Marcus had gone all out for this particular extravagant soiree because for him, it was a special occasion. He had thrown everyone off his scent by spreading the rumor that the party was in Julie’s honor. A rumor she had no idea was going around because he had sworn everyone to secrecy, and most of the people coming didn’t even know her anyway.
Read from the start to get a better experience, Joker Joker Deuce Halloween Series Part I – A Monster Awakens…
But for Marcus, he had an announcement to make, and he was busting at the seams. That was the reason for the DJ, who was referred to him by several credible members of the student body. He didn’t just hire a guy who could download songs from the internet and play them on his laptop through a sound system. That wouldn’t do. He wanted a DJ who could mix it up and do some original work on the fly to get the party hopping.
That was also the reason for the huge spread on tables that lined the walls. There were wings and pizzas for the troglodytes, while on a table across the room was a delicious assortment of mini caprese skewers and charcuterie, as well as stuffed mushrooms and bruschetta for those attendees who had learned how to stop dragging their knuckles. On two different corners of the room were bartenders! Who thinks of bartenders for a party where drunk students normally just pour their own shots and chase them down with a beer bong?
As he looked around the hall, he was very pleased with all the work he had put into it. He even looked at the building itself, a huge loft he was able to talk himself into because he had charm like that. If there was going to be the party to end all parties, this was the perfect place where he even went all out by hiring a party designer for those details no one else would have ever thought about. He left no stone unturned, and he couldn’t wait to make his great announcement.
But he needed his special guest to show up, and he had no idea when that was going to happen. It was probably pure coincidence, or he could have manifested it through the power of positive thought, but it was at that very moment that his sight went dark. He felt her soft hands and could hear her giggle. So, he waited patiently for those two pathetic words that always come with the joke.
“Guess who?”
Feigning surprise, “Julie!”
When he turned around, she was a sight to behold. Her smile was infectious, and her lame jokes made her even cuter to him, “It’s about time, girl. What are you wearing?”
“I told you,” Tori said with attitude.
“Hi, honey,” he leaned in, and Tori gave him a nice one-armed hug.
“What’s wrong with what I’m wearing?” Julie protested.
“Oh, nothing,” Marcus said softly as they embraced each other. “You are precious just the way you are. And now that you’re here, the party can get started.”
In his dimly lit dungeon, where Jeph normally surfed the internet and chatted with anonymous names around the world, he sat staring at a stupid bobblehead who had talked him into writing her in the first place. Its ridiculous grin, like Jack Nicholson taunting him, was wreaking havoc on his nerves as it sat there with self-righteous judgment on its sarcastic face. Jeph had urges he couldn’t even explain at the moment.
“So, you couldn’t seal the deal with the young lady, huh?” the hunk of plastic provoked.
“It was the message you helped me right, Mr. Jackwagon,” Jeph fired back.
“Good one, Mr. Rogers,” the toy laughed with its big head bobbing in different directions.
“Shut up,” he yelled.
“Well now,” the big head continued. “Can’t take rejection? With a pathetic life like yours, you’re going to have to learn how!”
Jeph’s red eyes snapped up, staring in cold blood. His eyebrows were set, and his face lost all expression. It was eerie how his mind suddenly lost all thought. It was as if he were empty and nothing registered at the moment.
“Hey now, big boy,” the chuckling idiot wannabe comedian started to plead. “Got to learn how to take a joke. I mean, we’re buddies, right? I’ve known you since you were a kid. Remember how we met? That was a good day, wasn’t it?”
His face still expressionless, tears started to roll down his cheeks. Fire started burning in his eyes. Then, his lip trembled as his hand slowly rose and wrapped itself around the mouthy hunk of junk that had just pushed the wrong button.
“Now, come on, pal,” it begged. “Let’s talk about this. Don’t do anything rash. We have history! Don’t throw it all away…”
That was the wrong thing to say. The sheer thought of it gave Jeph great release as he slung the pathetic coward across the room, where its mouth finally learned how to stop running. Shattered into a hundred pieces, the bobblehead bobbled no more.
That’s when Jeph looked at the monitors in front of him. They were going to do exactly what he told them or suffer the same fate. And just as he expected, they over-delivered on everything he asked. What they had just witnessed, they really had no choice if they were going to survive.
“Can I get everyone’s attention?” Marcus spoke into the DJ’s microphone. “Everyone’s attention, please!”
Marcus looked around the room, and some people were still dancing even though the volume on the music had been cut way low. People were eating right off the plates at the tables, and there was a loud buzz in the room that annoyed Tori to no end, even though Marcus was smiling through it all.
“SHUT THE HELL UP,” Tori yelled. The room went deathly quiet as everyone turned their attention to her. “Thank you,” she said as she looked toward Marcus.
Julie was laughing as Marcus nodded, “Thank you. My dear friend Tori, everyone. Give her a hand.”
The room exploded with laughter and applause. But as they noticed Marcus still standing there with a microphone in his hand, the room eventually quieted down again. The whispers to get everyone on the same page finally came to an end as Marcus waited patiently.
“I do have an announcement that I have been dying to tell everyone,” Marcus started. “A few months ago, I flew to L.A., where I auditioned for a part in a new show that will start filming over the summer, coincidentally after I graduate.”
“No,” Julie said as she raised her hands to her smile.
Marcus looked at her, “Yes. Guess what, bitches?”
A low roar in the room started.
“I’ll be sunning it up in Cali as soon as I have that paper,” Marcus announced.
The party went crazy. Tears started in Julie’s eyes as she clapped and shook her head in amazement. Marcus dropped the microphone and walked away from the DJ.
“Could have handed it to me. That was an option,” the DJ murmured.
As Marcus was greeted with hugs, he finally made his way to Tori and Julie. They embraced in an unbreakable triangle and held on for dear life as tears kept pouring like they had no plans of stopping. It didn’t linger. It was a warm embrace that was welcome to stay as long as it wanted.
And that was the moment that Chad felt would be right for him to interrupt, “Wow! Marcus, that’s awesome.”
Tori and Marcus looked at him as Julie hid her face, “He isn’t there. Tell me, he isn’t there. Please?”
“I wish I could, baby doll,” Marcus said as if the wind had just been taken out of his sails.
“Why?” Julie whispered.
“Oh, I told him to come,” Tori announced.
The hug ended. Marcus and Julie pulled away. They looked at Tori, stunned.
“What? Why?” Marcus asked.
“What’s the deal?” Tori asked.
Julie looked at Chad and then looked back at Tori. Marcus shifted himself a little in front of Chad so he couldn’t see what Julie was whispering, “I didn’t want him here.”
Tori looked aghast, “Well, I didn’t get that memo.”
“Is something wrong?” Chad asked.
Marcus and Tori turned to look at him again. Then, Marcus broke, “No. It’s okay. Go over there and grab yourself some food. Have fun. There are drinks in that corner over there.”
“And the door is there,” Tori pointed.
“No. No. It’s fine,” Julie nodded as she looked at Chad. “Have fun.”
With his phone attached to his dash, pointing the way to the party, Jeph drove in the night like he was on a mission. He checked the phone to make sure he was on the right track as he scoped the streets like a prowler. Write me a message talking about how the site says we’re compatible. Write you back to find out, you said. Well, I wrote you back, and what do you do? Nothing. That’s what you did. Didn’t even take the time to read it. What kind of shit is that?
He took a turn, and the map on his phone adjusted. Coming into a more focused view, Jeph could tell he was still a few miles away. What are you going to do when you get there?
What do you mean, what am I going to do?
I mean, what are you going to do? Do you have a plan?
No. I don’t have a plan. Do I need one?
You should probably come up with one.
Like what?
Like what you’re going to say? That’s a good start.
That is a good start. What am I going to say?
~
Marcus cocked his head as he watched Julie trying to dance on the dance floor, and that dunce following her around like a lost puppy dog. She had tried to get away from him twice, but he just wasn’t taking the hint. When Marcus scanned the room for the pitbull, he found her by the bar, talking it up with a bunch of guys. One definitely was in love. The way he was staring at her, he had hearts in his eyes. It was absolutely pathetic.
So, it was up to Marcus to save the day. But just as he started to move in her direction, she turned and walked straight toward him. She shook her head the entire way and even waved her hand in that frustrated fashion, the international sign for “I’m done.”
Marcus just tilted his head as Julie finally reached him, “Marcus, I love you. I’m happy for you. But I’m out of here.”
“Really?” Marcus questioned. “You’re going to leave because of him. I was about to be your buffer.”
“No,” Julie protested. “You should be having fun. Not keeping jerks away from me.”
He looked at her with a half-smile. She looked up at him and nodded, “You’re going to be great. I can’t wait to watch you and brag to all my friends about you.”
“You are going to come out there to see me, Missy,” he invited.
“You know I’ll be there,” she confirmed their plans.
“I know you will,” he said with all the faith in the world.
With that, she gave him a long hug, and then she pulled herself away, “Tell her to be safe.”
He chuckled, “Sure.” Then he thought, “Hey, if you go to that bathroom back that hallway, there’s a door that goes straight outside.”
“Thank you,” she whispered, and with that, she was gone.
~
For a moment, Jeph lost himself in another imagination of her. It was hard for him to let go of her so quickly, even though he felt anger from a place he had never been. His strong feelings for her lingered in a heart still beating, refusing to be quiet.
They were in the stands watching a baseball game, sharing popcorn. Suddenly, there was a crack, and they both looked to the sky as they watched the baseball come right at them. Jeph reached up and caught it one-handed. When he handed it to her, the Jumbotron caught their sweet moment that ended with a kiss.
Her hair flew with the wind as they rode horses through the countryside. She screamed and laughed as the horse went faster. Jeph was right behind her, admiring the view of the most beautiful woman in the world, enjoying a day away from school for a moment.
BUMP! BUMP! BUMP! Jeph was suddenly jerked out of his fantasy when he realized what he had done. He turned the wheel and drove the car back off the sidewalk just before coming to a stop sign. He hit the brake and sat there for a moment.
Just as he hit the gas, he saw her out of the corner of his eye. But he couldn’t react in time, and she wasn’t paying attention. Julie hit the hood of his car and then landed on the ground.
What are the odds of that?
Lying in the middle of the street, she reached up and felt the back of her head. She looked at her hand. There wasn’t any blood, but “Oww!”
She looked up at the stars as her vision went in and out. When she regained focus, that’s when she saw him. Jeph was looking down at her, but something was odd about his face. Was he smiling?
Warning: The finale of Joker Joker Deuce Halloween Series is coming soon!
This series is inspired by Joker Joker Deuce, a psychological thriller set in a college town where students are being targeted by a serial killer. Available now on Amazon!
