but instead he slurred, “Yes. I’ve been neglecting Calli all night.”
Siena slurred at Rafe, “Too bored without me, lover?”
Rafe’s expression was comical, but I didn’t hear his reply over the music. Thrace took me into his arms, and we swayed slowly to the music. He leaned down to kiss me on the forehead, but I caught a very strong whiff of whiskey and leaned back as I said, “Contract written in blood, huh?”
He backed off but looked a little wounded. I just laid my head on his chest for the rest of the dance. On the way back to Justin’s house, one guy passed out in the limo and had to be carried out, and Tiffany puked again. We used the guy’s jacket that passed out to clean up the limo. As usual, I was DD for Thrace and several other classmates. I dropped Thrace off and headed home feeling like we were right back to where I didn’t want to be.
Hermes Field Log: August 2007
I feel like I am living in the middle of a house of cards. One wrong move and it all falls down. Disrupt Calli and Thrace without hurting her. Guard her without being drawn to her. Try to figure out why she is important to Apollo without being obvious. Protect her from Apollo without offending him. I no longer believe Apollo’s interest in Calli is platonic. He seems to have a similar effect on her as she has on me. Apollo almost ruined everything tonight by going to the dance to observe my progress. He somehow drew Ares's attention, and Ares's attention always comes with a price. Apollo assured me that Ares did not see either Calli or I. He just wanted to talk business and had one of his many minions track Apollo down. Ares is getting suspicious, and he is malicious enough to try to steal any female that draws Apollo’s attention. Ares's human “girlfriends” have very short life expectancies. Apollo hopes that the media attention about the deaths, disappearances, and injuries of the young adults will distract Ares's attention from us. The media does not know how close their Fight Club theory is to the truth. There is no way to know how Ares will deal with this issue or who will pay the price. I will just have to always keep in mind the words of Charles Lamb—“Cards are war, in disguise of a sport.”