“Hey, Justin! Come here! You gotta hear this!”
“What?” I asked, returning from the vending machine with an armload of junk food to share between us.
Macy and I were working very late (or early, depending on how you looked at it) in the biology grad student office at Clinton State University on our grant project. Actually, Dr. Lipman was the primary investigator, and therefore the one who would get all the credit. We were just her lackeys who got stuck doing all the grunt work for the privilege of adding a line or two to our CVs. Overall, I didn’t mind too much. I figured everyone had to pay their dues one way or another, and my CV needed all the lines it could get if I was going to be competitive on the job marked after I graduated.
Besides, it also meant that I got to spend more time with Macy. We’d been working closely together all year. In between projects and work schedules, we’d find time to gossip about professors and complain about undergraduate students in the classes that we taught – How are so many of them practically illiterate? Gradually, as time went on, we became more relaxed around each other, sometimes letting a flirty joke slip into the conversation, but that was about as far as things went. We’d never seriously considered each other as anything more than colleagues with great banter. Not that I wasn’t interested – Macy was a beautiful Latina girl, after all – but there was an unspoken rule about dating classmates in grad school: Don’t.
“It’s that radio show I was telling you about,” Macy explained as I dumped our late-night feast of factory sugars and processed carbs onto the table. Earlier that night, she’d found an old radio tucked away in a supply closet. We got nostalgic for the days when the radio was more of a presence in the world, and decided to plug it in and see what we could find on the dial.
“…You’re listening to the Boneyard Shift on one-oh-two-point-four FM, The Fox.” The DJ pronounced the last word as if it had half a dozen x’s in it. His voice sounded like a strange but not unpleasant cross between Matthew McConaughey and Howlin’ Wolf. “I’m your host Tommy Tanqueray. It’s just past three-thirty in the mornin’, there’s a full moon, and I’m startin’ to feel a bit frisky if you know what I mean.” There was the sound of a wolf howling. “Yes, ghouls and bogies, it’s that time… time for a little… DOUBLE OR NOTHING!”
A chaotic radio stinger played.
“What’s double or nothing?” I asked.
“Like in gambling?” Macy prompted.
I scoffed. “No, I know what it is. I mean, what’s the actual game they have to play to win?”
“Shh! Just listen,” Macy said, putting a finger to her lips.
“Your ol’ pal Tommy’s feeling a little lonesome up here in the witching hour. Let’s see if I can’t find myself a sweet little something to keep me company. We’re opening the lines… Hello caller, you’re on the air.”
“Hello?” said a young and confused sounding female voice.
“This is Tommy Tanqueray. You’re live on the air. What’s your name, darlin’?”
“I- I’m Penny.”
“You sound like just the kind of girl I’d like to pick up and stick deep in my pocket, Penny. Maybe we’ll both get lucky,” Tanqueray flirted. Penny giggled. “We’re playing double or nothing. I’m gonna give you a series tasks to do. You do ‘em, you double your money. Chicken out, and you forfeit everything. After each round you’ll have the option of walking away with what you earned, but now that wouldn’t be much fun would it, Penny?”
“Uh… no…”
“Then like the naked cowboy said to the porn star, ‘let ‘er ride.’ Can you dig it, Penny?”
“Yeah, Tommy, I can dig it,” Penny agreed with a nervous laugh.
“Right on! Now, are you ready to play double or nothing?”
“Yes, Tommy. I’m ready.”
“Alright! You just earned yourself your first dollar. See how easy that was?”
“Uh huh,” the girl replied.
“So now, you ready to turn that dollar into two, darlin’?”
“Let ‘er ride, Tommy!”
“That’s what ol’ Tommy Tanqueray likes to hear! Good girl. Okay, for two dollars, tell all the ghouls and bogies out there in the boneyard about yourself. Just what kind of girl are we dealing with here, Penny?”
“Well, my name is Penny…”
“Yeah, we got that already,” Tommy interjected impatiently.
“…And I’m a junior at Clinton State University. I’m studying molecular biology.”
Macy and I exchanged glances. Apart from our research duties, we also taught introductory undergraduate classes in biology. Might Penny be among our students? The name and the voice didn’t ring a bell for me, but there were often upwards of two hundred students in those classes. Keeping track of them all was nearly impossible. But I knew I was going to search my class rosters for Pennies when I had the next opportunity.
“You’re one of them brainiacs, ain’t ya?” Tanqueray continued.
“I mean…” Penny answered uncertainly.
“Now now, don’t be bashful, darlin’. Ol’ Tommy ain’t the sharpest tool in the woodshed, but he don’t mind the bright and shiny ones. It’s the smart ones that got all the dirtiest ideas. Ain’t that right, Penny?”
“Well… maybe…” Penny replied with a little giggle that let on that she knew exactly what Tanqueray was talking about.
“Oh now, don’t you go gettin’ coy with me, darlin’. I may not have too much goin’ on between the old sideys, but I do know every penny’s got two sides to ‘er. Flip over this sweet innocent school girl, and I’m willing to bet there’s a wild little minx underneath. Tell me I’m wrong, Penny.”
“I mean, no… No, you’re not wrong,” Penny admitted, her voice dropping to a hush.
“If I ain’t wrong then that’s all right. You just doubled your money, Penny. Two dollars. Maybe go buy yourself some bubble gum… unless, that is, you wanna go again… You game, Penny?”
“Let ‘er ride, Tommy!”
“Ooh-wee, girl!” Tommy erupted. “That just gave me the tingles deep down in the cockles. You’re a biology student. You know where that is?”
“Uh… no… not exactly…” Penny replied hesitantly. “Maybe… like… the groin area?”
“The groin!” Tommy echoed loudly. “What are you doin’ thinking about ol’ Tommy Tanqueary’s groin right now?”
“But you asked me where-” the girl defended.
“Now, I ain’t one to say I told ya so,” Tommy interrupted. “But that shiny penny might just be turning over to show us her sweet dirty little backside.”
“I mean, I don’t know. I just guessed,” Penny kept deflecting.
“Too late to take it back now, my pretty Penny. But I tell you what – You just earned yourself a cool four dollars. What do you say to that?”
“I say let ‘er ride, Tommy!”
“She says let ‘er ride!” Tommy crowed. “Girl, I’d let you ride all night long, if you catch my drift… Okay, for a sweet and sexy eight dollars, why don’t you give all the gentle ghouls and bogies listenin’ out there in the boneyard a good picture of who we’re dealing with here. What do you look like, my precious little Penny?”
“I, uh… I’m five-foot-six. I’ve got blonde hair… It’s kinda long I guess… Brown eyes… I don’t know what else I should say.”
“Come on, college girl, I know you can do better than that.”
“What else do you want me to tell you?”
Macy and I exchanged knowing smirks. Penny sounded just like one of our typical students when we called on them in class – Totally incapable of producing a coherent response to anything but the most superficial of questions.
“Paint us a nice sexy picture, pretty Penny. Raise a few pulse rates out there in the dead of night. Maybe raise some other things from the dead, too, if you know what I’m sayin’.”
“Like, I don’t know that I’m attractive… But people have told me I look good before.”
“Uh huh,” Tanqueray sighed into the microphone. It was clear this one needed a little more coaching. “What feature do people like most about you? What do you get the most compliments on?”
“Um… my eyes?” Penny offered.
“You’re gonna end up penniless, Penny, unless you can give ol’ Tommy more than that to work with.”
“And my butt!” Penny blurted out.
“Now we’re talking!” Tanqueray exclaimed. “Tell us about that ass.”
“It’s… I guess it’s a nice one. It’s kinda big. It’s got like some bounce to it.”
“Yeah? You ever twerk that juicy ass, Penny?”
“I mean… sometimes…” There was a slight hesitation and then Penny quickly clarified, “Just at home though. Like in front of the mirror in my room.”
“Mmm, I love a girl who got a little jiggle to her jello, if you know what I mean. Sounds like you got a big ol’ bouncy butterball back there.”
“Yeah,” Penny agreed.
“And what are you working with upstairs, my pretty Penny?”
“My boobs?”
“Yeah.”
“They’re pretty nice, too. Like, a thirty-four D. Guys seem to like them.”
“Well good goddamn and a bucket of biscuits, Penny! I bet they do! Don’t you sound just delicious? Nothin’ like a woman with a little meat on them bones. Makes a man like ol’ Tommy Tanqueray want to make a whole meal of ‘em. And Tommy Tanqueray sure is a man with an appetite! Not that I wouldn’t mind you wrappin’ some of your meat around my bone sometime neither, if you catch my drift.”
Penny just giggled.
“You got yourself eight dollars, now. Easy money, ain’t it?”
“Yeah, it hasn’t been too hard, so far.”
“You got that right, my pretty Penny. It ain’t been too hard over here either… Yet… You get me? But I got a feelin’ a sweet young thing like you can turn that around for ol’ Tommy Tanqueray. What do you say?”
“Let ‘er ride, Tommy!” Penny chirped enthusiastically.
“That’s my girl! Now, we’re getting into double-digits. Pretty serious money, my pretty Penny. For sixteen dollars, tell all the ghouls and bogies out there in the boneyard what you’re wearing.”
“Oh, uh…” Penny hesitated.
“And Penny?…” Tommy added.
“Yeah?”
Tommy moved his mouth extremely close to the microphone and said in his slow gravelly drawl, “Do it sexy.”
“Well… I’m wearing a sexy pair of jeans that really make my butt look good,” Penny said, dropping her voice into a huskier register. “And a black chiffon top over a white tank with a plunging neckline that kind of shows off a pretty good amount of cleavage.”
“Mm, pretty Penny, that’s what I’m talkin’ about. You wearin’ anything underneath?”
“What?”
“Bra, panties, underwear?” Tommy clarified. “You got anything on, darlin’?”
“Oh, yeah.” Penny giggled.
“What you got on?”
“Underwear… like a bra and panties. Yeah, both.”
“What color?”
“Um… I forget.”
“You forget?” Tommy repeated doubtfully.
“I wasn’t really paying attention when I put them on this morning,” Penny explained.
“Well, why don’t you take a moment to remind yourself, my pretty Penny?”
“Oh… Okay… Hang on…”
There were a few seconds of dead air, during which I gazed at Macy. She had stopped focusing on our work and was fixated on the radio with a rapt look on her face.
“You’re really into this,” I observed. I decided to give up trying to make progress on our project, too. Instead, I leaned back, swung my feet up onto the table, and just let myself enjoy the show.
“Yeah,” Macy agreed. “I love his voice. Don’t you?”
“I mean, I guess,” I half-agreed. I didn’t find it particularly appealing myself, but I could understand how women might be attracted to his bad-boy personality, even if it was a little over-the-top. Honestly, I found his whole late-night shock-jock schtick a bit tiresome at first, but the more I listened, the more I got used to it. The cadence with which he spoke had an almost hypnotizing quality to it.
“And she sounds pretty hot, too,” Macy added.
“Who? Penny?” I asked.
Macy nodded.
“On that, we agree,” I said. I could picture Penny in my mind – some version of her, anyway. She was cute, a little innocent and uncertain of herself on the surface, with just the faintest hint of raw wild animal lust lurking just beneath, waiting for the right enticement to break free. I was more than a little curious to see what would come next.
“Pretty Penny? You still with us, darlin’?” Tanqueray asked.
“Yeah… Yeah I’m here,” Penny answered. “They’re… They’re like a light blue pair of cotton bikini briefs. They’ve got little yellow flowers on them.”
“Hot damn, Penny! You keep talking like that, you’re likely to leave ol’ Tommy Tanqueray with a sticky situation on his hands, if you know what I mean. But tell me something, darlin’, just between you and me and all the ghouls and bogies out there in the boneyard… How’d you get so certain all of a sudden?”
“I checked,” Penny responded confidently.
“How did you check, my pretty little Penny?” Tommy pressed.
“I looked.”
“Are you telling me that you pulled down those sexy-ass jeans on live radio and took a good gander at those sweet, soft, light blue cotton panties with the little yellow flowers on them?”
Penny giggled. “Uh, yeah.”
“And now you got me and all the listeners thinking about them, too. Thinking about pretty Penny’s pretty little panties all the way down there between her thick delicious thighs. And I’ll tell you what, darlin’; the things I’m thinking ain’t fit for a sweet innocent young thing like you to know about.”
“I can guess…” Penny acknowledged.
“Oh, can you, girl? Can you really?” Tommy teased. “Maybe your panties aren’t the only thing going on below the surface.”
“Maybe,” Penny agreed coyly.
“How about the bra? It match your panties?”
“Umm… yeah. It’s a set.”
“For the record, mine are black and lycra,” Macy announced unexpectedly. She looked at me with a slightly mischievous glint in her eye and a Mona Lisa smile on her lips.
“Oh… Um… Good to know I guess,” I said, uncertain of where this was headed. “I’ve got navy blue boxer-briefs myself. Fruit of the Loom, I think.”
Macy smiled and nodded. “Nice.”
“Mmm, my sweet sexy pretty Penny… You got yourself sixteen dollars. What you think about that?”
“I think I could go for more.”
“Oh, darlin’, I just know you could go all night long for ol’ Tommy. Now, say it for me, Penny; What you gonna do?”
“I’m gonna let ‘er ride, Tommy!” Penny shouted.
“You don’t have to tell Tommy twice, darlin’! Hot damn! You’re a real wild girl, ain’t ya Penny?”
“I can be,” Penny admitted.
“Yeah? Let’s just see who wild you can get, darlin’.”
“Okay,” Penny agreed excitedly. It was clear that she was enjoying the game. In spite of myself, I found I was also hooked, anticipating what might come next as the stakes went up. I looked across at Macy as she sat there listening while absently turning her fingers in her long black hair.
“If good ol’ Tommy Tanqueray was looking to get lucky, where might I pick up a pretty Penny as sexy as you?”
“I’m at home.”
“You live alone, my pretty Penny?”
“No, I’ve got a roommate… but she’s not home right now. She’s staying with her boyfriend tonight.”
“All on your lonesome tonight, are you, darlin’? You got a boyfriend yourself?”
“Um… Not right now…”
“Just a single Penny. It gets pretty lonely sometimes out there in the boneyard, don’t it? But I’ll tell you what, my pretty Penny.”
“What?”
“It’s times like this, that ol’ Tommy sure do wish he had two pretty Pennies to rub together and keep him warm through the witching hour, if you catch my drift… But all this talk of rubbing is likely to make ol’ Tommy overheat, girl. Somebody better blow on my spoon quick and cool me off. Can you dig it, Penny?”
“I dig it, Tommy,” Penny answered, giggling.
“You ready to go for thirty-two dollars?”
“Yeah!”
“Alright, now listen, my pretty Penny. You got all those ghouls and bogies out in the boneyard thinkin’ ‘bout you. If they’re anything like ol’ Tommy, they’re just picturin’ you in your pretty little light blue bra and panties with the sweet little yellow flowers on ‘em. I bet they’re just dyin’ to see a little more. I know I am. Now, darlin’, for thirty-two dollars, why don’t you just strip right down to your unmentionables?”
“You want me to take off my clothes?” Penny balked.
“Like you said, ain’t nobody else home, so ain’t nobody but you, Tommy, and the ghouls and bogies in the boneyard gonna know ‘bout it.”
“Um… I guess so,” Penny agreed uncertainly.
“And tell us what you’re doing as you do it, my pretty Penny. Do it slow. Paint a nice pretty picture in Tommy Tanqueray’s dirty ol’ mind.”
“Okay, I’m… I’m taking off my top-”
“The black chiffon number?” Tommy interjected.
“Yeah. And now, I’m pulling up my tank top over my stomach.”
“I bet you got a cute little belly button on you, don’t you?”
“I do.”
“Ol’ Tommy would just love to pour some of his Tanqueray in that sexy little tummy cup of yours and slurp it all up. Wouldn’t you like that, my pretty Penny?”
“Mmhm, yeah,” Penny agreed. “That would be cool.”
“Oh damn!. Now don’t go dropping those kinda ideas in Tommy’s dirty ol’ mind. They’re gonna get real filthy real fast in there, darlin’. Now, tell me what you’re doing now.”
“I- I was just touching my belly button… Kinda poking it.”
“You just leave the pokin’ to me, pretty Penny. We gotta get those clothes off ya.”
“Okay, so I’m lifting my shirt again. It’s to my boobs.”
“Your hands are on your boobs?”
“Yeah.”
“Tell us what they feel like, pretty Penny.”
“Well… They’re kinda big.”
“More than a handful, huh?”
“Yeah, like two handfuls.”
“Ol’ Tommy’s got a pair hands don’t mind puttin’ in a little work, if you catch my drift. You like to get them squeezed, don’t ya darlin’?”
“Mhmm.”
“What are you doing now, Penny?”
“Um… Squeezing them…”
“In the light blue cotton bra with the little yellow flowers on it?”
“Yeah.”
“Now, there’s the other side of that pretty Penny ol’ Tommy’s been waiting to hear from! When you see a pair of big beautiful boobs like that, you just can’t help yourself, can you? You gotta play with ‘em. You’re a bad little Penny, ain’t you?”
“Hell yeah!” Penny agreed enthusiastically.
“Now, ol’ Tommy can certainly relate, but let’s not get distracted my pretty little Penny. You had a job to do, didn’t you, girl?”
“Oh yeah.”
“College girl, Penny, has trouble staying on task,” Tommy commented as if he were writing her report card.
“Okay, I’m pulling my top off over my head and tossing it on my bed.”
“What comes next, pretty Penny?”
“My pants?”
“Mhm…” Tommy affirmed. “That is, if I don’t first, Darlin’.”
“Don’t what?”
“Cum next, girl. Now, let’s get those pants off.”
I noticed that as I was listening, picturing this girl undressing in her living room at Tanqueray’s command, I was starting to get more than a little turned on myself. It was crazy, but kinda hot. I looked over at Macy. Her face and chest had taken on a slight flush as she lightly bit the index finger of her right hand. She looked back at me, realized her digit was seductively exploring her mouth, gave me an embarrassed smile, and placed both hands politely in her lap.
“Alright. So, I’ve got my fingers at my waist,” Penny continued. “And I’m popping the button… Now I’m pulling down the zipper.”
“Yes, pretty Penny. Those beautiful light blue cotton panties with the little yellow flowers on ‘em don’t deserve to be hidden away under all those clothes. Let the world see ‘em! Set ‘em free, darlin’!”
“I’m sliding my pants down… hang on… they’re kinda tight.”
“Ol’ Tommy’s pants are gettin’ kinda tight, too, if you know what I mean.”
“They are?”
“Now now, you naughty girl. Don’t you go fillin’ your head with those nasty thoughts about what’s goin’ on in ol’ Tommy’s trousers. Just keep tellin’ us what you’re doin’.”
“Okay… I’m sliding my pants down my thighs.”
“Oh my god!”
“Over my knees.”
“Sweet candy Jesus!”
“I’m bending over.”
“Girl, don’t stop!”
“Down to my ankles.”
“Yes, my pretty Penny!”
“I’m stepping out of them.”
“Good god damn, Penny. You got ol’ Tommy hornier than a majestic Yukon elk in rutting season. And for that, you just made yourself thirty-two dollars. Nothing to it, is there, darlin’? You’re just over half way to gettin’ the full load. What you think? You hit your limit?”
“Not even close!” Penny bragged.
“Want to walk away?” Tommy asked.
“Not a chance!”
“What you gonna do, my pretty Penny?”
“Let ‘er ride!” Penny exclaimed.
“Mama didn’t raise no cowards, did she Penny?”
“No she didn’t.”
“Alright, darlin’, we gonna ride it on…” There was a short pause as something seemed to unexpectedly distract Tommy. “Eh? What?… Um… After we take this short break… Stick around Penny, and all you ghouls and bogies in the boneyard don’t go nowhere neither. We’ll be right back.”
An old Bo Diddley song began to play. I looked at Macy. Her face and neck were flushed.
“I can’t believe he got her to strip,” I said.
“Yeah,” she responded, looking a little embarrassed. “I mean, it’s not always this sexual, but he gets people to do some crazy stuff. What do you think?”
“I mean, I’m not gonna lie. It’s kinda hot.”
“Who? Penny?”
“No… I mean, yeah, sort of. Just the way that she’s down for anything he suggests,” I explained.
“There’s something about his voice,” Macy confessed. “It’s sexy. Kinda makes you wanna do whatever he asks.”
“Would you?” I asked.
“Would I what?” Macy asked back.
“Strip…” I clarified. “You know, if he asked you to.”
“Oh, uh…” Macy’s face turned a shade brighter.
“So, that’s a yes,” I said with a smug smile.
“I didn’t say that!” Macy fired back.
“So, you wouldn’t?” I asked.
“Well… I didn’t say that either…” she responded.
“Uh huh,” I said, laying the smugness on thick. “I can see you blushing, you know.”
“What about you?” Macy asked defensively.
“Would I strip for some dude on the radio? No, probably not.”
“But aren’t you just a little turned on?”
“No, not really,” I lied. My hard-on remained firm beneath the table as Bo Diddley gave way to an ad for a local pizza place.
“Prove it,” Macy called my bluff.
“What?” I asked, laughing defensively. “How?”
“Stand up,” she demanded.
“What? Right now?”
“Yeah.”
“I… I’d rather not,” I said.
“Mmhm…” Macy responded, out-smugging me at my own smugness game.
“Okay, fine,” I relented. “It did kind of turn me on. But not because of Tommy Tanqueray.”
“Because of Penny?” Macy asked with a curious look.
“Because of you,” I corrected her.
“Me?”
“It’s just that you’re so obviously into this show. I keep imagining you in her place, you know, being directed by him, following his commands and everything.”
“You’re imagining me stripping down to my underwear for Tommy Tanqueray?” Macy questioned.
“I mean… Is that bad? Is it crossing a line or something?” I asked.
“Well… No, I wouldn’t say it’s bad. It’s just… We work together… But I can’t say that I’m not a little turned on right now by the idea, too.”
“What idea?”
“Taking Penny’s place,” Macy explained with a nervous but excited grin. “Or at least playing along.”
“Playing along?” I echoed.
“Listen, Justin. It’s pretty obvious that we’re both too distracted to get much more work done tonight,” Macy stated bluntly, looking me directly in the eyes. “Do you agree?”
“Uh, yeah. You’re probably right.”
“And I think it’s also clear that we gotten close this year… You know, pretty comfortable with each other…”
“Okay,” I accepted. Comfortable was an understatement, but I thought I’d been pretty careful to keep my feelings about Macy to myself. I had no idea she might feel the same way towards me.
“And to be frankly honest, we’re both more than a little turned on by the show right now, right?”
I nodded, and waited for her to continue.
“We’ve been working really hard all semester. So… Maybe tonight – And just for tonight – We can let ourselves have a little fun.”
“You want to play along?” I asked, unable to believe my ears.
“I want to experience what Penny is experiencing,” Macy acknowledged. “It’s been so long since I just let loose.”
“You want to strip? Like, right here?”
“I want to play. Besides, no one else is here,” Macy suggested with a cute little wink. “And I kinda like following instructions…”
“You’re such a nerd!” I shouted, laughing. “Okay… Go ahead…”
“You think I should?” Macy asked with a hopeful gleam in her eye.
“Like you said, no one’s here-”
“But you,” Macy interrupted.
“Yeah,” I agreed, returning her grin. The thought of seeing Macy in her underwear was undeniably exciting.
“Then you should play, too.” Macy insisted. She stood up and moved behind my chair, putting her hands on my shoulders. “I don’t want to be the only one.”
“You want me to strip with you?”
“Come on, just play along with me,” Macy whined as she bent forward. Her hands slid from my shoulders over my chest while her breasts pressed into the back of my neck. With her mouth next to my ear, she whispered breathily, “It’ll be fun.”
I looked around the lab, searching as if some campus cop might be lurking behind one of the fake potted plants, waiting for his chance to catch us breaking the rules. Of course, there was no one there but us. Even the janitorial staff had already come through earlier in the night to clean and empty the trash bins, and weren’t likely to return. We were truly on our own.
“Okay, you first,” I finally relented.
“Fine,” Macy said, straightening up.
On the radio, the ads ended and the blues music returned. I didn’t recognize the song, but it was a really slow, swampy groove with lots of harmonica all drenched in reverb. Macy walked – strutted – to the middle of the room, swaying her hips rhythmically. Then she turned. Her fingers worked nimbly at the buttons on the front of her white blouse as she swayed. She quickly undid them, allowing the garment to flap open. Beneath was a black bra, as promised, giving shape to a pair of delicious looking breasts. I couldn’t help but stare.
“Okay, now your turn,” Macy said, shrugging her top from her shoulders.
I stood up and joined her in the middle of the office. Even though my movements weren’t nearly as graceful, Macy’s eyes were fixed on my torso. I lifted my own shirt up and over my head, smiling at her devilishly. There was a certain exhilarating thrill to stripping in a public place, even if there was no one around to catch us. My pulse quickened as I quickly removed my jeans, tossing them to the side, and revealing my navy boxer-briefs with Fruit of the Loom printed on the elastic waistband. We began to dance together in our underwear to a succession of songs on the radio, smiling, grooving, laughing, and showing off our best moves until the music ended. Everything stopped as the last few notes faded out, leaving dead air for a minute. Macy and I exchanged uncertain glances with each other.
“Did the radio just die?” Macy asked.
I walked over to the radio and examined it. Everything appeared to be in working order. I gently adjusted the tuning knob, but there was nothing but static either side of the silent signal. “Maybe it went out,” I suggested, giving the radio a frustrated smack.
Macy frowned at me. “I was just having fun,” she complained.
“I know. Me too,” I agreed, sitting back at the table. I began to scroll back and forth through the different grant forms we’d been working to complete, without focusing too much on anything in particular. With a soft, defeated sigh, Macy joined me.
Another minute passed in suffocating silence, when the radio suddenly blasted to life again. It startled me enough to make me jump and bang my knee on the bottom of the table. “Ow!” I shouted over the sound of the same ad from before – Indio’s Pizza Parlour at 48th and Washington. It was a favorite hang-out spot for drunk college kids looking for something cheap and greasy to soak up the booze after a night of partying. When the advertisement ended, it repeated again. The exact same ad played five times in succession.
“What the hell?” I asked Macy, getting up to examine the radio again.
“I don’t know,” she responded, shrugging. “It’s broken, or something.”
“The radio station is broken?” I repeated incredulously.
“Well, something’s going on,” Macy insisted, as she came to stand beside me, and we both gazed cluelessly down at the old device.
“Should we change the station?” I asked, feeling disappointed that our fun had come to an abrupt end. “Or just turn it off?”
