Teenage Nights

Everybody fits in some where with some one . That’s the way it is .
With life the common factor that unites us all ,is the need or the desire to be accepted for who we are . Friendship is the end product of this trait .
Our friendships can grow and in time our lives are directly influenced by what we do and who we do it with .
For many young people there is a sense of togetherness in the activities we get involved with .

A kind of camaraderie develops with close friends and that can be shared in the work place , or in the sports we play ,.in the schools we go to and the dances where we go looking for something in someone special .

Another sense of unison .occurs behind the scenes .
Smoking and drinking for instance is one of those activities that we do .
There is a ritual or a habitual of these where we find ourselves .

On the West side of the city the story of the Marrow boys was always one to tell . They always had a place to go .
Once a week the boys always pitched in their money to purchase as much alcohol as they could afford .

Once they get their supply ,its off to some secluded spot to get steamed up .
It’s a way of getting together . Sorting out the men from the boys .
Sometimes there’s a fight with some outsiders or even a run in with the cops .
Mostly the boys stayed clear of the law . There was always a few cops about on Friday night .

Topper and Railer loved to get the boys up drinking on top of school assembly hall roof . Now and then some body would suggest another spot like behind the supermarket car park where Whites Creek ran through the village .
That’s where Sparrow and Beanie would often light a fire in an old forty gallon drum . There everyone would stand around drinking and talking for hours .

One particular Friday evening the boys met as arranged on the corner by the liquor store . Seven of the boys where there . Tank was the biggest and usually was the one who went in to buy the drink for the night .
He had never been asked for I.D. yet ,so everything was cool .
Depending on how much money they had they either drank cider , cheap wine or beer . On the rare occasion when one of the boys was having a birthday there could have been some extra cash and that’s when whisky would be bought . This night after the collection was made the boys had enough for some Irish Whisky . Tank was going to try a crafty number . Two for the price of one and after he bough and paid for the whisky he walked out the door and on the corner he broke the neck of the bottle in front of the boys . Keeping the cap seal intact in his pocket and the boys drank half of the whisky from the broken bottle . Then Tank placed a old rubbish bin at the front door of the liquor shop and went back into the store and said to the shop assist and .

“I’ve come for a refund or another bottle . “

“Excuse me . What do you mean ?”
Came the reply .

Tank produced the cap seal from the bottle and the rest of the broken bottle to the shop assistant and said .

‘I walked out the door of your shop and tripped over a garbage bin that was left there in my direct path . I fell and the bottle broke . As you can see the cap seal has not been broken but half the contents have been spilled .“

“I’m not able to give you a refund sir. “
Came the reply .

Tank spoke a little aggressively and said ,

“Listen . I don’t mean to make trouble but I nearly had a very bad accident outside you shop and if I contacted the local newspaper about this you could end up in court .“

“Well I can see that the bottle cap seal has not been broken so I suppose I’ll be able to claim on that . Ok then go and grab another bottle of Whisky .”

Tank was very happy with the outcome and said ,

“Thank you . I’ll make sure I tell all my friends . “

Tank went over and lifted another bottle and made his exit from the store .
All the lads laughed and had a lot to say about Tank’s bonus bottle .
They made their way over to the football oval and opened the door of the change rooms . Once inside they shared the bottle around and started to crack a few jokes . Usually there was a sing song kicked off and it went on for around half an hour .
The boys weren’t hurting any body , they were just being boys .
When the wall’ s of the change room closed in on them the boys made their way outside . Topper , Sparrow and Beanie climbed up a tree and hung like bats , upside down from the branches .Railer climbed up on top of the change room roof and danced under the moonlight .

It was getting late and time to head from home .
The boys all walked together like a game of follow the leader . One of the favourite things was instead of walking up a street in a normal way the boys often went walking over the hood and then the bonnets of parked cars on the side of the road .

Sometimes the boys got up to a little mischief .
Mr and Mrs Green had never got on well with any of their neighbours ,
Especially the Devlin’s . The Devlin’s and the Greens often argued . Some times the boys played the odd practical joke now and then to spice up their fragile relations even more .

Tonight on the way home Topper spotted that Mr Green had left his garden spade out in the front garden and he called over the boys for a discussion . It was decided that they were going to dig up the small maple tree in the Greens front garden which was Mr Greens pride and joy and plant it in the Devlin’s front yard . What a lovely surprise that would be in the light of the new day for both households .

One by one the boys said goodnight .
The village streets were quiet again and the Marrow boys got their head down for a little while until the next time .

The End

By Paul McCann