Paul Mall - Take A Toss With Tess

"Here… you can sit here," Sandy called to her, pointing to a small space on the bench against the back wall of Nick's.

Tessie squeezed her way behind the table and sat down. Nick brought back her order and she ate, talking to Sandy between bites.

"I like your nail polish… best shade of green I've seen yet," Tessie said, then stuffed two French fries into her mouth.

"My father says that it makes me look like I have some disease," Sandy giggled. "My mother wants to borrow it though… to antagonize my father, I think."

"Your mother is an okay lady. I lice her."

Sandy's thinly plucked eyebrows raised. "She's a shithead… always trying to be like me… as if to prove something. I just wonder who she's trying to prove it to."

"Hey, what are you doing this summer?" Talking about mothers made Tessie feel uncomfortable, so she changed the subject.

"I don't know, probably go to summer school. Beats working. What about you?"

Tessie shrugged. "Same I guess."

"Smart girls; like Tessie here, don't have to go to summer school. Do they?" The sarcastic voice belonged to Eleanor Stuart, Thoreau's biggest female toughie.

"Yeah. What's that supposed to mean?" Tessie answered, unintimidated by the girl she thought of as a bitch dyke. Tessie had learned fast that if you act intimidated by someone like Eleanor, all you get is your ass kicked in.

"Well, you know, all you gotta do is lick ass and you get a passing mark… like with Mr. Sands in history." Eleanor bent over the table, bringing her face an inch from Tessie's. "Ain't that right?"

"Honey," Tessie snickered at Eleanor. "It isn't just the ass you're supposed to lick. No wonder you fail everything.

"Bitch! How'd you like me to tear your eyes out?"

Looking the overweight girl straight in her heavily made-up eyes, Tessie asked if she could finish her cheeseburger first. Infuriated, Eleanor grabbed Tessie by the hair, yanked her head back, and banged it against the wall.

"Fight!" someone screamed, and kids bled about, making room for the after-school entertainment. "Girls… the girls are gonna fight!" someone else shouted, and the plug was pulled on the jukebox. A hash fell over the place. There were only two things that could bring quiet to Nick's at this hour: the cops or a fight. The kids favored the fights, but the cops were also always good for a kick or two.

When Eleanor let go of her hair, Tessie regained her composure in seconds. She was frightened, hurt, and confused, and verb determined to keep that a secret from Eleanor. She stared coldly at the girl, defying her to try it again. Eleanor raised her hand, as if to strike Tessie, and Tessie stood quickly, moving the table away with a quick swing of her hip.

The table shoved into her belly only angered Eleanor more. She wasn't about to be made a fool of in front of all the kids. At least not by Tessie, the one girl she hated the most. Always with another guy… just because she wore those fancy purple rhinestone – studded platforms and wiggled her slim ass at every pair of balls that passed by. Eleanor slapped Tessie across the face, and, less than a second later, Tessie was over the table, grabbing Eleanor by her stringy mousey brown hair.

"Outside girls. Outside, please," Nick begged. "My store. It can't stand no more bustin' up." He flung open the heavy black steel door, hoping that the girls would listen to him.

They didn't, but Vince did, and he grabbed each girl by the back of her jeans, dragging them outside. He wasn't being nice to Nick, it was just that everyone could watch the girls wrestle better out there, and the long stretch of dirt and pebbles would give the girls more room to go at each other in.

Once outside, the two young girls circled each other, waiting for the first strike, their eyes glaring widely, both with hands on hips. The. sun beat down on them, and on the large crowd they had attracted.

"I'm gonna cream you," Eleanor threatened.

Tessie didn't answer her. She just smiled wickedly.

"Gonna wipe your ass up and down this fuck' alley."

Still Tessie didn't answer.

"You hear, sonofabitch… you hear?"

Mocking her on purpose, Tessie laughed at Eleanor. Then: "Come on… if you dare." She hissed the words, through clenched teeth.

Eleanor hinged at Tessie, both her hands going for Tessie's hair again, but Tessie, hands still on hips, slid gracefully out of her way.

"Come on, fat girl. Can't you move any faster than that?"

Eleanor's face turned scarlet, fire blazed in her eyes, and once more she lunged, this time falling flat on her stomach as Tessie again swerved away. But Tessie didn't taunt Eleanor anymore, knowing that you can just do that so often before it loses its effect. Instead, Tessie pounced on Eleanor's back, and, not so gracefully, sat on the girl, pinning her down.

Tessie pulled Eleanor's arms up and wrapped them behind the girl's back, while, with one hand, she grabbed long strands of her hair. She used the hair as a handle and wiped Eleanor's face from side to side on the ground.

"Eat dirt, you fuck. Just jealous 'cause you ain't got no boyfriends. Not my fault you're an ugly bastard. It's your father's… if you got one." Tessie was not about to rely on' physical strength to save her from this skirmish. She'd rather bend Eleanor's mind all out of shape, and win that way. It was all so much easier, and so much less painful.

The crowd went wild. The boys yelped and whooped and carried on, cheering mostly for Tessie, but really not caring who won. "Let's see some tit," one of them shouted and then they all started yelling it.

The girls took the fight a little more seriously, rooting for the girl most like themselves.

"Come on, Tessie… tear her head oft," Jeanie managed, just before she passed out.

"Kick her in the cunt," Sandy screamed as Vince slid his hand inside her blouse.

The pinned girl managed to flip herself over so that now Tessie rested precariously on Eleanor's stomach. She scrambled to get off the heaving softness beneath her, but Eleanor drew up her legs and swung to the side, tossing Tessie two feet away, to land tit-down in the gravel. Eleanor raised one leg in the air to stomp on the frailer girl, but Tessie rolled over and grabbed Eleanor's leg, sending her reeling backwards to fall on her ass.

"That's it. You're finished," Eleanor menaced, rising awkwardly.

Tessie came at her quickly, her blood-red nails like claws aiming for Eleanor's face. Eleanor managed to duck her head out of the way, but Tessie wasn't going to retreat. Instead she ripped the front of. Eleanor's blouse; every button popped off, leaving Eleanor's sagging tits to flop about.

The boys cheered, the girls giggled and Eleanor went completely crazy.

"My my, whatcha gonna be like when you're forty, my dear?" Tessie took advantage of the momentary gain to thwart Eleanor.

But all she had was that one moment. As soon as Eleanor got over the shock of being almost naked in front of everyone, she resumed her attach, more viciously than before. A flip of her wrist, and the neckpiece of Tessie's halter was undone; the halter slid down Tessie's body and rested around her waist.

Only Tessie wasn't as upset about being chestbare. She thought it was exciting. And the sun didn't bother Tessie like it apparently was bothering the heavier girl who was huffing and puffing, sweat dripping down her body. The sun made Tessie feel alive and she pointed her pert breasts to the sky, the heat arousing her nipples.

The boys whistled, the girls applauded and Tessie showed off by wiggling her hips and taking a bow. She was going to win now. No question about it. The fight was over. Eleanor just stared at her firm breasts, covering her own up with the shreds of the white blouse. The fight went on, but only for show. Eleanor, defeated, fighting her tears more than she fought Tessie, threw some weak punches, made some feeble attempts at wrestling the girl to the ground, and cursed a few quiet tames. When Tessie held her by the neck and kicked her to the ground, Eleanor meekly gave up.