Friday, February 7, 2014

Tantrum

A Chuck Wendig Contest Entry Tantrum is the name of the story and the drink so without further ado here is the recipe of the drink.

2 fingers of Vodka
4 oz Mountain Dew Voltage
1 oz Orange Juice

TANTRUM

Music pumped out from every room on the floor, it was awful in the hallway it all turned into a jumble of noise that only cleared about in each room a bit. I retreated back to my room and topped off my drink. Two fingers of vodka, half a can of Mountain Dew Voltage and a splash of orange juice, I've yet to find anybody else who liked it. I lay back on my bed and listened to K Pop as my room represented the good Korea. My roommate was gone, but a few people were hanging out in the room, anything worth taking was locked up in our closet so I wandered out to the common area where better music was playing and more people were hanging out. Tiana was at the air hockey table so I wandered over that way and watched her finish off the guy who lived two rooms down from me.

“I don't think you can take me as easily.”

“Sounds like words, but looks like a load of shit, considering I always beat you.”

“Tonight I'm feeling lucky.”

“It's probably just your stomach revolting against that fucked up mixture of liquids you're drinking.”

“Not my fault your palate's not sophisticated enough to drink this.”

“If that's sophisticated I'll stick to whatever keg I can get access to with five dollars.”

“Don't say I didn't try to expand your tastes once you leave.”

“I'll always remember you as the guy who drank that super weird drink that tasted like rancid asshole.”

“So you taste a lot of rancid asshole?”

“Not on my days off, but you only get so many of those,” Tiana said. “Now are we going to play or do you want to stand there and gossip?”

“I don't know, I'm pretty good at talking.”

“Tough it's time to put up or shut up.”

“If you win we go somewhere with good music,” I said. “If I win we go to my room and listen to K-Pop.”

“For both our sakes, I must win.”

Tiana hit the puck off the wall and I blocked it off and sent it back toward her. Not much momentum on the puck, I should have kept it on my side. She fired it back with wild ricochets off the walls and I missed it as it slid into the goal. I was down quickly, not that I was surprised. I dropped the disc on the table and fired off my own wildly ricocheting shot that she stopped and fired straight back at me. I blocked the shot, but it bounced back at her and she fired it in with an angle that I saw, but somehow still couldn't stop from going in. The game continued that way, except for one shining moment, when I countered a rebounding shot and sent it bouncing back and forth before it found Tiana's goal.

“You've already tied your high score of a goal,” Tiana said as she set the puck on the table. “Maybe you can double up on that.”

“Maybe it's just the beginning of my comeback.”

“Sure, all you have to do is score nine before I get another goal.”

“You make it sound all too easy.”

Tiana looked straight at me, I almost missed the flick of her wrist that sent the puck toward my side of the table. I lunged at it and missed as it slid home and scored her the final point of the game.

“Guess you lost,” Tiana said then finished the last of the beer in her cup. “Before we leave this place get me a refill.”

“It's the least I can do,” I said as I grabbed the solo cup.

I pushed through the crowd and refilled the cup with beer before I went to the stairs and handed the cup to Tiana then headed down one floor to her room. It was a messy room, but not too messy. Tiana dropped onto her bed and I sat down beside her.

“Everything's going better than I planned,” I said. “Losing to you guaranteed me time with you, I didn't think I'd end up in your room.”

“Sorry, I have ulterior motives, I need your help with a paper.”

“Really?”

“No,” she said. “You're brave enough to drink whatever it is you have in that cup.”

“Tantrum.”

“But not enough to make a move. It's kind of a bummer. I should have known better than to wait.”

Tiana grabbed the back of my head and pulled me forward into a kiss. Even as drunk as I was I managed to react in time to make it a good kiss, or at least as good as I knew how to make a kiss.

“Damn,” I said.

“Wish I could say the same.”


“Shit, I wasn't even trying,” I said as I leaned forward and started a kiss.