HOME | DD

Description
Chapter One: Operation Fall Weiss

The night had been cool and calm, with a big, bright fire giving Clarissa all the warmth she could ever want. In her left hand, she had a beer; and in her right, she had a lighter. It was a parody of an old Vietnam War lighter, a gag gift from her deceased lover. She stared down at it aimlessly. “I fear no evil. My GF is the baddest motherfucker in the valley,” had been printed on the side, with a hilarious set of crossbones over a skull. She rolled her eyes, recalling Michael’s deep, throaty laugh when she read it out loud at the unwrapping. A smile crept up on her lips. She wished the warmth from the fire felt more like his big, bony arms embracing her. The smile fell off; she remembered that he had been on this very same beach.

She came back to reality when the new, cute boy blew a big puff of smoke into the night sky. “So, Alex’s turn?” he asked, to which Ren annoyingly confirmed that it was, indeed, the girl’s turn.
Slouching, Clarissa glanced up at Nona, but saw that her friend was looking at her already, so she awkwardly pulled her eyes back to her lighter. She knew she’d figure out how to sidle in between Alex and her new step-brother, steal him away from her too. Offering him a light would be a smooth way to do it.

“Clarissa,” Alex boldly started.

She looked up. Alex was sitting across from her, so from Clarissa’s perspective the girl was drowning in fire. Smiling, she perked up and asked ever so sweetly, “Yes, mum?”

Alex could do anything she wanted, Clarissa had already learned. The girl could be quiet, get someone to spill beans on their own; she could be direct, ask the questions that needed to be answered; she could even be mean, force someone to do something to help her or the “team”.

But Clarissa didn’t expect or know how to respond to “Did you and Michael ever have any plans?”

“We planned to rip your head off and throw it in your face,” was what Clarissa would have said, but she knew it would have pissed off Nona for the whole night. Instead, Clarissa played for time. It had been a while since she’d had a smoke. Nona wasn’t fond of the stench, so she’d taken one while Nona had set up their beach camp. Thinking on Alex’s question, she pulled out her packet. “Plans for what, exactly? Cause, honestly, I have no idea what you’re-”

“Plans for the future, as couples tend to make,” Alex cooley replied. If Clarissa didn’t know any better, she’d say that the girl was bored.

This prompted Clarissa to reason that the snarky little twerp knew exactly what they had planned. Cursing herself, Clarissa wondered why she had poured her heart and soul out to Michael, when she knew that he would just relay everything to his sister. Taking a breath, she pulled out a cigarette and held it to the fire just long enough to ignite.

“We planned to invade Russia, but we didn’t pack enough oil,” Clarissa shot back, as dry as the crackers she always chewed on with her mouth wide open. Only when Alex sat with her and Michael at their lunch table did she resort to such petty tactics of wearing down the girl’s nerves. Confident in her abilities to tackle the girl, she lit up, filling her lungs with that sweet, cancerous nicotine. “Darn shame too. We had the strength to fight, but not enough to win.”

Scoffing, Alex shot back, “I didn’t know you actually paid attention in history class.”

“Oh!” Clarissa perked up, raring to go. “You want to talk about paying attention? Being aware of your surroundings? Maybe even acting on them?” Ren and Jonas tried to diffuse the growing tension, but Clarissa never backed down and pushed. Onward to Moscow, she thought as she took a satisfying drag of her cigarette. “It’s my turn to ask a question!” she let everyone know, a smirk growing on her face. Staring across the fire, she looked Alex right in the eye, took a long drag, and demanded, “Alex. Why did your parents get a divorce?”

Frowning, Alex stood her ground, jaw fidgeting side-to-side. Lips scrunched, she racked her brain for a comeback. “Go to Hell,” was all she could manage.

“Who’s going to Hell?” Clarissa was all too happy to regain the strategic initiative, blowing a wonderful cloud of smoke into the sky. “No, I don’t think either of your parents died, Alex. Even if anyone in your family died, they wouldn’t have gone to Hell. Only terrible people with terrible sins go to Hell. Alex. Now, if you’re not going to answer tru-”

Alex shouted back, “You know damn well-!”

“-Truthfully!” Clarissa yelled louder, heart racing as she was finally on top again. “I get to slap you!”

Alex marched right on over to Clarissa and spat in her face.

Flinching, Clarissa swung her hand right into Alex’s cheek, cigarette flying out and snuffing in the sand. The smack went out across the island, and Alex held a devious grin through it. Both her cheek, and Clarissa’s hand were sore and stinging, but both also felt that they had achieved some sense of a victory over the other; though, they both knew the other too well to think that it was and end to things between them. As satisfying as it was in the moment, Clarissa wished she hadn’t wasted half a cigarette for it.

The impending brawl was cut short as the gang split up, leaving her alone with her last, true friend.

She watched as Jonas hopped the fence after Alex.

“I hate her so much,” Clarissa huffed into her beer can, taking a much-needed swig to quench her thirst and cool her rage. Though, in reality, more beer was the last thing she needed.

“Clarissa,” Nona sighed, head in hand. It hadn’t been the first time Clarissa had destroyed a social circle and was content to sit in the wreckage. Nona always had to make the best of it, but tonight had been her one social activity she had been looking forward towards.

Ignoring her friend, Clarissa pushed, “Why didn’t she just get speared on that fence post?”

“Clarissa! Stop it!” Nona nearly shouted at her, more exasperated than angry. “You don’t mean things like tha-”

Redirecting her anger towards Nona, Clarissa demanded, “Don’t tell me what I me-”

Nona re-interrupted, “Don’t tell me what to do either! I chose to stay with you!” Glaring back at Clarissa, Nona tried to be angry about it, but she just wanted to have a good night with her friend. Going soft, she said more quietly, “So the least you can do is act like decent company.”

The two fell silent. The roaring fire died down a bit. Finally, Clarissa acknowledged, “I’m sorry. I can’t keep my composure around that girl, and I should have just walked away when I saw her coming down the cliffside.” Her beer was not wide, tall, or strong enough for her, and she emptied it with a grumble. “Every time I see her... I just wish I could go back.”

Resting her head in her hands, Nona wondered, “You have the rest of your life to do anything. Are you going to waste it all on hating Alex?”

Frowning, Clarissa shot back, “You wanna keep going in circles? God only knows how much complaining I’ve done. Let’s just change the subject.” Irritated by everything in life, Clarissa suddenly wanted another cigarette, if only to finish her smoke break from earlier.

“Sure,” Nona agreed, some cheer returning to her tone. “I have a question. What do you think of Ren?”

Scoffing, Clarissa confidently explained to her friend, “Nona, you could get a woman who’s twice the man he’ll ever be in your sleep!” Warmed by her laughter, she went on, “You could have your pick of any man in all the land, any woman from Heaven and earth. You’d just have to shake Heaven a bit to knock some of the angels out, first.”

“You must want him all to yourself,” Nona theorized with a laugh. “It’s not everyday someone likes me. I’m not getting any younger. Maybe I should go kiss him right now,” she teased.

Rolling her eyes, Clarissa melodramatically tossed her hand to the wind. “Far be it for me to decide who you fall in love with, Nona,” she decided, blessing the girl’s foolish desires.

Head drooping, Nona’s laugh died off as she agreed, “Yeah. I guess it wasn’t your decision.”

The two sat in silence for a few more minutes. Clarissa just wanted to take in the beautify of Mother Nature. It was almost a perfect night; the moon was coming out, the stars were waking up, that chilly wind massaged her face as it swept by every once in a while, and best of all: Clarissa was accompanied by her favorite, best, and last friend. Sighing, Clarissa was content to watch the horizon as the tide swayed back and forth.

“Okay,” Nona decided, swirling her beer can before looking up. “Um, new question. Why are there lights coming out of the cave?”

Description
Chapter One: Operation Fall Weiss

The night had been cool and calm, with a big, bright fire giving Clarissa all the warmth she could ever want. In her left hand, she had a beer; and in her right, she had a lighter. It was a parody of an old Vietnam War lighter, a gag gift from her deceased lover. She stared down at it aimlessly. “I fear no evil. My GF is the baddest motherfucker in the valley,” had been printed on the side, with a hilarious set of crossbones over a skull. She rolled her eyes, recalling Michael’s deep, throaty laugh when she read it out loud at the unwrapping. A smile crept up on her lips. She wished the warmth from the fire felt more like his big, bony arms embracing her. The smile fell off; she remembered that he had been on this very same beach.

She came back to reality when the new, cute boy blew a big puff of smoke into the night sky. “So, Alex’s turn?” he asked, to which Ren annoyingly confirmed that it was, indeed, the girl’s turn.
Slouching, Clarissa glanced up at Nona, but saw that her friend was looking at her already, so she awkwardly pulled her eyes back to her lighter. She knew she’d figure out how to sidle in between Alex and her new step-brother, steal him away from her too. Offering him a light would be a smooth way to do it.

“Clarissa,” Alex boldly started.

She looked up. Alex was sitting across from her, so from Clarissa’s perspective the girl was drowning in fire. Smiling, she perked up and asked ever so sweetly, “Yes, mum?”

Alex could do anything she wanted, Clarissa had already learned. The girl could be quiet, get someone to spill beans on their own; she could be direct, ask the questions that needed to be answered; she could even be mean, force someone to do something to help her or the “team”.

But Clarissa didn’t expect or know how to respond to “Did you and Michael ever have any plans?”

“We planned to rip your head off and throw it in your face,” was what Clarissa would have said, but she knew it would have pissed off Nona for the whole night. Instead, Clarissa played for time. It had been a while since she’d had a smoke. Nona wasn’t fond of the stench, so she’d taken one while Nona had set up their beach camp. Thinking on Alex’s question, she pulled out her packet. “Plans for what, exactly? Cause, honestly, I have no idea what you’re-”

“Plans for the future, as couples tend to make,” Alex cooley replied. If Clarissa didn’t know any better, she’d say that the girl was bored.

This prompted Clarissa to reason that the snarky little twerp knew exactly what they had planned. Cursing herself, Clarissa wondered why she had poured her heart and soul out to Michael, when she knew that he would just relay everything to his sister. Taking a breath, she pulled out a cigarette and held it to the fire just long enough to ignite.

“We planned to invade Russia, but we didn’t pack enough oil,” Clarissa shot back, as dry as the crackers she always chewed on with her mouth wide open. Only when Alex sat with her and Michael at their lunch table did she resort to such petty tactics of wearing down the girl’s nerves. Confident in her abilities to tackle the girl, she lit up, filling her lungs with that sweet, cancerous nicotine. “Darn shame too. We had the strength to fight, but not enough to win.”

Scoffing, Alex shot back, “I didn’t know you actually paid attention in history class.”

“Oh!” Clarissa perked up, raring to go. “You want to talk about paying attention? Being aware of your surroundings? Maybe even acting on them?” Ren and Jonas tried to diffuse the growing tension, but Clarissa never backed down and pushed. Onward to Moscow, she thought as she took a satisfying drag of her cigarette. “It’s my turn to ask a question!” she let everyone know, a smirk growing on her face. Staring across the fire, she looked Alex right in the eye, took a long drag, and demanded, “Alex. Why did your parents get a divorce?”

Frowning, Alex stood her ground, jaw fidgeting side-to-side. Lips scrunched, she racked her brain for a comeback. “Go to Hell,” was all she could manage.

“Who’s going to Hell?” Clarissa was all too happy to regain the strategic initiative, blowing a wonderful cloud of smoke into the sky. “No, I don’t think either of your parents died, Alex. Even if anyone in your family died, they wouldn’t have gone to Hell. Only terrible people with terrible sins go to Hell. Alex. Now, if you’re not going to answer tru-”

Alex shouted back, “You know damn well-!”

“-Truthfully!” Clarissa yelled louder, heart racing as she was finally on top again. “I get to slap you!”

Alex marched right on over to Clarissa and spat in her face.

Flinching, Clarissa swung her hand right into Alex’s cheek, cigarette flying out and snuffing in the sand. The smack went out across the island, and Alex held a devious grin through it. Both her cheek, and Clarissa’s hand were sore and stinging, but both also felt that they had achieved some sense of a victory over the other; though, they both knew the other too well to think that it was and end to things between them. As satisfying as it was in the moment, Clarissa wished she hadn’t wasted half a cigarette for it.

The impending brawl was cut short as the gang split up, leaving her alone with her last, true friend.

She watched as Jonas hopped the fence after Alex.

“I hate her so much,” Clarissa huffed into her beer can, taking a much-needed swig to quench her thirst and cool her rage. Though, in reality, more beer was the last thing she needed.

“Clarissa,” Nona sighed, head in hand. It hadn’t been the first time Clarissa had destroyed a social circle and was content to sit in the wreckage. Nona always had to make the best of it, but tonight had been her one social activity she had been looking forward towards.

Ignoring her friend, Clarissa pushed, “Why didn’t she just get speared on that fence post?”

“Clarissa! Stop it!” Nona nearly shouted at her, more exasperated than angry. “You don’t mean things like tha-”

Redirecting her anger towards Nona, Clarissa demanded, “Don’t tell me what I me-”

Nona re-interrupted, “Don’t tell me what to do either! I chose to stay with you!” Glaring back at Clarissa, Nona tried to be angry about it, but she just wanted to have a good night with her friend. Going soft, she said more quietly, “So the least you can do is act like decent company.”

The two fell silent. The roaring fire died down a bit. Finally, Clarissa acknowledged, “I’m sorry. I can’t keep my composure around that girl, and I should have just walked away when I saw her coming down the cliffside.” Her beer was not wide, tall, or strong enough for her, and she emptied it with a grumble. “Every time I see her... I just wish I could go back.”

Resting her head in her hands, Nona wondered, “You have the rest of your life to do anything. Are you going to waste it all on hating Alex?”

Frowning, Clarissa shot back, “You wanna keep going in circles? God only knows how much complaining I’ve done. Let’s just change the subject.” Irritated by everything in life, Clarissa suddenly wanted another cigarette, if only to finish her smoke break from earlier.

“Sure,” Nona agreed, some cheer returning to her tone. “I have a question. What do you think of Ren?”

Scoffing, Clarissa confidently explained to her friend, “Nona, you could get a woman who’s twice the man he’ll ever be in your sleep!” Warmed by her laughter, she went on, “You could have your pick of any man in all the land, any woman from Heaven and earth. You’d just have to shake Heaven a bit to knock some of the angels out, first.”

“You must want him all to yourself,” Nona theorized with a laugh. “It’s not everyday someone likes me. I’m not getting any younger. Maybe I should go kiss him right now,” she teased.

Rolling her eyes, Clarissa melodramatically tossed her hand to the wind. “Far be it for me to decide who you fall in love with, Nona,” she decided, blessing the girl’s foolish desires.

Head drooping, Nona’s laugh died off as she agreed, “Yeah. I guess it wasn’t your decision.”

The two sat in silence for a few more minutes. Clarissa just wanted to take in the beautify of Mother Nature. It was almost a perfect night; the moon was coming out, the stars were waking up, that chilly wind massaged her face as it swept by every once in a while, and best of all: Clarissa was accompanied by her favorite, best, and last friend. Sighing, Clarissa was content to watch the horizon as the tide swayed back and forth.

“Okay,” Nona decided, swirling her beer can before looking up. “Um, new question. Why are there lights coming out of the cave?”