Quality number three, they had to be artistic. Singing, painting, sculpting, music; that was the forte of a pure Renaissance man. Finn Knowles had spread his art all over this town, tagging his graffiti onto every railway bridge and abandoned building he could find. Don’t get me wrong, he was good, like Banksy good, but he wasn’t a pioneer or a trailblazer. He was a follower, just like Zak Atwood. Zak might be able to D.J. his way into most girls’ beds, but he was no Mozart. He played the music, he didn’t make it. I guess you’re starting to get the picture. These boys held themselves in very high esteem, regardless of what the world around them was trying to say.
Fourth up was physical strength. I couldn’t fault them on that one. They did look like Sandland’s very own Magic Mike troupe, but they knew it. There was no humility where these guys were concerned. Not from what I’d seen growing up. Brandon Mathers loved nothing more than to use his fists whenever he could. The illegal fights and betting scams they ran at their ‘parties’ were the stuff of legends, or nightmares depending on which way you looked at it. I’d overheard my brother and a few of his friends talking about how dirty Brandon fought. He had no compassion. He was like a British bulldog in a china shop. Artistry and sportsmanship didn’t exist in his repertoire, apparently.
Fifth on the list was being socially confident and having strong personal relationships. I knew without a doubt that half the female population would probably agree with this one. They had no shortage of women fawning all over them. Liv, Effy, and myself were probably the few remaining girls in Sandland who didn’t have a story to tell about those four. Plus, they were as thick as thieves. Friends from childhood who always had each other’s backs. I was surprised my brother spoke to them. They were a pretty exclusive group, to put it mildly, and they didn’t trust outsiders.
Finally, the modern Renaissance man could pull off all of these attributes with ease, style, and sophistication. Organising illegal warehouse parties and bare-knuckle fights, setting up betting scams and God knows what else was far from sophisticated. I’d never been to one of their gatherings before, but I’d heard the gossip. There was no style involved in fighting, underage drinking, drug taking, and whatever else they got up to. They were the reason my father stayed up late at night, trying to find new ways to shut down their outfit, and that fact alone made me curious. Ryan Hardy, Brandon Mathers, Zak Atwood and Finn Knowles were the devil incarnate as far as my father was concerned.
“Do I even want to know how you found out about this party?” I asked, looking between the girls. They both grinned back at me as if they’d landed the jackpot.
“One of the girls at my gym got the message. I overheard her in the locker room telling her friends they’d posted in the ‘we’ve got you covered’ group and she announced to everyone where it was. There’s no harm in us checking it out, is there? It is your special day, Em.” Liv shrugged as she spoke, then started rifling through her bag until she found what she was looking for.
“Now, let’s get this party started,” she said, holding up a bottle of vodka.
I made a grab for the bottle as Effy explained that she’d bought cans of Coke, seeing as she was our designated driver. I took a swig and winced from the burn it left down my throat. Then I stared out of the window, wondering how those boys had managed to fly under the radar so successfully for so long, and why none of my friends had ever been invited to join the ‘we’ve got you covered’ group.
Effy’s car started to jolt about as we drove off-road and across a dirt track that lead us into the unknown. It was so dark out, I felt sure that Liv had either misheard the directions or gym girl had sent us on a mad goose chase to some long since forgotten shithole.
We bumped and jostled around as she bounced us over the rough terrain, vodka splashing everywhere as Liv complained about the state of her jeans and waste of good alcohol. Then she swerved around some trees and we saw the sea of cars parked anywhere and everywhere. Ahead of us stood a sinister looking building with barbed wire fencing running around the perimeter. A single floodlight shone from one corner of the warehouse and we could just about make out a lone figure sat, hunched over.
“Well, this isn’t creepy at all,” Effy said, swerving the car into a space and cutting the engine.
Liv turned in her seat and smirked at me. “You do realise you’ll be the first one to die, right? The cute girl in the ridiculous outfit always gets mutilated first in the movies.”
“Happy fucking birthday to me.” I leant forward and
grabbed the vodka out of her hand to take another swig. I was gonna need all the liquid courage I could get tonight. “Anyway, isn’t it the blonde who cops it first? In which case, you’re screwed my friend.”
Liv scoffed and flicked her long blonde hair dramatically, then snatched her vodka back. “I’d need to give a fuck first. Don’t think you’ll find me screaming and running away any time soon. I’m all up for this shit.”
We each opened our doors and stepped out. The thick oozing mud under our feet made us groan. My stilettoes were well and truly stuck and I had to grab onto Effy to pull my feet clear and walk to the little gravel path that lead to the eerie looking building.
“I don’t think anyone will be running anywhere in this field,” Effy said, scraping her feet free of the caked-on mud when she got to the path. “So much for making a grand entrance.”
“Quit whining, will you? There’s no need to get your knickers in a twist. Nothing gets solved and it only makes you walk funny. Em is struggling enough in those heels as it is.” Liv laughed at herself. “Anyway, this is Em’s birthday blow out. Let’s keep the drama to a minimum, you know, less diva more party fever.” She shimmied her hips to state her point and led the march forward.
The thump of the steady bass from the warehouse filled the air, and the shouts and chants coming from inside made my stomach clench with a mixture of fear and excitement. I had no idea what to expect, but I liked it. I liked the feeling of the unknown. I’d never done anything like this before and it felt good to be a teenager. A normal teenager. Not one who wears designer clothes and poses for the cameras; just a girl. Me.
“Come on then, Houdini. How are we supposed to get into this place?” Effy asked as she scrunched up her little pixie face and rattled the security fence in front of us. “Looks like this place is on lockdown.”
“There’s got to be a way in somewhere.” Liv started to pace up and down frantically, bending to find a hole or some magical tunnel that the rest of us couldn’t see. “I could probably scale it. What about you?” She looked up at the barbed wire above and grimaced. “No pain no gain, right?”
“What the fuck are you on, Liv?” I folded my arms defensively. “I’m not scaling any fences tonight. You might be okay with your jeans, but in this dress, I’d struggle to climb a step let alone a bloody fence.”
“Chill your boots, princess. If we get in, we can always find someone inside to come back out and get you.”
“And leave me here on my own? Great fucking plan. Not.”
“No one is scaling any fences or being left on their own,” Effy piped up in an effort to halt the impending argument. “Let’s walk to the end there where that floodlight is. Maybe there’s a gate we can use?” Effy was always so positive; eternally hopeful. That’s why she was always the designated driver. She didn’t take risks. If it was left to Liv, we’d be starring in our own version of Prison Break.
We stumbled along the path, checking the fencing as we went, looking for some hint of a way in. When we reached the edge of the area, a deep voice bellowed over to us.
“Bottom right-hand side. Fence is cut. You can climb through.”
“Thanks,” Liv shouted back and began to wrestle with the metal fencing, lifting it up and gesturing for us to shimmy our way under. Easy for those two in their jeans, for me, I had to pray that my skirt wouldn’t split open with the effort.
“Who is that?” Effy asked absent-mindedly, walking towards the light where the lone figure that we saw from the car sat on a tarpaulin surrounded by cans, stencils, and other tools. He was lost in his own world; oblivious to the noise of the party within. Instead, he was gazing at the wall like it held the key to another world, one hand cupping his chin in thought.
“Looks like Finn Knowles is having a party for one,” Liv huffed and we all followed to see what had caught his attention.