The Starlights
Joni Abilene
language
(, Dec. 9, 2014)
It’s 1978, and there’s an unopened condom burning a hole into Keith Day’s left butt cheek. He’s sixteen and desperately in lust with sexy Suzanne Brandenburg, an Italian housewife with a sob story and nothing but time to waste. Then there’s Sally Brandenburg, an identical version of her mother, but with a mouth that’d melt the grooves off 2112. Keith wants them both, but he can’t have them both. Or can he? Too bad they don’t cover this stuff in Algebra: X (Keith) + Y (Suzanne) x Z (Sally) = asshole. Across town, Keith finds his doobie lovin’ band buddy Mark unconscious next to an empty bottle of pills. Mark is older, yet suddenly Keith has to do adult things like call the cops and make visits to the hospital. After a week in custody, Mark’s back, but he still ain’t fixed. On a road trip out of town, he pulls a gun on some Deliverance guy at a roadside filling station. Keith’s got to stay calm. No crying, no freaking out. If he can convince Mark to put down the gun, everything will be okay. They’ll be The Starlights, they’ll forget about chicks, and life will go back to Zen. If only there wasn’t blood on the front seat and a lethal friend at the wheel.