Suzie’s House 303 : The Passion Pit Show

“This is so iconic,” Tracy grumbled.

“Iconic?” Bruce looked puzzled for a minute. “Oh! You mean ironic!”

“That’s what I said,” Tracy glared at him. “Like I was saying, my boyfriend is off practicing with the Masked Wonder for the sake of my own band while I’m stuck here with you. Is that ironic or what?”

“Hey, did any of us ask you to do all that for the tickets? Besides me, I mean.” Bruce grinned at her like it was some kind of joke and the guys in his gang who were standing around laughed like they were supposed to. “Why did you do that anyway? I mean, if no one even wanted the tickets…”

“I don’t know. I just thought…” She thought she could meddle. Lisa always said not to do that, and Ben wouldn’t like it, and even Mrs. H. would probably say something scary if she knew about it. So it wasn’t like Tracy didn’t know she shouldn’t do it. Just… it had seemed like a good idea at the time.

Bruce raised an eyebrow like thinking couldn’t be considered her specialty.

“I’m not always wrong, you know. Sometimes when I do stuff like that it works out really, really well. And sometimes I end up… well, nevermind. It’s not like I don’t want to see the show. But what about you guys? I mean, I thought Passion Pit would make a great date for a couple like Lisa and Ben, but you guys….” She didn’t quite dare call them thugs. “Aren’t they a little cute? I mean, they aren’t exactly edgy.”

A couple of the guys toward the back of their group started to nod and half-smile like they couldn’t agree more, but Bruce looked at them and they all shut up fast.

“They got synthesizer,” Bruce said like that should explain everything.

The guys behind him all darted looks at each other. It was so obvious there was something else going on.

“Yeah. We’re all fans.” Bruce puffed up like he was proud of it or something. “Big fans.” He grinned.

“Lithe. It’s all lithe,” a dweeby guy in the middle of their group said.

“Lithe? Oh, lies!” It took Tracy a minute to realize he had a lisp. For a moment, she’d been lost trying to understand him. What an uncomfortable feeling. Was that what it was like for all her friends when she got a word wrong?

“Shut up.” The guy next to him hit the dweeb.

Tracy started to say something about it, but the line to get into the theater started moving and Tracy was in front, so she just had to go. Bruce pushed past her like she wasn’t there and so did the dweeb and the guy next to him. Tracy had to push her way back into line. She turned to one of the guys in Bruce’s gang.

“I know something’s up. What is it?”

“Can’t tell you. Bruce would get mad. He’s scary when he’s mad.”

“Why do you guys put up with him, anyway?”

The guy shrugged. “He can get us in. Almost any place in town and he’ll know somebody who works there of they’ll owe him or something. Who else can get a bunch of middle school kids into a bar?”

“So he really does have connections,” Tracy said in wonder.

“Like you wouldn’t believe.”

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