War/Peace. Matthew Vandenberg

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СКАЧАТЬ side?' Jerri asks.

      'What's her name?' Adrian asks.

      'Dude, what's she look like?' Shaun mutters.

      'So the first thing you ask is what side she's from?' I say.

      'I asked her name,' Adrian says, shrugging.

      'You know her,' I say. I look at the photograph in my hand. 'I doubt Shelly and Jerri do, could do though.' - I shrug - 'She does happen to be a south-sider. She's married.'

      'It's Lorelei, isn't it?' Adrian asks. 'My bro's wife.'

      'You're brother's married?' Shelly asks.

      'Actually, I think she broke it off just recently.'

      'She did?' I ask.

      'Can I see the pic?' - Adrian puts out a hand.

      'Divorcee,' Shaun mumbles. 'Rated X. North-sider through and through now.'

      'One way to tell,' Adrian says. He looks at the photograph. 'She's beautiful. More beautiful than I remember her. And she's pale.' - Adrian winks at me - 'She's one of us, for sure.'

      'Like a vampire?' Shelly says.

      'That's right,' Adrian says. 'She's gorgeous. More beautiful than Bella. When she was with Matt - that's my brother - they would frequent Bondi Beach. She would always have a tan. See, Matt's a south-sider. He's living here in Bondi. I was planning on riding to his place if I couldn't get into this joint. And south-siders: as typical Aussies they like to sunbathe. Pathetic really. Apparently more and more are doing it now. There's this theory actually, called terror management theory.'

      'Wait a minute!' I yell. 'Adrian, come with me into the kitchen for a sec.'

      'Um . . . ok.' - Adrian strolls towards the kitchen.

      'The dual defense model of terror management? Is that what you're on about?' I ask.

      'Yeah,' Adrian says. 'Basically, when awareness that you will one day die is in the back of your mind, you'll do things to increase your self-esteem. And south-side girls, they think that a tan is healthy and beautiful.' - Adrian shrugs - 'So Lorelei always had a tan, more like a singlet Matt forced her to wear I reckon.'

      'Look,' I say. 'I've read about that theory. And you can't let Shelly know about it, not just yet. Actually, you can't let any of the girls know about it.'

      'Why?' Adrian asks.

      'Ok, look,' I say. I spy one of the video cameras. 'And Big Brother can hear me, so I guess it's ultimately up to him whether word gets out. Look: Shaun and I were discussing this and we think it might be best if we try not to talk about mortality while in the house, if we can help it. We're in a safe house, you know. There might be a war going on out there but I'm thinking we'll be fine, you know. But ever seen the flick "Life is Beautiful"? The kid was always happy because of his ignorance.'

      'Of course,' Adrian says.

      'And there's another thing,' I continue. 'You're right, if awareness that you will one day die is in the back of your mind then you'll look for ways to increase your self-esteem. But if awareness that you will one day die is at the front of your mind, and so you're consciously aware of this, then you're more likely to defend your own cultural beliefs. See what I mean? This means that we'll be defending our northern beliefs, and Shelly and Jerri will be defending their southern beliefs, and we'll be arguing in no time. I'm a peace-maker, Adrian. We gotta do whatever we can to prevent arguments, especially later on when more people will be in here.'

      'Totally,' Adrian says. 'Sure. I won't mention the theory.'

      'But the tan thing is good,' I say. 'Shelly's high, right?'

      'She ate a few shrooms,' Adrian says. 'Yeah, I'd say so.'

      'The thought of death is in the back of her mind, not the front - so to speak. This means she's looking for ways to increase her self-esteem. So all we do is paint the perfect picture, a picture as fine as the German goddess Lorelei. Do you know the legend, by the way?'

      'There's a legend?'

      'Never mind. It's just: a goddess by the name of Lorelei is said to have lured German sailors to their death with her sweet, mystic voice. And she was apparently later betrayed by some guy or something and jumped to her death. Shaun knows the tale, he'll tell you more. Anyway, what we gotta do is adopt a strategy used by the Nazis, and define beauty in the way white supremacists do . . .'

      'What?' Adrian says. 'Are you high as well?

      'Hear me out,' I say. 'White supremacists are the worst nutters imaginable, certainly not peace-makers. I ain't saying we become frickin' Nazis. I'm just saying that we can promote their idea of beauty to girls such as Shelly and Lorelei who are addicted to the sun. It's twisted logic, but these girls believe in God and an afterlife anyway. Fact is, of course, that the color of your skin has no bearing on your beauty, we all know that. But these girls believe that a tanned complexion is beautiful - just as many Indian girls believe fair skin is beautiful - so we gotta fight fire with fire . . .'

      'And Lorelei's German,' Adrian says. 'Big blue eyes, pale skin.'

      'Exactly,' I say. 'We've got ourselves a prototypical white girl, a perfect specimen. Only one of many of all colors, but a perfect specimen none the less. We convince Shelly that she looks like Lorelei - which she does - and we teach her to be proud of her body. Coz I reckon she ain't.'

      'Are you guys done chatting?' Shelly asks.

      'Yeah,' I say. 'Just trying to figure out what to make for dinner.'

      'Come lie down with us,' Shelly says. 'The ceiling is so colorful.'

      'No no,' Adrian says. 'Jackson here was just telling me about how he and Lorelei met.'

      'Oh no,' I say.

      'Yeah,' Adrian says. 'You can tell Shell, dude. Who cares? We're in the house bro.'

      'Ok,' I say, walking into the living room. 'She was with Matt.' - I shrug - 'And . . . she liked me: still does it seems. That's why she's finally coming to my joint. You see, she would never come to me. I always had to go to her. I was living in Point Clare at the time so I don't blame her. I had to meet her on her route from the city of Bondi to Matt's joint, every Wednesday night.' - I smile - 'We were vamps, walking around at night. We would always just happen to bump into each other. I'd smell the salt on her breath, the Bondi air which had passed through her sweet lungs, I'd smell her perfume: she'd spray some on just before reaching the meeting point, fresh watermelon. She was like a ghost, a composite of Christina Ricci and Casper: I always picked her out from afar, given her skin was the color of a street light. It still is. Have you seen the picture?'

      'Shaun's looking at it,' Shelly says.

      'Shaun, give us the pic,' I say. 'This girl is beautiful. Magnificent. An angel. I don't think she ever realized just how beautiful she was. That's what I can't understand. There are so many stunningly beautiful girls out there who don't know it. They make my heart skip a beat when they pass me in the street. Then they'll turn up at my joint; they'll be crying coz their husbands have left them, or coz guys have looked through them, as though they're ghosts, and they are but they're perfect ghosts; they're white like large irises, cute, fine, perfect, and have lashes like lips, full and thick, and they'll СКАЧАТЬ