A Separate Peace

    A Separate Peace

    Thump!Thump! There was a loud noise at the door, "Alright hold on,

I'm coming." Tim yelled. Tim  was in his early twenties, he had a blue

mowhawk, always dressed shabby, and addicted to heroin. Tim walked to

the door and opened it, "Yes." he said sarcastically.

 The man at the door asked if Gwen was home,  "Are you Gwen's new

boyfriend" Tim asked him. "Yes I am, my name is Tony" he replied.  "Nice to

meet you" Tim said.  "No, Gwen is not here right now. I think she is still

trying to get the job at that bar on 6th street" Tim replied.

 "Oh, well tell her that I came by and just to give me a call, OK?" Tony said.

"One problem" Tim said. "Oh, and what's that?" Tony replied. "Didn't Gwen

tell you?" Tim said "we don't have a phone, or a T.V or any other

appliances, we are gutterpunks. Why do you think we live in this shed?"  

"Well I guess I will just come back later" Tony said with a strange look on his

face.

    "Tim! Wakeup! " Gwen yelled.  "Huh?" Tim replied.  "Wakeup!," she

yelled back.  "Oh, OK" Tim yelled back.  "That boy, Tony came by, looking

for you, he thought we had a phone." Tim said  chuckling.  "You didn't tell

him that we don't have a phone or the other stuff did you?!" Gwen yelled.

"Um, well kinda yeah, why?" Tim questioned. " Why?" she yelled and

stormed off.

Gwen was the type of girl who didn't care what people thought of her, but

she didn't like it when people would find out that she was poor. She had

blonde hair, and was very thin. She wore sequined pants, and these funny

looking shirts most of the time, unless she went out.

    "Gwen?, Mike, and Shirley are home. Look I'm sorry I told Tony." Tim

said. "Send Shirley in." Gwen yelled back.  "Shirley, Gwen wants you." Tim

said.  " I'll be right in" she yelled back.  Shirley was an Irish girl whose

parents had both died, and she was sent to America to live with her aunt,

she ran away and met Mike.  Shirley had red hair, and was also a weird

dresser, she had a job at a library filing books. The pay was bad but she

would accept anything, that would keep them alive.

    "I'm outside Gwen, come on out and we will talk." Shirley yelled into

the shed.  "What's wrong with her?" Mike asked. "Tim told her new boyfreind

we were poor," Shirley replied.  "So, what's wrong with being poor?" Mike

asked, " We have a place to sleep and we're happy."  "Yeah, but you know

how Gwen is about these things." Shirley said.  "Yeah, I guess," Mike

replied.

Mike had brown hair, worked in a music store that paid him almost nothing.

He plays the guitar really well, and has tried out to be in local bands so he

could earn money but hadn't been lucky. He is the only one of the group that

knew about Tim's heroin problem.

    Gwen walked out of the shack and apologized to Tim for storming off,

and told Shirley that she was OK, and didn't need to talk anymore.

"So, Tim, when are you gonna go look for a job?" Mike asked.

"Ugh.....me work!?" Tim replied sarcastically.  "Yes you." Mike said.  "I will

start first thing tomorrow, looking for one, I promise." Tim said.

"Well I don't know about you guys but I'm going for a walk."Tim said.

"Bye" they all said.  "Maybe I should go with him," Mike thought to himself.

"I'll be back in a minute," Mike told the girls.  He ran to catch up with Tim,

"Tim!" he yelled "Wait up!"   "What do you want?" Tim asked.  "Do you have

any heroin with you?" Mike asked  " Oh, so you know I'm hooked?" Tim

questioned. "No! I am just making sure you don't, so you won't mess

yourself up." Mike said  "Mike, just leave me alone, I don't need you telling

me what to do!" Tim yelled at Mike.  "Fine but don't think about coming back

to the house unless you quit right now!" Mike yelled back.  "Fine then, tell

gwen and shirley that it was nice knowing them." Tim said.

    "I wonder where they are?" Gwen said.  "I am sure they will be home

soon." Shirley said.  Clang! The door of the shed opened, Mike walked in but

no Tim, he explained the whole thing to them about Tim being addicted to

heroin.  Both of the girls were shocked, and insisted that they go and find

Tim.

 Mike said " I'm sure he'll be back, lets just wait."  "I sure hope so," Shirley

said.

    The next day Mike, and Shirley went to work and Gwen stayed home.

 Gwen was cleaning the house, when a policeman came by. He said that

Tim had been found dead in an alley.  She asked how he had found out

where Tim lived, he said that he had seen, him walking over here many

times.  Gwen informed everyone of the news, they all cried and were sad.

 Mike thought that they should all forget about it and go on with their lives,

they all agreed.  Gwen got a job working in a bar, Mike still worked at the

record store which was becoming more and more popular, and Shirley still

worked at the library.  So all together they made a pretty good amount of

money. 

 

    "Maybe we could get an apartment?" Gwen asked the other two.

"Yeah!" Shirley said "What do you think, Mike?"   "I think that would be

pretty good, we would have our own showers and stuff, I think that's a great

idea." Mike agreed. 

So the next day they went looking for an apartment, they went to three

housing developments and finally found one with three bedrooms, a phone

and one shower for one-hundred-fifty dollars a month. They decided to take

it.

They moved in the next day, and were settled. They all liked the apartment,

and everyone was happy. Everyone continued their jobs and they gradually

raised enough money to buy a car. 

    One night they were walking down the street, and Mike saw an ad for

tryouts for a band, "Should I try out for that?" he asked the girls, "Sure go

for it, Mike." Gwen said.     The next day Mike went to the tryout and was

picked over many guitarists.  The band told him that he would start playing

the next day, and that they were going to tour in a few weeks.

Mike thought this was the greatest thing ever.  "Can you believe this!?" Mike

screamed with joy, "I have never been so happy."    "Well what are you

going to do about your job?" Shirley asked.  "I don't know, do you think I

should quit? Because the band said we were going to tour," Mike replied.

"Yea well what happens if you guys break up then what are you going to

do?" Shirley said.  "Well hopefully I will have enough money from touring

that I won't need to worry for awhile." Mike replied.

"Oh well do whatever you want," Shirley said.

    After a few days, Mike came home and told the girls that that he was

going to leave for awhile to go and do some shows.  They asked when he

would be back and he said he didn't know.  Mike went on touring and Gwen

and Shirley kept doing what they were doing.   Gwen continued seeing

Tony, and they finally decided to get married, it was ironic that Tony's family

was a very wealthy family.  When Gwen broke the news to Shirley, Shirley

was happy and sad. She was happy that Gwen was getting married, but she

was sad because she would have no one to live with.

"Oh, Shirley, I am so sorry but I really want to get married and get away

from this type of living and this apartment." Gwen sobbed  " I know, I would

too if I could but you go ahead, and get married, live a happy life." Shirley

replied.

"Thank you" Gwen said hugging Shirley.

    A month later Gwen and Tony were married and moved to Orange

County, California.  Shirley still resided in Berkeley, and seemed happy

living alone, she had gotten a smaller apartment that wasn't so expensive.

 

                A slice of life.