Jesse smiled, firmly clapping his hands together as if he were the leader of one of the school's lame ass pep rallies, just as ready to party as he was to have lunch with Aria. He pointed to the door yet again. "Then, let's bounce, right?" he said enthusiastically, smirking as he backed up toward the door. The others followed behind him, sending a surge of pride through his young, stoner heart. Pulling off an originally feeble lie was one thing - getting an awesome party out of it was a complete other. That was triumph. And Jesse ate that up.
Upon entering the school, the firebell had ended its loud, obnoxious blare, and it seemed as if the firemen had evacuated completely, leaving nothing but a set of dirty boot prints behind. Jesse was thankful that lunch wasn't pushed back any farther than it already was, seeing as how he needed ample time to both invite a shit load of people, and hang out with Aria. Maybe she could even give him a few pointers for the Math test in a couple days, seeing as how he wasn't planning on studying himself. Jesse, walking down the hall with his hands in his pockets, smiled at the thought of it.
The lunch room was a pretty expansive place, with tons of areas to eat, as well as a drink vendor and snack machine, side by side, next to the main food line. Jesse usually got the unhealthy stuff - the greasy, not-particularly-delectable-yet-still-edible burgers, or an old, soggy hot dog - so he allowed himself to focus on the food ahead of him, mentally noting what to eat before sauntering over to Emilio's table, formulating his invitation.
"Yo!" he shouted, leaning over Emilio, his arm placed loosely over his friend's neck. Emilio swiveled around casually, knowing who he was speaking with from years of familiarity, and smiled, his other tablemates doing the same. Jesse's grin widened. "Party at Badger's at..." Jesse paused, thinking over a suitable time. Lunch ended at about 1, and they'd need another hour to get stuff set up. Satisfied, he said, nodding, "At two. Be ready."
Peter, also known as Skinny Pete (mostly everybody in Jesse's circle had a nickname; Brandon was Badger, Peter was Skinny Pete, and Christian was Combo), glanced up at Jesse, his brows arched. "Yo, last time I talked to Badger, he said had the stomach bug, man. He said he was shittin' up blood and worms and shit, like, everywhere! You sure you wanna have a party there? It might be ebola."
Jesse rolled his eyes, standing back up into his original position, looming over Emilio without touching him. He leaned forward slightly, looking at Skinny Pete. "Yo, Skinny, he's fine," he said, staring intently. "I mean, it was probably just an excuse to ditch today. I think he was worried about some History test."
Combo shook his head. "I don't know, man. I'd call him."
"Fine, I will," Jesse said, nodding emphatically and reaching for his phone inside his front jean pockets. Now cradled in his pale, bony hands, he turned the phone on, dialing Badger's number with the irritation plain on his face.
Ring, ring, ring. Silently, Jesse waited for him to pick up. "He's fine, yo," he said again, scanning his usual table with reassuring eyes. Skinny shrugged.
A familiar voice sounded from across the line. "Hello?" Badger said, his tone groggy and tired.
"Yo, man, I need a favor."
"Who is this?"
Jesse rolled his eyes, scoffing deeply and resisting the urge to hang up. God, didn't Badger have Caller ID? The guy was stupid, but not that stupid. "You know who it is," he said, his voice pinched from his tightly clenched jaw. "Party at your house at 2. Some people are coming over to set up, like, in the immediate future. Totally non negotiable. So put out your joint or whatever and get ready. You get me?"
"Whaaat?"
Great. Get totally stoned, why don't you? "Listen, bitch." His tone became more aggressive. "I asked you a straight up question, so I expect a straight up answer."
There was a long pause on the other line, then the sound of coughing, then Badger's voice again. Jesse knew high when he heard high, seeing as how the majority of his friends were ride or die stoners, so it was safe to say that Badger didn't have ebola. "Yeah, man, sounds...good..." he said, and Jesse could imagine him nod. "But, like, I don't appreciate you...like, putting me on the spot like this, man. Don't I get...compensation, or some shit?"
Jesse didn't see it necessary to say anymore, so he hung up, shoving the phone back in his pocket and likely leaving Badger dazed and confused on the other line. He looked to his friends. "Badger's fine, guys. I told you. His parents are out of town, and he's not sick. Party's on, bitches!"
Emilio grinned, pumping his fist high into the air. "Hell yeah!" he hollered, clapping. Smiling wide, the others joined his chant, Jesse contentedly laughing with them until he regained seriousness.
"Now, I'm gonna go get some food," he told them, gesturing to the chow line. "So you all see who you can invite. I want this party moving, yo. No wet blankets, no snitches, no dumbasses, no bitches. Got it?"
The others grinned, shouting statements of commitment or nodding emphatically, obviously psyched for a way to ditch school, get high, and have some fun. This party would be in the history books - Jesse'd make sure of it.
Yeah, bitch.