Money and Lust

Joel and his sister Janilsa live in Long Island, an island just outside of New York City.  Janilsa is in her first year at New York University and Joel is still in high school.  Both of them have a history with the illegal drug of marijuana.  Due to Joel’s desire to be in a gang, he is willing to experiment with other illegal drugs.  They both grew up in the East New York section of Brooklyn, which is arguably the most dangerous part of Brooklyn.  Their being Dominican helped their chances since whites are normally singled out for harassment in such places as East New York.  It is this atmosphere that had given Joel the desire to be in a gang. 

                One day, while Joel was helping out at his mom’s store (still located in East New York), a Hispanic male in his late teens to early 20s walked in wearing a variety of chains, baggy phat farm jeans and a bandanna.  Joel didn’t think anything of it and approached him hoping the customer would buy something.  The boy said, “I’m looking for Joel Elderado”

                “That’s me”

                “I got a proposition for you”

                “What’s that?”

                “I b with da crips (one of the many gangs in Brooklyn), I b needing an outside cat to sell some shit, pigs have been watching me.  You do this for me, you’ll b in with us.  You in?”

                “What kind of shit you sellin?”

                “Coke, trees (marijuana) mostly”

                “Yea, I’m game, why me”

                “Nobody really knows you, and you b crashin in Long Island, so you got yuppies that’ll buy da shit and you got thugs in Brooklyn”

                “What about green”

                “I’m goin to be given you 20 kilos, 10 of trees 10 of coke, you got nine months (it was August so he had until May) to sell ‘em, you’re taking mad risk, I offer you to run with my boys, so we’re making an exchange, I’ll say that if you sell them normal price, I take half of what normal price is”

                “20 kilos is a shitload of shit”

                “You’re looking at a shitload of money boy”

                “I’ll do it”

                “Where should I give you da stuff?”

                “1AM tonight at this address but what if I can’t sell all of it” he said as he wrote down the address to his cousin’s house in Brooklyn, who wouldn’t mind a lot of drugs being stored at his house.

                “Show me how much candy (drugs) you have, I’ll take half of what you don’t have”

                The gangster left and Joel let out the excitement he had held in.  He was looking at being part of a gang and making a lot of money.  He knew that he’d be able to get people to overpay for the drugs so he was actually looking at over 50% of the cash even if he used a lot of the drugs for himself, which he planned on doing.  All he had to do was sell it.

                Larry was also a first-year student at NYU.  He had met Janilsa through mutual friends of theirs close to midterms.  They had actually met at a study group since they all had similar classes together.  Although Larry was 13 inches taller than Janilsa, he did think she was attractive.  He had not had much luck with girls but he figured he’d go for it when the time was right.  After midterms, there was a party at a classmate’s dorm.  Larry, Janilsa, and five of their friends all attended.  The alcohol at the party consisted of champagne and various liquors bought by Larry and a girl Katie since they had fake ID’s.  Not too long afterward, everyone was intoxicated in celebration that finals were over and they had a month break before classes resumed.  Larry was sitting next to Janilsa on a bed talking.  Janilsa started laughing hysterically and lied back on the bed.  Larry lied back as well and rolled on top of her lowering his right hand to her waist.  Janilsa figured out Larry was hitting on her so she immediately put her arm out pushing Larry away.  Larry did not fight her and immediately rose to his feet and Janilsa shot up.  She didn’t mind Larry’s advancement since he didn’t push it after she indicated she was not interested and they remained civil. 

                It was February and Joel had been distributing the drugs to his friends for free and doing them himself with them socially.  He had sold a little bit but his generosity to his friends was proving costly.  He was invited to a Valentines Day party at Janilsa’s friend Kate’s apartment in New Jersey.  Joel agreed he would go with Janilsa.  Larry and a few other NYU students and some people Kate knew from her town also attended the party.  Again, everyone became drunk at the party.  Larry had to go to the bathroom (there was only one bathroom in the apartment) and while he was inside, Janilsa waited for him to get out since she also had to go.  Larry exited and watched Janilsa go in and decided to wait for her.  At this point, Janilsa and Larry had become kind of close friends but when alcohol was added, the sexual tension between them got too much for Larry.  When Janilsa exited the bathroom, Larry went in to kiss her.  Janilsa did not kiss back but Larry had hit her lips.  She then pushed him away again and told him she only thought of him as a friend.  Once again Larry backed off realizing he was turned down again but he was determined to get the girl. 

                It was now April and Joel had some money but it was going to be difficult to meet the 50% quota given to him.  He began to regret all the months he had given out free drugs to his friends.  He hadn’t told anybody about the offer because he didn’t want his sister to know what he was getting into since she wouldn’t approve.  Janilsa did drugs but he didn’t want Joel to be in any danger, she would rather have him buy from drug dealers, not hang out with them or become a major one.  Since Janilsa lived in a dorm at NYU, it made it easy for Joel to keep this information from his sister.  There was another party at a mutual friend of Larry’s and Janilsa’s apartment that they went to.  The party was a lot larger than the previous ones as some of the kids in attendance worked as bar tenders so spent time making mixed drinks for everyone.  Later in the night when Larry and Janilsa were both under the influence of alcohol, Janilsa was leaning against Larry completely relaxed with her eyes closed.  Larry leaned over and tried kissing her again.  Janilsa said no, and Larry stopped and let her continue to lean. Looked as if Larry’s determination may never pay off. 

                May hit and Joel was under a lot of stress since he didn’t have much of the 20 kilos left and was extremely short on the money.  He had some money in the stock market but not enough to pay his enormous debt.  He still didn’t want to ask Janilsa for help, he would have to go at it alone.  The drug dealer that had given him the money threw a huge party at a fairly large house in Brooklyn Heights.  He told Joel that’s where he wanted the money.  Joel didn’t know this at the time but his sister would be at the party as well. 

                Kera was a sophomore in high school in Manhattan.  Although she went to school in Manhattan she lived in Brooklyn and enjoyed smoking marijuana.  When she heard about the party in Brooklyn Heights she desperately wanted to go but her friends all had other plans.  She didn’t want to go alone in case something happened so she decided to call her cousin at NYU. 

                Larry received a phone call from his cousin Kera while in his dorm.  Larry was not into drugs but he had been really close to Kera for about four years and was willing to help her out if she needed it.  He agreed to go to the party knowing that he would be bored since it was going to have an obscene amount of drugs at it in which Larry did not participate. 

                A large amount of people showed up to the party and by the time Larry and Kera arrived the atmosphere was no longer oxygen and Nitrogen but smoke filled it as well.  The only people Larry knew at the party were Joel, Janilsa and Kera.  He knew they would all be high shortly but he felt he could get through the night. 

                Joel had been smoking marijuana more than usual to try to relieve the stress he had about meeting the gangster and not having the money.  He only had half of what he expected from the few drugs he did sell and his stock money and the other half he had no idea how he was going to account for it.  The gangster sought Joel out at the party and pulled him into a room that nobody was in.  He asked him, “So you got my money?”

“Some of it”

“Some?  Did you sell all the stuff?”

“Not all of it”

“How much you got left”

“A couple kilos of coke and less of trees”

“You show me it tomorrow so I be sure you ain’t jippin me, for now, give me the green you owe”

“I’m a little short?”

“This disappoints me Joel, how short?”

“half”

The gangster smiled, “Alright, I’ll take what you got now”

Joel gave him the money a little surprised at why the gangster was not mad at him.  The gangster put his arm around Joel and said, “I be knowin it be hard to resist all dat shit, especially for a Long Island boy like you, so just let me know when you got my green”

The gangster shoved him against the wall after he said what he said and handcuffed Joel’s hands behind his back.  He then punched at his kidneys and turned him around drilling him in the face with more punches.  Joel fell and the gangster kicked at his ribs taunting him that he shouldn’t have been stupid with his drugs.  He stood him up and duct taped him to a pole and said, “Joel, I’m about to show you who you fucked with” he said and then left the room. 

Kera was holding her own talking with people and being social.  Larry kept his eye on her instinctively knowing that if she talked to any guys, although Larry would be nervous and want to break it up, he wouldn’t because Kera would probably never speak to him again.  Kera did start talking to a guy and Larry turned his head to avoid any exaggerations he may make about slight flirtation with his little cousin.  He noticed Janilsa being brought rather forcibly into a room and thought to investigate.

The gangster walked out the door and a friend whispered something to him.  He came and put his arm around Janilsa and pushed her toward the door.  Janilsa tried to resist but he grabbed her bicep and lifted her slightly off the ground while Janilsa thrashed.  The kid told her that Joel wanted to talk to her but Janilsa knew he was lying.  She tried yelling for help but then the guy covered her mouth and with the music blaring, nobody heard a thing.  He dragged her into the room and she saw Joel tied up and the gangster.  She was horrified but felt she had to help her brother.  The gangster told the kid to leave; he did.  The gangster walked to the door and locked it while Janilsa gripped the pepper spray she always carried with her.  The gangster noticed what was happening so he bent his head and charged at Janilsa tackling her just as she brought out the pepper spray.  She maintained her grip but the thug immediately pinned her arms behind her and slammed the hand that held the pepper spray against the ground.  Janilsa couldn’t hold on anymore and released her grip as the thug pushed the can away.  He moved Janilsa’s arm over her head so that they interlocked and held them with one hand as he brought the other arm down and jammed it into Janilsa’s solar plexus knocking the wind out of her.  Janilsa screamed but with the door closed and the music she didn’t think anybody would hear.  Joel yelled out, “Leave her the fuck alone, this is between you and me”

“Fuck you, you should have thought about that before stiffing me on my money” the gangster said

Janilsa snapped, “Joel what fuck are you into, what the fuck is this cat talking about”

“I’ll explain later”

“Yea later after I rape this bitch so you know not to fuck me again,” the gangster snapped

Janilsa squirmed and broke loose she started toward the door but the gangster gripped her by the waist and tossed her away from the door across the floor.  He was trying not to bloody her because he intended on forcing himself on her.  He walked to her and stomped once on her stomach and straightened her out.  He bent down and unzipped and unbuttoned her pants while she was recovering from the blow.  Janilsa kicked again but the gangster grabbed her leg and pounded his fist into her thigh.  Janilsa relaxed her body due to pain, and the gangster pulled her pants off.

Joel looked on in horror as he was about to witness his sister get raped because of something he did.  He thrashed and fought his restraints but couldn’t break them. 

Larry walked up to the door hesitant to go in.  He saw the two kids leave so figured Janilsa wanted to be in there.  While pacing around waiting to go in, he heard Janilsa scream.  He immediately tried to open the door but it was locked.  He looked at the door and realized it was one of the push in button locks that were very easy to pick.  He took out a swiss army knife he carried with him and took out the tweezers.  He pressed the tweezers into the hole and popped out the lock.  He walked in and shut the door and saw Janilsa in her bra and panties and the gangster leaning over her.  He yelled out, “What the fuck are you doing?”

The gangster had turned around when the door opened and he said, “I’m fuckin my girlfriend what the fuck are you doing here cracker”

Larry smiled, he thought it amusing that he was called a cracker but he ignored it.  “Girlfriends don’t scream when you’re stripping them”

The gangster was walking toward Larry but Larry looked back determined not to move.  The gangster was eye to eye with him and Larry stared into his bloodshot eyes.  He said, “I’m going to give you one chance to get out of her before I fuck you up”

“Go fuck yourself, that’s my friend you’re trying to rape”

The gangster punched Larry while Janilsa scurried to her brother to free him.  Larry didn’t go down and came back with a punch of his own directly in the nose backing up the gangster.  The gangster drove his shoulders into Larry and shoved him toward the wall.  Larry waited until they were close to the wall and then he shifted his hips around while wrapping his arm around the gangster turning him around just in time to sandwich him against the wall.  Larry drove his knee into the gangster’s stomach.  The gangster grabbed his stomach and fell taking out a cell phone that doubled as a walkie talkie.  He pressed a button and yelled, “Get your asses in here”

Larry stepped on his arm so he dropped the phone but the gangster pulled his arm free and wrapped it around Larry’s legs tackling him to the ground.  He pinned his waist down with his legs and punched down at Larry’s face.  Larry was bloodied from this but managed to move his head to the side so the gangster punched the ground and rolled off him.  The door opened again and another thug came into the room.  Janilsa was fidgeting with the handcuffs trying to get them off Joel.  When Joel saw the other gangster come in, he shook Janilsa off him and ran to Larry’s aid with his hands still cuffed behind his back.  Joel drove his knee into the gangster’s crony’s stomach and kicked him in the side of the head to the ground. 

Larry got up at the same time as the gangster and they circled each other.  Janilsa picked up the pepper spray and ran to help Joel.  The gangster brought his arm down and punched Larry in the stomach.  Larry bent over but the gangster pulled him up and grabbed him by the throat and pushed him against the wall.  He said, “You don’t understand what that shithead did, get out of my business”

“When you’re raping my friend, that’s my business” Larry said through short breaths since he was being choked.

The gangster punched Larry in the side of the face knocking him down. 

The crony got up and faced Joel.  Janilsa knew that Joel wouldn’t fare to well without the use of his hands.  She saw the can of pepper spray and ran for it and charged at the crony.  The crony toyed with Joel as he slapped him in the face.  Joel kicked but missed and the crony punched him in the face.  The crony heard Janilsa coming so he grabbed Joel before she got there and swung him around ducking his head behind Joel’s shoulder.  Janilsa yelled to get the crony to turn around and then held down the spray button and accidentally sprayed Joel in the face.  Joel collapsed rolling on the ground screaming in pain.  Janilsa froze in shock and before she could recover the crony slapped her across the face causing her to drop the can.  The crony then stalked her.

                The gangster took advantage of Larry lying face down on the ground and stomped at his back.  After being stomped on a couple times, Larry rolled out of the way and to his feet in obvious pain.  Larry was getting frustrated with all the time he wasted retreating and that the gangster had no blood on him.  He spit in the gangster’s face trying to get him to charge.  The gangster darted toward Larry, Larry sidestepped him and gripped him by the back of the head and shoved him into the wall.  Larry once again punched at the gangster’s kidneys but this time when the gangster swung his arm around, Larry ducked under it and uppercutted the gangster.  The gangster backed up surprised that he found himself no longer in control.  Larry put him in a headlock and drilled the gangster’s head into his knee repeatedly.  The gangster used what energy he had left to wrap his arm around Larry’s waist and fall back slamming the back of Larry’s neck and head onto to the ground. 

                Meanwhile, the crony crept closer to Janilsa as she backed up contemplating her next move.  The crony tried grabbing her but Janilsa ducked under it and ran toward the door exiting it.  The crony followed and Joel still shook his head trying to regain his eyesight. 

                Both Larry and the gangster stirred trying to get to their feet.  Larry glanced at Joel and saw his hands still cuffed.  This gave Larry some more adrenaline as he pounced on the gangster, who was pushing up, flattening him to the ground.  Larry reached into that gangster’s pocket and pulled out his keys and darted toward Joel.  The gangster, however, reached out and grabbed Larry’s foot tripping him and the keys went flying forward toward Joel.  Larry kicked his foot free but the gangster got up leaving Larry no choice but to face him. The gangster’s face was also bloody now and his face revealed his anger.  He grabbed Larry by the shoulder but Larry stuck his arm straight out gripping his throat and shoving him at arms length.  Larry was taller than the gangster so the gangster lost his grip.  Larry let go of his throat and slapped him across the face and backed away.  The gangster sprinted toward Larry, Larry bent down wrapped his arms around his legs and lifted up causing the gangster to flip over his back.  He turned to look at the gangster and pumped his arms with an open hand signaling for the gangster to get up. 

                Joel grabbed the keys with his mouth and ran out the door that the crony didn’t shut all the way.  The gangster pulled out a knife and said, “It’s time to cheat”

                Larry reached to his waist and pulled out a pocketknife of his own that was clipped there.  The two men circled around each other knives drawn. 

                Meanwhile, Janilsa had lost the crony among the sea of humanity but saw Joel when he exited the door.  She hurried to him and took the keys from his mouth and undid his cuffs.  The crony spotted Janilsa and Joel and ran at them.  Joel ran at him jumped to the side and stuck out his knee as it connected on the charging crony’s solar plexus.  Joel gripped the hair on the crony’s head and slammed the crony’s face into his knee repeatedly.  He then threw him down, put a leg on either side of him, bent down and punched at his face.  Janilsa held the crony’s head in between her legs so he couldn’t move out of the way of Joel’s punches.  After a little bit she went inside to get the pepper spray and saw Larry and the gangster circling each other with knives drawn.                

                At this point people had gathered around to watch.  The rest of the gang was too high or with girls in separate rooms to help out.  The gangster looked at Janilsa and smiled.  All Larry needed was that split second of the gangster turning his head; he swung his knife, which the gangster blocked with his own.  The gangster reached and hooked Janilsa trying to bring her in front of him to hold her hostage but Larry slit his throat before he could.  The gangster dropped the knife and grabbed his throat.  Larry walked away and saw Joel continuing his onslaught of the crony.  The crony’s face was crimson with blood and he was unconscious.  Larry clipped his knife back on his waist and grabbed Joel’s shoulders, Joel got up and shoved Larry back but then calmed when he realized whom it was.  He looked in the room and saw Janilsa with the pepper spray in hand spraying the gangster and kicking him to get him to drop his arms before continuing spraying.  Larry looked at Joel and asked, “So do you wanna stop her, or should I”

                “I’ve already been hit once by it, she’s all yours”

                Larry instead went to a sink and washed the blood off his face.  Kera saw him and asked what happened.  Larry shrugged her off and went back to the room Janilsa and the gangster were in.  When he got there the gangster was motionless and Janilsa was standing over him.  Larry walked over and bent down and checked for a pulse; he found none.  Kera had followed Larry and froze with the sight.  Janilsa said, “Let’s get the fuck out of here”

                Janilsa got dressed and went with Larry, Kera and Joel to the subway toward NYU.  It was there that Joel told Janilsa why the gangster was after him.  Janilsa spared him the scolding; she figured that after what happened, it wasn’t necessary.  Ambulance’s came but the cops didn’t bother to try to find the killer.  The gangster had no family and nobody wanting to press charges.  The eyewitnesses told them it was a knife fight, so the cops took that as self-defense.  Before they got there, most of the people had left the party because they didn’t want to get busted for the drugs.  Brooklyn cops were used to drugs and gang wars so they just confiscated the drugs that were there and sent the body to the morgue and shut the case.

                Kera separated from the other three when they got to the subway because she was going further into Brooklyn whereas the others were headed toward Manhattan.  Joel separated at Penn Station to catch the Long Island Railroad home leaving Janilsa and Larry by themselves.  Janilsa said, “Yo, thanks for helping me today”

                “No problem, what are friends for?”

                “Yea I know but those are dangerous cats.”

                “I’ve told you before Janilsa, I don’t get intimidated in fights”

                “I know but still you helped me and my brother out, I appreciate that”

                “It was my pleasure”

                Larry walked Janilsa to her dorm, which was only five blocks from his so he could easily walk the rest of the way.  There was a brief awkward moment as Larry contemplated whether or not to kiss her.  He decided to go for it, but Janilsa put her arm out and Larry backed off smiling.  Janilsa said, “I’m sorry, it’s just that you’re my friend, I don’t want to do anything plus I’m stressed because I almost got raped, my brother got into some shit, I just can’t”

                “Don’t worry about it,” he said as they hugged and European kissed (cheek to cheek and kiss the air) and Larry headed back to their dorm. 

                A gang member did show up at the store in Brooklyn to visit Joel.  He said, “Look, I know you whacked one of our boys, but we got more, and we ain’t  leavin you alone till we get paid”

                “Give me till tomorrow, I’ll give you the shit I got left and the cash I owe”

                “When and where bro?”

                Joel gave a meeting spot and time then called Janilsa and told her about what the thug said.  Janilsa helped Joel out with the money and they had enough to pay them off.  The next day, the gang met up with Joel and he handed over the drugs and the rest of the money.  They said, “Hey man, you still wanna run with us?”

Joel smiled, “Nah man, this gang shit sucks”

“Aight man”

Joel left relieved that it was all over.  He promised Janilsa he would pay all the money back, and in time he did.  Janilsa and Larry remained plutonic friends throughout college. 

The Road to Vonnie's Party

                Larry Couchmanos had just turned 16, which, in Ohio, meant he was of age to get his driver’s license.  Larry tried for it as soon as he could.  He, however, had not driven prior to receiving his temporary license, therefore was not the best driver.  While trying for his license, he asked his friend Drew, who had his license, to take him to New York.  Drew’s parents would not allow him since he had only had his license for less than a year.  Larry wanted his license so he could drive to the city he loved the most, New York.  He had memorized the way from the countless trips with his parents but now he wanted to do it on his own.  Larry wanted to go to New York to see his cousin Kera, whom he was very close with.  Even after receiving his license, Larry did not go because his parents wouldn’t let him either.  He still, however, kept as e-mail the directions to Kera’s house in Brooklyn. 

                Three years later, on May 18^th, Larry was leaving New York after completing his first year at New York University (NYU).  While at NYU, he had established a close circle of friends.  The members were Vonnie, Alyssa, Janilsa, Gia, Tatiana, Shruti, Larry and Boris.  Larry was closest with Vonnie.  About a week before Larry’s mom picked him up from NYU, he had planned to return to New York for Vonnie’s birthday on July 1st.  He, however, did not want to tell her because he wanted it to be a surprise.  July 1^st would be on a Tuesday that year and was also Larry’s parents’ anniversary. Larry’s mom, however, informed him that she was going to Europe for her 25^th Anniversary and wanted to take the kids.  Larry pleaded with her not to for reasons he thought obvious.  Within a day, his mom abandoned her plans of taking the kids.

                A week after Larry had left NYU, he found himself in Chicago.  It is here he received a phone call from Vonnie.  Vonnie said, “I need you to do me a favor”

Larry responded, “What’s that”

“Come to New York for my birthday, we’re having a party on the fifth”

“Vonnie, I have been planning that since the day I left, I’ll be there.”

                Vonnie was happy with this news but when the conversation ended, Larry was upset that he ruined the surprise.  He knew he had to fix it.  During the conversation, he mentioned his parents were going on their 25^th anniversary and had contemplated taking them.  He figured he would wait a little before telling Vonnie he couldn’t go.  A couple days later, Larry was talking to his friend Tatiana.  When Larry had left NYU, he had a small crush on Tatiana but it never materialized into anything.  Larry told Tatiana how he ruined the surprise with Vonnie.  Tatiana said, “You stupid, you can’t keep a secret, if that were me, I would have been able to do it.”

                Larry wasn’t really expecting that reaction but he was okay with it.  In the days following the conversation, Larry called Vonnie and told her he couldn’t come because his mom wanted to take the kids on their 25^th anniversary.  Vonnie was saddened but she understood.  Larry also told Tatiana he would not be able to make it, but inside he knew he was planning the biggest surprise of his life. 

                As the day got closer, Vonnie informed people about her party, including Larry.  Larry had used map quest to find out how to get to her apartment.  He even asked her if she lived by the I-80 (the highway Larry was familiar with to get to New York).  Vonnie said, “Yea”

Larry responded, “Is it on the street after the highway?”

“No you have to turn a couple times but I don’t want to get into it.”

“What exit is it?”

“Why”

“I take 80 to get to New York and I just want to have some idea how close it is”

“Exit 72”

Larry didn’t push because he didn’t want to make it too obvious.  The directions he had talked about an I-95, but he didn’t want to take that.  Turns out, unbeknownst to Larry, I-80 turns to I-95 as one approaches the George Washington Bridge.  He, however, learned this before his trip.

As the date got even closer, Vonnie sent an e-mail to everyone inviting them to the party and informing them it would be on the fourth rather than the fifth at around 7:00PM.  At the end she put “P.P.S. Larry and Shruti, if you’re planning on surprising me, it’s exit 72”

This scared Larry because he thought Vonnie figured out he was coming to surprise her.  He called her up and pretended to be angry for making him feel bad that he wasn’t coming.  Vonnie was annoyed because she meant it as a joke.  The purpose was to make he and Shruti (who lived in London) feel guilty and come but Larry was taking it too seriously.  Larry’s fake anger was still part of his plan to try to eliminate from Vonnie’s mind any hope that he was coming.

Throughout this time, Larry had mentioned to his friends in conversations that he didn’t like Cleveland and wanted to return to New York.  He thought that one of them would figure it out that he was coming, but that was just his pessimistic thinking.  He had missed Janilsa’s birthday on May 30, but did call her.  To make up for this, he was going to bring a present for her a well as Vonnie.  Two weeks before leaving, he told one of the managers of his work that he couldn’t work on July 4^th weekend (He had decided to just go for the weekend because being there during the week would conflict with his friends’ work schedule). 

A week before the party, Larry was talking to Tatiana while trying to find a club.  He got off the phone with her because he was kind of lost.  What Larry hadn’t realized was the next day he was supposed to leave for Hawaii with his parents (they had changed their plans from Europe to Hawaii where they honeymooned).  The next day, Larry saw Gia online.  While they were talking, Larry’s parents told him he had to take them to the airport so Larry sent Gia a message saying, “I gtg, I’m going to Hawaii, talk to you when I get back.”

Before Larry could sign off, Gia typed “What?” since she didn’t know he was going to Hawaii.  Larry then blocked everyone in the circle since it may look suspicious that he was online when he was supposed to be in Hawaii.  During this time, Larry’s friend from Pittsburgh called him and invited him and his friend RYAN (who was going out with the girl) to come to Pittsburgh.  Larry figured that he would be closer to New York, so he would take the trip on Thursday, the day before he had to be at Vonnie’s.

On the night of June 30, after midnight so it was technically July 1, Larry called Vonnie and wished her a happy birthday and informed her that he was in Hawaii.  Given this, Vonnie cut the conversation short to save Larry money.  Tuesday night, Larry called again because he wanted to talk to her.  They talked for a while and Larry lied about how beautiful Hawaii was, despite not being there.  Vonnie said that she would call him from her party on Friday because he would be missed.

That Thursday, he talked to a mutual friend of his and Vonnie’s named AJ.  AJ also lived in Fort Lee but was not coming to Vonnie’s party.  Given this, Larry told her about his plan to surprise her and sent her the directions to see if they were accurate.  AJ added to look for the skyview hotel next to Vonnie’s apartment rather than the street name since there wouldn’t be a sign.  The next day, he embarked on his first stop on his road trip.

Larry left for Pittsburgh by himself since his friend couldn’t make it.  Before he left, He had the directions, which started “turnpike to 79.”  He had gotten them from his friend in Pittsburgh.  Larry tried his one route to the highway that leads to the Ohio turnpike but it was closed for construction.  Luckily, he knew another route.  After traveling on the Ohio turnpike until it ended, the highway split to 76 toward Pittsburgh and 80.  Every time Larry had ever taken the turnpike till it ended he got on 80 (it’s the highway that leads to New York).  Since “76” was not in the directions, he ignored his common sense and took 80.  After driving a while, he realized he had made a mistake so he was going to call his friend.  She wasn’t picking up her phone so he called RYAN for the number of the other friend in Pittsburgh (RYAN’s girlfriend is Connie and Connie’s friend is Kristen).  For some reason, Larry’s phone wouldn’t connect with Kristen’s.  Larry thought of someone who would know; his friend’s sister that went to school in Pittsburgh.  He called his friend’s house and asked for her but she was already in Pittsburgh with no cell phone.  Luckily, his friend’s dad knew how to get back on track from 80 and told Larry.  Larry had already passed the exit that he needed so he took 80 back west and recrossed the Pennsylvania border to go back to the turnpike and get on 76, which made him cross the border for a third time.  From there the directions were good and he got to her house with minimal problems. That day they went by a swimming pool where Connie worked, ate Indian food, and saw Legally Blond 2 before returning home to sleep.

On an hour and half of sleep, Larry woke up ready to leave.  The three of them slept over Kristen’s house because Kristen, Connie and Kristen’s family were going somewhere at 8:00AM.  Larry had breakfast with them and got directions back to 80 so he could go to New York.  Kristen’s mom packed a lunch for him so he could eat on the road.  Larry realized that 79 and 80 intersect and he didn’t have to backtrack the day before.  It meant nothing now, it was actually better because now he didn’t have to back track to get back to 80.  While driving the 80 miles on 79, he encountered a big rainstorm that turned out to only last approximately 10 minutes.  When he got to 80, however, he accidentally went west.  He didn’t realize it for another 15 miles when he saw a sign for Youngstown, which is in Ohio.  He got off at the last exit before the border and went back East. He drove on 80 all the way to Fort Lee stopping only once for gas.  He ate his lunch at 12:00 and would be getting to Fort Lee at 3:00PM.  He called AJ and told her this since she had mentioned that she wanted him to call when he got to Fort Lee.  As he neared Fort Lee, his habitual route to New York caused another mistake.  Since his family never stopped in New Jersey but went straight to the George Washington (GW) bridge, they always took the express route; so did Larry.  The problem was exit 72 is on the local route forcing Larry to get off at exit 73.  Since he didn’t know how to get to Vonnie’s from that exit, he frantically called AJ, who was not answering her phone due to being in a mall.  Larry stopped at a gas station and asked some Koreans where North Ave. is.  He was told to ask the Koreans at the car wash next door.  They didn’t know either but they invited Larry to look at a map.  Larry searched but some of the streets were worn out and he couldn’t find North Ave.  He then decided to go across the street to a strip mall.  He walked across to check what intersection he was on to familiarize himself with where he was. On his way, he saw a police car and he stopped and asked, “Do you know where North Ave. is?”

“Yes” the cop replied

“Thank God”

She laughed and said, “Thank God, what you want to do is take this street right here”

“Hold on, can I run and get a pen”

The cop pulled out a small notebook and wrote down the directions.  It turned out he was just minutes away from Vonnie’s apartment, which made him doubt that the Koreans didn’t know where it was.  He got in his car and followed the directions and pulled into Vonnie’s apartment building.  There were no visitor parking spots available so he parked at the skyview hotel next door.  He called Vonnie to make sure she was home.  Vonnie answered the phone “Halloa”

“Hey Vonnie what’s up?”

“Not much, just cooking for the party, how’s Hawaii”

“Beautiful”

“Are you really in Hawaii or are you here?” she said out of wishful thinking. 

This scared Larry but Vonnie really did believe he was in Hawaii.  He told her that he was actually in Hawaii.  While he was talking on the phone he was walking toward her apartment.  When he walked in, he told Vonnie, he’d call her back.  Vonnie got off the phone, called Janilsa and then went on the terrace to have a cigarette.  Meanwhile, Larry approached the doormen.  It had been seven hours and eight minutes since he left Pittsburgh.  He had been thinking for a while how he was going to get past the doormen. His ideas were to have them tell Vonnie she has a package that she needs to pick up, or have the doorman escort them up.  At first they offered to call and say she had a visitor.  Due to Larry calling her a couple seconds ago, he was worried she would become suspicious.  Then one of the doormen offered to take him up.  Larry readily agreed and they went up while the doorman explained to Larry why he couldn’t just let him up alone.  Larry knew the reasons, they got to Vonnie’s apartment and the doorman knocked on the door.  Vonnie’s mother answered it.  At first, Larry thought he had the wrong apartment, for he had never met Vonnie’s mother.  He asked, “Is Vonnie here?”

She responded, “Yes, Yvonne!”

Larry walked in and saw Vonnie with her back to him on the terrace.  For about a month and half, he had been thinking what the first thing to say was.  He thought of “Who takes their kids on their second honeymoon” or “Vonnie, did you honestly think I’d miss your party?”  But now that he was there, there was only one thing that seemed appropriate, “Halloa”

Larry had been imagining what her reaction would be.  He had come up with white face and a hug most likely with all four of her limbs.  Larry underestimated it though.  Vonnie’s face did go white with surprise and her mouth opened in a gasp.  She threw her cigarette over the railing and hugged Larry with all four limbs making a noise only a human can make when extremely excited.  She then grabbed Larry’s arm and began jumping up and down repeatedly screaming with delight and hugged him repeatedly.  Larry tried to sit her down and explain his adventure up until then but he was being unrealistic.  Larry had had a month and half to count down the days to seeing Vonnie, the excitement of being back in New York and being with all his friends.  He knew that only car trouble would stop him.  Vonnie, however, had given up almost all hope that Larry was coming, the excitement Larry spread over a month culminated in one moment for Vonnie with an added dosage of shock because she had just talked to someone she believed to be in Hawaii and now that someone is standing in front of her pleasantly surprising her.  Vonnie pinched Larry to make sure that he was really there in the flesh.  The few words she could get out consisted of, “Oh my God I can’t believe you’re here” and “This is the best birthday ever.”  She calmed enough to introduce him to her mom officially and they left to go to the store to get carbonated beverages (pop).  Earlier that day Vonnie was shopping for food and drinks for certain individuals coming.  She remembered contemplating to buy pop but didn’t since Larry wasn’t coming (Larry drank pop religiously).  They got back and Larry showered at the request of Vonnie and her mom.  It wasn’t that Larry stunk, it was just that he had driven seven hours and he needed a shower.  Although Larry was skeptical, the shower made him feel a million times better and more refreshed.

About an hour after Larry arrived, the rest of the circle came at once.  Larry was on the terrace and Vonnie told him to hide, so Larry went into Vonnie’s room.  What Vonnie had in mind was to hide on the terrace.  Vonnie lured everyone to her room and Larry lay on the bed and when they all were able to see the whole body of the figure in the bed, they froze.  Alyssa’s eyes started accumulating tears.  They were all stunned stiff, and Janilsa was the first to say something, “Yo What’s up?”

That snapped everyone out of the shocked state and began talking with Larry.  Within five minutes it seemed like Larry had seen them every day for the past month.  It just felt right that they were all together again.  The party consisted of home cooked meals, socializing and watching the fire works.  After midnight, everyone at the party (it wasn’t just the circle but a few other people as well) went to a lounge to drink some more and dance.  Larry and Vonnie had a discussion on whether or not Larry was going to go (Larry hates dancing).  Finally Larry said, “Vonnie, what do you want?”

Vonnie responded, “I want you to go”

“Then I’m going”

“What do you want though?”

“It doesn’t matter what I want, it’s your birthday, it only matter what you want”

Turns out Larry had a great time at the lounge.  At first he was just drinking and didn’t get up to dance.  Then he remembered a time in the city when he briefly danced with some friends but then felt too stupid so he sat down.  Not long after that, Vonnie asked him to dance and he refused her because he didn’t want to feel stupid again.  Because of his action then he wanted to make it up to her now.  Plus, he didn’t want to be a party pooper after driving seven hours and most importantly, its Vonnie’s birthday, she wants it, she’d like it.  Given this, Larry got up and asked Vonnie to teach him to dance.  Larry ended up dancing with Alyssa, Tatiana and Vonnie’s sister as well that night and was very sweaty and drunk when the night was over.

                Everyone returned from the lounge at about 3:30AM and sat on the terrace and talked.  Larry passed out on the lawn chair so Vonnie led him to her room to sleep.  At 6:00AM everyone that wasn’t sleeping over left and those who were (Boris, Janilsa, Tatiana, Alyssa, and Vonnie) went to bed.  Vonnie slept with Larry in her bed and Boris, Tatiana and Alyssa slept in Vonnie’s parents’ bed while Janilsa slept on the couch. 

                7:00AM, Janilsa’s brother called because he wanted the car.  The phone was in Vonnie’s room so it woke both her and Larry up but Vonnie took the initiative to wake Janilsa and walk her out.  After Vonnie got back she went back to sleep.  Larry got up at 8:30, Larry tried to go back to sleep but at 10:30 realized it was helpless so he went on the terrace and just daydreamed.  Larry was a writer so this came easy.  It was here he realized how great of friends he had in New York.  He had one friend like the circle in Cleveland but he was always working.  Larry felt most comfortable with the people in Vonnie’s apartment than with anyone else.  He also thought about how happy it made him feel that he made Vonnie so ecstatic.  Because Larry is a pessimist, and happiness doesn’t come easy to him, he immediately accused himself of being egotistical.  He thought that talking about how happy he was, rather than just how ecstatic Vonnie was, was egotistical.  At noon, everyone else woke up. 

                As they had done on a few occasions the morning after a party, Alyssa, Tatiana, Vonnie and Boris made breakfast.  Larry can’t cook so he stayed out of the kitchen.  After breakfast they relaxed then went to Vonnie’s pool.  After the pool they changed, picked up AJ, and went for dinner at a diner where their friend George worked.  They then dropped AJ off to be with her friend while the rest of them played pool.  They finished playing pool at about 9:00.  They went back to Vonnie’s so Larry could get his stuff.  Due to a minor conflict between Vonnie and her parents, Larry couldn’t spend another night there, so he was going to stay with Boris.  Before leaving, Larry gave Vonnie a long hug in the parking lot of her building.  Vonnie’s friend Julia was taking Tatiana home and Vonnie was going with them.  Larry, Boris, and Alyssa left to see a movie.  They tried going to Manhattan but couldn’t find parking before the movie started.  They went to Queens, where Larry’s driving was extraordinary bad for reasons unknown.  They hung out at Alyssa’s a while until the 12:30 showing of Terminator three.  It was sold out when they got there, so they bought tickets for Charlie’s Angels and snuck into Terminator.  Afterwards, Larry took Alyssa home.  Larry stopped in front of her apartment and got out to hug her good bye.  Larry was blocking the road but there were no cars.  Alyssa said, “Now be safe driving; you psycho”

Larry took this as Alyssa not thinking he to be a good driver.  He asked her this and Alyssa grunted and shook her hand indicating “descent” Larry thought she was being nice.  Larry left and drove to Boris’s and arrived at 3:10AM and went to sleep. 

                Larry woke up at 8:00 and ate a lot of cherries.  Boris lived less than five minutes from Kera so he wanted to go over there.  He wanted to go for two reasons, one to see his Aunt, and the other to fulfill what he’s always wanted to since he was 16….drive to Kera’s by himself.  He did and had breakfast there.  Kera was not there but Larry talked to his Aunt and Uncle over breakfast.  Larry then got ready to head back to Cleveland at 11:00AM.  When he left, he called Vonnie because he left a videotape at her apartment.   Her dad answered and informed him that she was sleeping and to call back in two hours.  Larry said to himself, “We’ll see where I am in two hours” implying that it may take him that long to get to Fort Lee.

                Larry ran into trouble when he went through the battery tunnel and saw a sign that said “FDR right”  Larry said to himself, “Well that was easy”

                Turns out he jinxed himself because he turned right but it was not on the FDR.  He continued straight on that road, which turned out to be 12^th Ave., until he asked someone on 44^th street where the FDR is.  He told Larry to take 42^nd street all the way East.  Larry thanked him and did exactly that.  He did think the man lied to him since the GW Bridge is on the west side of Manhattan.  Because of this, he asked a cab driver, but got the same response, except the cab told him to go up first Ave.  While Larry was at a light a black man cleaned his windshield.  Larry gave him four quarters basically because Larry hated change and looked for excuses to get rid of it.  As Larry went straight, he approached a street “United Nations” Larry thought it should have said First Ave. but it didn’t so he tried to keep going.  The directions were to turn left and head north, but the street dead-ended into traffic going one-way south.  Larry saw a smaller street that headed north so took it without looking where it led.  A couple feet and Larry was in a closed port surrounded by poles and ramps.  Larry tried to maneuver his car out but when backing up checking his mirrors to not hit a pole, he heard the sound of metal on metal, for he hit the ramp that was before the pole that his rear view mirror couldn’t see.  This killed his nerves for his drive and didn’t even bother to check what damage was done but he thought the worst.  He followed the street south and turned when he could and got back on First Ave.  Turns out it turned into United Nations at 42^nd.  Larry found the FDR and took it to the GW Bridge.  For the first time, Larry enjoyed leaving Manhattan, only because he had sustained an accident there.  He had been driving for an hour and half, a half hour before Vonnie was supposed to wake up. 

                Larry decided to not stop by Vonnie’s and keep going.  He called a half hour later because he needed to be calmed down.  He did get a hold of Vonnie and they talked sporadically because Larry’s phone would lose connection every now and then.  He was right; talking to Vonnie calmed him down.  Larry stopped for gas in New Jersey, where it’s illegal to pump your own.  Larry’s gas meter said he had a little less than a quarter tank so about 13 gallons are needed to be put in.  The attendant put 14.6 and Larry’s car only holds 15 gallons.  Larry was worried that all of a sudden his gas meter had broken and was thankful he didn’t run out of gas, for a light didn’t even come on.

                Larry had minor difficulty finding 80 again but did eventually and traveled toward Ohio.  With about 167 miles left in Pennsylvania, Larry became extremely tired.  He promised himself he would stop at the next rest stop after mile 155, because that’s halfway through Pennsylvania.  Getting there saw him dose off for a couple seconds twice and almost end up in a different lane.  Finally he got to the rest stop after mile 155 and went to the bathroom.  His seat was already fully back when he got to his car (he did it before getting out) and he set his watch for 10 minutes agreeing that if he wasn’t asleep in 10 minutes, he’d leave.  He kept telling himself that his tiredness was psychological.  Ten minutes passed, he didn’t fall asleep so he left.  Somehow, the 10 minute relaxation rejuvenated him and he was fine the rest of the way.  He ran into a rainstorm toward the end of Pennsylvania but all in all he was okay. 

With less than 20 miles left he saw his gas meter go to quarter tank.  Remembering his previous experience he was worried that it was lying so he looked for gas.  He saw a sign that said “gas” next exit.  He thought it weird because normally it has the names of the gas stations near that exit, but he took it anyway.  When he got to the gas station, however, he was upset it was BP (BP fuel ruins the engines of cars) so he drove down the road looking for another one.  When all he saw was farms he turned back and decided to go with BP just this once.  When he got to the station, however, every single pump was out of order.  This shocked Larry and he drove around it thinking there had to be one that was operative…nope.  He got back on 80 and saw another generic gas sign at the last exit of Pennsylvania, which happened to be the same one he got off when he realized he was going west when he should’ve been going East.  He got off thinking that he turned around at a gas station the first time he took the exit.  After driving for at least 20 minutes, he saw nothing but farms and an occasional factory.  He turned back convinced he would run out of gas.  He went to Ohio and promised himself he would only get off if it said the company.  The first exit in Ohio had a shell gas station so he took the exit and stopped at Shell.  This Shell, however, was for trucks only.  Looking around, he saw another Shell station a half block away and figured that was for cars. The first pump he came to was Diesel so he asked someone where regular was, turns out he just had to pull up but after his gas experience, he couldn’t be sure.  He filled up and checked his car for damage…there was none.  He then went back to 80 again.

Driving on 80 he saw a sign for the Ohio Turnpike, but when he came to the exit the sign didn’t repeat so he didn’t take it.  He got nervous though so got off at the next exit, took 80 E, got off again and went back to west to take that exit.  Five minutes later, he realized he had made the same mistake he made the first time he was the driver while coming back from New York.  He took the alternate Ohio Turnpike.  He didn’t feel like backtracking again so he kept following signs, always nervous about whether he was doing the right thing.  Last time his mom helped him through the mistake but she wasn’t in the car.  He thought it a good sign that the sun was in front of him since the sun sets in the west.  About two to three hours later he found a highway he recognized and cheered it.  He then went home.  It had been nine hours and 43 minutes since he left Brooklyn.  He ended his entire trip after traveling 1273 miles. 

Was it worth it for Larry?  Driving 1273 mile, getting lost, taking alternate routes, getting in an accident, was it all worth it?  Was it shady of Larry to lie to Vonnie?  If you ask Larry, even if he got so lost and ended up in California having to backtrack back, it would have been worth it.  He finally did something he wanted to do for three years.  In doing so he pleasantly shocked his best friend and made her birthday a little better.  Anyone that doubts this trip was worth it cannot imagine the look of happiness on Vonnie’s face.  To see a friend that happy because of a simple act, justifies lying, and justifies any distance traveled.  Larry would do anything for his friends.  He would do it again in a heartbeat because he loves Vonnie and the rest of the circle.  He will see them again in two months or maybe before depending on if they visit him….or…Larry goes to New York again.