Kiss Me

Bam Margera tugged at the knot in his tie. He sighed as he did so. God, this thing was like a stupid noose. He didn’t understand why he had to wear it. Uniforms sucked.

One more strike, Margera. The principal’s voice rang in his head. He sighed. He knew if he screwed up one more time, he was out of the school. And if he was out of the school, he’d have to deal with his mother’s lecturing, his father’s disappointed looks, and it was altogether too much trouble.

Thank God it was at least Friday. Just as he reached into his dresser to pull out a pair of blue jeans, his cell phone buzzed on his desk. He reached over and snatched it up.

“Yo,”

“Yo yourself.” Bam grinned when he recognized the voice.

“Lotus!”

“Yes, yes, hold your applause.” The girl laughed on the other line. “When are you getting out?”

“Um, give me fifteen minutes to change and put my shit in my bag and I’ll be ready.”

“Be out front.” And they hung up. Bam hurried a little faster, shoving changes of clothes in his knapsack, along with toiletries and other items needed for the weekend. The last thing he grabbed was his skateboard, under his arm as he walked out of the hall way.

**

Two floors above him was Ville Valo. He too, was getting things ready for the weekend, and though he was not filling his bag with blue jeans and t-shirts, and he was not rushing.

He selected his articles of clothes carefully. The ones he was searching through were hung carefully in his closet in the cramped dorm room.

Bam’s walls were covered skateboarding legends and the heavy metal bands that he idolized. Ville covered his walls with reprints of art, of Marilyn Monroe, Cary Grant, of the little heard of underground bands he favored.

You could not say that the two boys were similar. It would be a stretch to call them friends at all.

If you asked them at that moment if they knew the name of the other, they would be confused, shake their heads. Of course, Ville had heard of Bam, knew of his antics, and Bam had heard of Ville, knew of his paintings.

But they did not know each other.

And if you had asked if they were friends, they would have shaken their heads. If you had told them that they were going to be friends, they would have laughed, assumed you were crazy.

Of course, they were wrong.