He Felt the Sting of Glory

Cellophane takes his lae fathers hog out for a ride and begins work at The Beast Of Denton.

Chapter Five: He Felt the Sting of Glory

 

Cellophane awoke early today, even though he did not need to show up for his first day working at the bar till five PM he could not sleep. The past week had flown by, strict rigorous physical conditioning and exercise filled the week. He didn’t even have time to stop by the bar on Wednesday to learn how to use the gun.

The gun lay in his bottom desk drawer, the only drawer with a combination lock. Other items in the drawer included his birth certificate, expired state I.D.’s and Licenses, and a utility belt he used to wear when he and his parents would go hiking and camping. Three years had passed since they died; three years had passed since he had made any contact with his remaining family.

He stood from his bed and straightened his posture, then dropped to the floor and began counting off pushups. ‘One…Two…Three…Four…Five…’ he counted a mixture of in his head and out loud. He had not pushed his body this hard in months, but he knew he would need the strength and focus if he was going to survive being a bouncer. He had always been told that he was a scrappy guy. Which was basically a nice way of saying that you don’t look like you could fight worth s**t, but you can take a beating and tire the other guy out.  He always wanted to prove the a******s who said those things wrong… his biological father, wherever he was.  Staring at the floor and focusing on the counting in his head he did not hear the bedroom door open and Throttle walk in, sit down on the computer chair to quietly watch.

                “You keep at it like this and you might just actually develop muscle Cell.” She said with a giggle making him loose count at fifty-seven and roll to his back. He looked up at the ceiling, greatly embarrassed and awaiting mockery from her. Instead she stood and walked over to him and sat on his stomach that had virtually no muscle just flat flab and ribcages.  Now he was blushing even more than before. Throttle placed three pain killers on Cellophane’s chest and laid on him giving him a hug. She then whispered,

                “There is something you are keeping from us. I am sure it is for a good reason, or, it is a good reason in your head… but be careful. I want you to know I have not forgotten what you said last week. And I do not want you saying that or thinking that way anymore. You may feel like you are trapped by this pain and this unfair hand everyone else is dealt the same… but remember, no giving up.”

                Cellophane had never heard her talk this way before. His heart began to race and a smile upon her face told Cellophane that she could feel it through his chest. He wanted to hug her, or even respond, but he felt like anything he could possibly think of doing would ruin the moment and then it would have to end. Before he could make a decision Throttle stood and walked to the door saying,

                “Try to make those three last you till you go to work. Sepia will give you the three that you will take with you to the bar. AND NO DRINKING!” without waiting for a reply she closed the door and suddenly Cellophane could move and speak again.

 

After continuing his workout and tearing every muscle in his body he walked out to the back yard. Under a blue tarp next to the shed Diamond ’s father built was Cellophane’s stepfather’s motorcycle. A black and chrome Harley Sportster. His mind filled with memories of waking up to Leon driving off at night to go find work or to go meet up with his friends. The bike was left to no one in the will so Cellophane decided to claim it before someone else got their hands on it and sold it.

                Though he never actually drove it, he kept it in tip top shape, starting it every day when he could, washing it, caring for the black leather seat and tending to every little bump or scratch that was inflicted over years of use by his step farther. Today though, he would ride it to his work and begin using it as his primary means of transportation.

Cellophane could remember Leon’s words,

“Remember, Right is wrong. Mount the bike from the left.”

The first time he had ever sat on the bike he felt unbalanced, like he was going to topple over and have his ankle crushed by the six-hundred pound hog. But when his hands where on the handlebars and his body fell into position, he felt safe and reserved, like he was at home.

Starting the bike for the first time startled him at first, it gave Leon endless amounts of enjoyment watching Cellophane jump as the machine bellowed and rumbled beneath his legs. He could remember that the first time he had started it; he sat motionless in the seat listening to the sounds of the engine, feeling the vibrations of the pistons and smelling the scent of gas and metal. And all at once, as the bike warmed him and he warmed to the bike, he drove! He was no speedy Gonzales dumb a*s though. He started slow, driving around the barn, up the hill and back again slowly increasing his speed with each lap.

 

                Standing next to the bike, which he had now pushed to the driveway, he remembered when he first put on his scorpion helmet with digital heads up display. The most expensive Christmas present he had ever gotten. Measuring speed, wind, compass and temperature where just the flashy digital parts of it that showed up on the shade visor like a computer. The best part of the helmet was the cooling system of vents that kept Cellophane nice and cool even when riding in the blistering Texas sun in the middle of summer.  The helmet hooked up to the bikes battery and never died from lack of charge, waterproof, heatproof and cold resistant. When he wore this helmet Cellophane felt like he was Ironman.

As he thought about it, he began to laugh. He opened the leather bag on the side and pulled out the helmet and underneath was a bag that held his bike jacket and gloves. The jacket was a modern version of the kind of jacket Fonzy wore in ‘Happy Days’ but instead of being thick leather it was black nylon with injected resin elbow, wrist, shoulder and waist pads. Again nostalgia crept up on Cellophane as he remembered Leon saying,

                ‘That s**t won’t break no matter what you put it through. I tried stabbing a knife through mine and it stopped dead before it ever made a scratch.’  Cellophane thought of how his mother Ann was furious when she had to stitch up the brand new bike jacket Leon had literally had for less than a day.

The jacket still fit perfectly, the nylon windproof gloves where a bit tight, but he would live and wearing them he was safe from his fingers getting frozen to the handlebars in this cold September air.

Cellophane started the bike, as it warmed up he began to program the GPS on his helmet to show him the longest route to Lithium’s house. He wanted to spend some time on this bike, to make up for four years of lost time. He released the clutch and popped the bike into first gear. As if the bike where barking at people to get out of the way Cellophane sped off away from the house.

 

The late morning sun warmed his neck even with the cold air blasting through him. This side of Denton was quiet on a weekday, kids at school adults in college and parents at work. Taking the newly paved smooth back roads Cellophane rarely saw any other cars during this time of day. He couldn’t believe it had been so long since he had ridden the bike. In his head he apologized to the ride as if he had done it wrong by not actually taking it out on the road from time to time. His eyes scanned driveways and corners for oncoming traffic, with the loud bellow of the motor he would not be able to hear someone coming so he had to rely on his sight and instincts, which after a couple of years of not riding where dull to say the least.  Soon he became at ease with driving and was able to let his mind ponder the things that he could not think about anywhere else. He thought of Throttle and the way it felt to have her held against him. He thought of Sepia and how he needed to let her know he was not trying to worry her or Diamond  either, of Mendez and the job tonight and so many other things. The road was the best therapist he could have ever asked for. Free, same results and far more fun.   

 

                “So, finally going to start driving yourself around?” Lithium asked as Cellophane dismounted the bike. He laughed in response and pulled out the package of new sheets from his side bag. Tossing them to Lithium he said,

                “Yeah well, now that I have a job I thought I might as well try to act like an adult.”

Lithium laughed catching the package of sheets and said,

                “Well Well, so you are going to go through with it after all? You think Mendez can really be trusted?” the smile on Cellophane’s face vanished as the question was asked. He sat next to Lithium on the steps of the house, looking up at the trees he said,

                “Well, it’s just a security job. I am not going to take him up on the gang membership offer.” Lithium disagreed with Cellophane greatly.

                “You and I both know that this guy would not have asked you to work security. Compared to the other bouncers that work there you are a f*****g toothpick bro. there is something else going on there. I don’t think you shoul…” before he could finish his reply Cellophane quickly said,

                “I don’t have that luxury. I need a job, no one will hire me and this guy will. I get paid good money and it will give me a distraction from pills for a bit… and a distraction from women as well.” 

Lithium smirked in response then patted Cellophane on the back saying,

                “Throttle? Still?” Cellophane nodded and exhaled deeply preparing for the oncoming wave of Lithium’s words of wisdom,

                “She is your best friends little sister, one of your best friends, sees you like a brother and most likely would not be able to get passed any of that. You haven’t told Dime or Sepia yet have you?” Cell nodded in response and leaned back onto the steps. He knew that Lithium was right and he needed to do whatever he could to get passed these feelings and move on.

                “How about, you me and Transmission go out for a drink Wednesday night and we try to get you hooked up with a new girl who has no strings attached to her?” Lithium offered trying to cheer Cellophane up, he laughed and replied as he stood and walked toward his bike,

                “Nah man, you and your old bed sheets know I don’t need help picking up a one night Betty. I just need to make some cash and keep distracted from Throttle.” He then mounted the bike and put his helmet on.

                “If I know anything about you brother, it is that you are beating yourself up inside already over this. Your only human man, you cannot control who you grow feelings for. Hold yourself to inhuman standards, and you are going to get stung. Bad thing about a sting is that it is not the initial pain that sucks, it is the long term effect of the poison left behind.”  As Lithium said his piece Cellophane quickly said,

“What if it wasn’t me with feelings for Throttle, what if it was me with feelings for Cathy?” Cathy was Lithium’s little sister. He laughed and said,

“I wouldn’t let you near her because I wouldn’t want to have our friendship destroyed and I wouldn’t want to have to cut your dick off if you broke her heart.”

Cellophane laughed and started the bike, then left without a word.

 

The moon could faintly be seen in the sky already as Cellophane pulled up to the bar, Sepia stood outside waiting for Cellophane. As he dismounted the bike and put his helmet and gloves away she walked up to him.        

                “Throttle wanted me to be sure you had these.” She said handing him three of his pain killers. He laughed and pulled the three given to him earlier out of his pocket, he then replied,

                “Been in pain, but I have been driving all day so I never took any.” Sepia smiled a bit, and gave him a hug, but as her body pressed against the gun in his jacket pocket she pulled away and looked at the pocket saying in a laugh,

                “What’s that?” The smile faded from her face as she saw the handle of the gun sticking out of his pocket. She backed up and said angrily,

                “What the hell Cell! Why do you have a gun?!” Cellophane quickly covered her mouth and said,

                “SHHH! The owner of the bar gave it to me. It is just for safety.”

Sepia blew it off quickly as one of the known gang members walked out; it was Mario dressed in a Hawaiian shirt and khaki shorts. He looked like a tourist on vacation in the Bahamas. He signaled for Cellophane to follow him. Sepia gave him a hug and said,

                “Please don’t do anything stupid. Ok?”

Cellophane did not respond and followed Mario. Before two minutes had passed Cellophane had taken a pain killer and began to melt into his new mellow job. However he could feel that he was following Mario towards something that would take this first day of work and turn it into more drama.

Author's Note

the plot thickens as Cellophane's past is revealed more and more and he begins his potentially dangerous job.