I faded out The Cramps and hit the minidisc button to play a public service announcement about contaminated meat, my favorite PSA ever.
“…place meat on lower shelves in your refrigerator,” the announcer wound up in her clipped but earnest tones, “so juices do not drip onto other food items.”
I flipped on the mic. “Ohhhh…dripping juices,” I breathed. “
Gross
! So listen to the nice lady folks… I know
I
don’t wanna eat any dirty meat.”
I laughed. OK, it’s cheesy and a little off-color, but it’s the middle of the night, you know? I’m pretty sure there aren’t any young children listening. I lean back into the microphone.
“The time is 3:02 am, boys and girls, and you’re listening to your ever-loving student radio station, KLGR. I’m Nicola, and we’re gonna do some Gun Club now. Sorry to load the punk on you, but tonight I think I want it rough. Know what I mean?”
I hit play again and flicked off my mic. The first screaming bars of “Sex Beat” came up and I pushed the rolling-chair away from the mixing board and stretched.
Alright, it’s 3 am in the fucking morning. That part sucks. But I love my radio show. It’s not just that I get to impose my musical tastes on the late-night listeners of the small college town I live in. It’s not just that I get to brag about my deejay gig at parties. There’s something about knowing my voice is on the air that gives me chills.
I have a great voice, if I do say so myself. It’s husky, low – probably the sexiest single thing about tall, thin, shy me. Flat-chested, usually dressed in T-shirts, I don’t look like a glamorous vixen…but damn, I can sure sound like one.
So I play it up, you know what I mean? Talk extra-husky, make a few double-entendre jokes. I always try to sound like I’m talking just to
you
. I like to picture guys flipping through the radio dial in the middle of the night, stopping when they hear me, listening, trying to picture me. Maybe even getting a little turned on. What’s the harm?
I know it’s working, cause I get a lot of callers, especially for such a late show. Mostly guys, of course. Nothing too weird; they just want to talk for a minute and then I let them go.
I turned to look through the stack of CD’s I picked out of the station library. I’d played a lot of heavy stuff in the last twenty minutes. I checked the board: two minutes left to play on the Gun Club. Just enough time to run out to the vinyl section and scrounge something up. I swiveled my chair around to get up.
In the door of the deejay booth was a man I’d never seen before. He was tall, sturdy – definitely good-looking, but way too old to be a college student.
“Hello, Nicola.”
“Um…can I help you?”
“You said you were lonely, so I thought I’d stop by.”
It’s true. I do say that a lot, when I’m trying to get people to call in and request a song. The more calls you get, the better your shows rating, so I lay it on extra thick, but…
Well, I’m no idiot, and this was scary.
“I think you should leave,” I said, trying to sound firm and mean. Yeah, whatever. My voice was shaking like Brittney Spear’s ass.
He laughed.
There’s a panic button inside the booth for emergencies. This definitely qualified. But for the life of me I couldn’t remember where exactly it was. By the phone? Behind the turntable?
“I’m sure there’s a call button,” he said. Shit, he read my mind. “There’s also a phone, I see. But I’d really think twice if I were you. Before anybody could get here, I could do some real damage to your face.”
His hand dove into the pocket of his coat and he brought out a switchblade. He flicked the blade out and let me look at it for a second.
My mouth was suddenly dry. I swallowed, licked my lips. I couldn’t think straight, I was so scared. All I could get out was a strangled “please don’t.”
“What was that? Please, you said?” He laughed. “Oh, Nicola, are you
scared
? You always sound so cocky, such a tough little cookie.”
He stepped forward, reached down where I was sitting and took a handful of my short, dark hair. He pulled my head back so I was looking straight up at him. Tears were starting in my eyes, but I held them back.
“You know, you’re not quite like I pictured you,” he said. “I thought you’d have longer hair, fuller lips, maybe. You’re so
pale
.”
OK, it’s stupid, but that really stung. So what if I wasn’t the curvy bimbo he’d made up in his freaked-out psychopath’s head.