Look Me in the Eyes

Chapter 8: Chopper

     Gordie took a sip from his canteen and tried to spit the water into the can. Soon, we were all doing the same, but most of the water went on the ground instead of in the can. It was fun to try, though.
     Teddy looked like he was going to take another shot at the can, but he turned his head and spit the water at Vern at the last minute, causing the chubby boy to shriek. We all began to laugh as Vern groaned.
     "Great, spit at the fat kid," Vern complained, "What time is it?"
     "It's a quarter after one," I said, checking my watch.
     "We better go get the food," Vern said, "The junkyard opens at three. Chopper will be here."
     "Ohhh sic balls," Chris laughed.
     "You go, you can pick us up on the way back," Teddy told Vern, who looked at him as if he was crazy.
     "I'm not going alone. We should all go."
     "I'm staying right here," Teddy retorted.
     "Yeah man, I'm not going. I'm not going all the way out there," Gordie said. They all began to talk at once.
     "Girls, girls, girls, cool it. We'll flip for it," I told them.
     "Odd man goes?" Gordie proposed as he took five coins out of his pocket.
     "That's you, Gordie," Teddy laughed, "Odd as a cod."
     We were all handed a nickel as Gordie shot back, "Flip or eat lead."
     We all flipped and held the five cent coins to the backs of our hands. Holding our hands close together, we revealed our coins. Five tails.
     "Oh Jesus man, that's a goocher," Vern exclaimed. We all groaned, but that didn't stop Vern from elaborating. "No man, that's a goocher. That's really bad! You remember when Clint Bracken and those guys got wiped-out on Weed Hill in Durham? Billy told me they was flipping for beers and they came up with a goocher just before they got into the car, and bang! They all got totaled! I don't like this. Sincerely."
     "Verno! Nobody believes that crap about moons and goochers, it's baby stuff! Now come on, flip again," Teddy hit Vern's leg, then we all flipped our coins, with the exception of Vern. "You gonna flip, or not?"
     "C'mon Vern, we don't have all day," Chris urged. Eventually, Vern gave in and flipped his nickel. We looked at the five of them and saw there were four tails and one head.
     "You lose Gordie!" Teddy let out a loud cackle, "Gordie loses! Old Gordie just screwed the pooch!"
     "Does the word retarded mean anything to you?" Gordie asked him as he collected the coins. Teddy just continued to laugh that strange laugh of his. If it could even be called that, that is.
     "Gordie, go get the provisions, you morphodike," Teddy smirked.
     "Don't call me any of your mother's pet names," Gordie scowled and stood up, picking his bag up.
     "What a wet end you are, Lachance," Teddy laughed.
     "Shut up," Gordie exclaimed and I smirked, knowing what was coming next.
     "I don't shut up," Teddy began. Vern, Chris and I scooted closer to Teddy, joining him.
     "I grow up, and when I look at you, I throw up!" We made puking noises, and Vern and Chris put their fingers in front of each other's mouths to look like they're gagging.
     "And then your mother goes around the corner and she licks it up," Gordie shot back.
     Even though we had just been told off, we laughed and chorused, "Ohhh." I had found out that finding new and preferably disgusting ways to degrade a friend's mother was held in high regards by the boys.
     Chris grabbed Vern and gave him a noogie. They began to wrestle, eventually pulling Teddy and I in as well. Gordie must have walked away, but I don't know when. I know he must have rolled his eyes, though.

     We didn't do much while Gordie was gone. The boys and I wrestled a bit more and threw more pebbles into the can, but other than that, we sat and talked about absolutely nothing. 
     Five minutes to three rolled around, but Gordie still wasn't back. About ten minutes later, I heard the rumbling of an engine, and I knew we had to get out of there, Gordie or no Gordie.
     "Milo's here, let's split," I exclaimed. I picked up my backpack and began to run to the fence, followed by Chris, Teddy and Vern. We had just scaled the fence and had landed on the other side when I saw a small set boy watching us curiously from inside the junkyard. It was Gordie.
     Milo began to yell and him and Gordie took off running towards us. The boys and I were shouting at him, telling him to run faster as Milo yelled for Chopper. Gordie let out a yell and pushed himself harder, trying to reach us before Chopper could catch up to him.
     He jumped onto the fence and began to climb up, jumping down beside up when he reached the top.
     As soon as I saw Chopper, I began to laugh. The dreaded Chopper that every adolescent boy was afraid of, was a golden retriever. The boys joined me as Chopper pawed at the fence.
     Teddy turned around and rubbed his bottom on the fence as he taunted the dog, "Kiss my ass, Choppie! Bite shit!" Chopper got a hold on the tail of his shirt, but gave up.
     "Hey, you kids quit teasing my dog!" Milo shouted, "Sonny, I'll beat your ass, teasing my dog like that."
     "Yeah, I'd like to see you try to climb over this fence and get me, fat ass!" Teddy yelled back.
     "Don't you call me that, you little tin-weasel pecker-wood loony's son," Milo insulted, making Teddy go quiet. One thing I had learned about Teddy, was that no matter how bad his dad treated him, Teddy loved him. He has half an ear and shitty hearing because of his old man, but he never let anyone insult him and get away with it.
     "What did you call me?"
     "I know who you are," Milo said, "You're Teddy Duchamp. Your dad's a loony. A loony up in the nut house in Togus. He put your ear up to a stove and nearly burnt it off."
     "My father stormed the beach in Normandy," Teddy said.
     "He's crazier than a shit house rat. No wonder you're acting the way you are. With a loony for a father!"
     "You call my father a loony again and I'll kill you," Teddy told him calmly. The boys and I knew that he was about to burst.
     "Loony, loony, loony!" Milo chanted. Immediately, Teddy launched himself at the fence.
     "I'm gonna rip off your head and shit down your throat!" he screamed with a crazed look in his eyes. Chris grabbed his arms and tried to pull him off the fence, but Teddy was pretty strong when he got angry. It took all the guys to hold him back.
     He was still shouting, but I yelled over him at Milo, "We should let him go over there so he can beat the piss out of you and then take you to the cops!"
     "You watch you're mouth smartass and let him do his own fighting," he shot back at me.
     "Sure! You only outweigh him by five hundred pounds, fat ass!" Gordie yelled at him, glaring at him. Milo squinted his eyes and pointed his finger at Gordie.
     "I know your name, you're Lachance. I know all you guys, and all your fathers are getting a call. Except for the deadbeat in jail and the loony up in Togus," Milo mocked.
     Teddy pulled his body away from the boys and slammed against the fence. The guys managed to get him back under control, while Milo threw insults at him.
     "You son of a bitch!" Teddy shouted as we dragged him along behind us. We needed to leave before Teddy did any real damage. I didn't know about the guys, but I was about ready to scale the fence and teach him a lesson myself. The comment about my dad wasn't even the part that got me angry; I knew my dad was a deadbeat. To be honest, I barely remembered my dad, and although the comment stung a bit, I wasn't affected by it that much.
     "You come back here! Come back here, you hear me?" Milo called after us as we walked further and further away from the junkyard.