Gangs With Greek Names: Episode 6: The Halloween Party

De: Steve Potter

Narrado por: Virtual Voice

Excerpt:

“Come on, Billy,” Jillian said. “Let's dance. It's a party.”

I set my beer cup down on an old, paint-spattered table. She dragged me toward the small corner stage as Little Big Donnelly shouted out, “one, two, three, four,” and the band ripped into “Twist and Shout” by the Beatles. They paused just long enough at the end of the song for Little Big to do another four count before they tore into “I Saw Her Standing There.” We danced and danced through the whole Beatles set. I'm not a great dancer or anything. I was just kind of jumping around, but so were most of the other kids. When they played, “All My Lovin'” I thought maybe I should kiss Jillian. Did she want me to? Or did she just want to dance? Would she freak out if I kissed her? I thought she probably wanted me to, but I wasn't sure. Maybe she just wanted to dance. But, wow, I really, really, REALLY wanted to kiss her! If I kissed her and it turned out she didn't want me to kiss her, how bad would it be? It's not like it was going to break her neck or get her pregnant or something. If she slapped me, I'd apologize. Did she want me to? I wanted to. I should. I better not. Holy crap, I couldn't stand it anymore, back and forth, back and forth. Should I? Shouldn't I? I leaned in and planted one right on the kisser, as they say. I'm sure glad I did. She kissed me back. She kissed me back then pressed her fingertips between my lips, took out my fake plastic vampire teeth and French kissed me. That was about the sexiest thing that ever happened to me up to then. We kissed for like five minutes on the dance floor in front of the band as they moved on from the Beatles and started a Rolling Stones set with “Wild Horses.”

Jillian took my hand and led me to the far side of the room, up the stairs and out through the side door. The cool October air was refreshing after the thick, warm, smoke, spilled beer and sweaty kid scented air of the basement. We snuck around behind the Donnelly's garage and made out against the wall. She slid one of her legs between mine and pushed up against me. We kissed and then necked and gave each other hickeys. Her hair smelled like strawberries. I guess we'd been back there for about ten minutes when we heard cars screech around the corner and skid to a stop in front of the house. “War Pigs” by Black Sabbath blared from the car speakers.

Synopsis:
Billy Esposito, the son of two college professor poets, has been living a quiet, nerdy life in an upstate New York college town. In the summer of '79, his life is turned upside down when, due to family circumstances, he and his mother move to the south shore of Long Island a few miles east of Queens. When the school year starts in September, Billy is thrust into a new world and must learn to navigate his way in huge, overcrowded Seaview High School. By rushing to the aid of a classmate who is being attacked, he falls into the strange, often violent subculture of high school fraternities or, as many of the teachers, administrators, cops, and other local adults call them, "gangs with Greek names." HIs situation improves when he discovers that Jillian, the gorgeous, smart, rock 'n' roll obsessed girl he is crazy about likes him too... but some things aren't meant to last.