New Friends

The tall skinny kid threw his back pack onto the seat and said “So, can we sit with you?”

“Uh, yeah, sure.” I said

“My name is James and this is my girlfriend, Anna.”

“I’m David.” I said “Where are your two other friends?”

“Oh, Max and Alex?” I started “Max and Violet are having some big argument and Alex is making fun of Spencer.”


“You two seem nice enough, what’s the deal with Max?” I asked

“He’s just kind of angry about things.  He’s really protective of his friends and family.  More so about the scene.” James said “He’s been coming down here and going to shows since he was twelve and this is kind of his family, so he’s wary of certain outsiders.”

“New wavers.” Anna said “Nothing against you, but the kids who hang out in the video room at Medusa’s are kind of a mixed bag and Max lumps you all in as the same person.”

“Oh.” I  said

I was really surprised how easy they were to get along with. I almost figured their ages would be an issue but we nonetheless had a common bond with the music. James seemed to take note of my doodles of band names on my photo binder.
He looked at me intensely, then looked under the table at my shoes.  I had no idea what he was doing, but randomness seemed par for the course with this James kid.

“Do you like the Jesus and Mary Chain?” James asked

“Are they a band?” David asked

“Are they a band?” James said as he looked at Anna “They’re my favorite band!  Hang on a second…”

James started rooting through his bag and pulled out a cassette, handing it to me.

“This is Barbed Wire Kisses.  This came out last year and it’s a b-sides collection.  It’s a little weird sometimes, but if you like this, you’ll like rest of their stuff.” James said

“Thanks.  I’ll get this back to you on Monday.” I said

©copyright 2016 Two Purple Lights. All Rights Reserved. We don't own the video. We like The Jesus and Mary Chain.