Won't Get Past Me

Originally posted on Tumblr 

 

No one could get past me. I was the best. Kong’s Security Service. And I was Kong. People hired me and my crew for all sorts of events, parties, weddings, high profile funerals. But one of my biggest clients during the summer was this one local music festival. Well local to me. People from all over the country flew just to come here. Before anyone asks, no it’s not Coachella. That music festival is for all ages except those under 18 who have to be accompanied by an adult. At this one, attendees had to be 21 and up. Alcohol was being passed around freely and I’m sure at night quite a few people were having sex. Who am I kidding, people were doing it in broad daylight if you knew where to look?

Anyway, enter Shawn and Eric. The town where my crew was stationed was small, but it was close to a collection of huge cities. The festival always likes to come near my town to take advantage of all the open space out in our county. As a small town, that meant everyone knew everybody. I always knew the kids from town. There was always some bet to see who could sneak into the festival I was guarding; the rumor was always pervasive over town. Summer made the senior high schoolers act wild. That wouldn’t be much of an issue, but I couldn’t be everywhere at once. Most of my employees were from out of town. There’s no way they’d recognize the teenagers I’d seen since they were kids.

There was always something off about this festival though. Gave me a weird vibe. I think it was the bad weed the young people like to smoke these days. Kids in town would say no high school senior had attended all three days with me in charge. They couldn’t even get past one. It was funny how the kids thought I didn’t know about the ‘can you survive a night with Kong the Guard?’ Challenge.

Shawn and Eric wanted to test themselves against me. Or maybe they just wanted to see the famous people at the festival. Yet where there was alcohol, there would be no teenagers. My first move was to sneak up on the two they practically bolted out of their skin when I grabbed them by the nape of their necks. Gently of course. Teenagers would be teenagers; I wouldn’t pretend to be angry when I wasn’t. 18-year-old newly graduated high school seniors sneaking into the festival would always be more annoying and frustrating than true anger. Can’t speak for my employees but it felt like always trying to prevent a younger sibling from going into your room.

“We were just trying to enjoy the party. “Eric said. This kid was definitely the smooth talker of the two. His short black hair, baby face and innocent smile got him away with a lot of shenanigans. He wasn’t much of a jock or anything, just a rule breaker.

“Is that true Shawn?” Now this kid was way more trustworthy. He had shaggy brown hair that he used to hide his face. No doubt Eric was the one who talked him into coming here. A meek mild-mannered kid if I ever saw one. Still, he gave no answer, simply quieting to avoid my gaze.

“Alright let me see them,” I sighed. They had to have used Fake ID’s. Honestly in a small town like ours where the hell were they getting them? Maybe they were driving out to the cities. The two young men grumbled handing over their terrible plastic squares. The moment I saw the pictures my mouth puffed trying to hold a laugh. In the picture it was no doubt them, but their necks and faces were slightly distorted to appear older. By the time I looked up, the two had taken off running.

“What the?” I took off after them, as they slipped into the crowd. Much easier for them to slip past all the grinding bodies. The music in the background stayed steady. I was pushing people out of the way as I surged into the crowd. The two punks threw off their shirts trying to blend in more. Well, they weren’t going to deter me. Even as bodies hit them as they slipped passed, I kept my eye on them.

Then I think the weed people were smoking got to me, because I could of swore, the two teens’ bodies were changing. Their chest and backs would grind up against other dudes’ sweaty muscles who were actually there legally to enjoy the festival. Thought it might have been my imagination, it almost felt like the other dudes were slamming into Shawn and Eric on purpose. Just when I was about to catch up to the two boys I tripped. I think one of the festival goers stuck their foot out on purpose to trip me up.

As I was struggling to get up, someone offered a hand. I graciously accepted it. Then I discovered that hand led to an even more massive arm. A very handsome young man had taken pity on me. My eyes were stuck on all the muscles this due was showing off.

“What are you doing on the ground man?” He asked, giving me a nice warm and friendly smile. Nice to know not everyone I was guarding were heathens. Then he used his hands to pat the dirt off the front of my uniform. Those large paws help get off a good heaping.

“Thank you, hey you wouldn’t have happened to see two teenagers running through here?” I asked.

“Teenagers? No way man. I definitely tell you if I saw some shit like that. Underage drinking isn’t cool.”

I was stunned. That certainly wasn’t the response I was expecting from a guy that looked like him. I thought nothing but partying would be on his mind.

“Wait, maybe my brofriend saw them. Yo, Eric!” I didn’t know if it was the music that made me hear differently, or if the guy had slurred his words trying to say boyfriend.

“Hey, bro-babe what’s up?” A guy just as handsome as the first guy appeared from the dancing crowd. This Eric gave the first guy a quick peck on the lips. Eric had a dark beard and drink in his hand. Though the can didn’t look like beer, more like sprite or ginger ale. That threw me for another loop. But I did wonder why he had sunglasses on at night. Would young people do anything to look cool even if it’s impractical?

“This guy was looking for some teens, was wondering if you saw some?”

“ Ah can’t help with that Shawn; I’ve been in the crowd dancing with people all night.” Eric answered. “Then again what did these teens look like?”

“Well, they…” I opened my mouth, and nothing came out. I couldn’t remember who I had been chasing. Only that I needed to catch them. What were their names again? “I can’t remember”

“Must not have been important.” Eric snorted as Shawn put an arm around his back. “But that’s to be expected when you’re dealing with Kong.”

“Wait, you know who I am?”

It was then that Shawn’s eyes lit up. “Are you kidding?! Why do you think people love coming here because we know we can party without high schoolers trying to crash our vibe? Everyone knows how tight a ship you run here.”

Eric laughed, “Yeah three days of straight partying and no sightings or teenagers ever! That’s awesome.”

I had to admit I was pretty good but was that exactly true. I know teenagers always talked about trying to sneak in. And certainly, I had chased after some before, but I couldn’t recall a single one who had. Not kicking them out or calling their parents to come get them. Was coming to the festival? Something the seniors like to do for fun. See, this was that feeling I always hated. I need to get away from the weed.