“Just wait a few more—” Armpit started, but X-Ray had already started the engine.
Armpit climbed back in, and they had only just started moving when a large white SUV pulled into the lot.
“Is that them?” Armpit asked.
X-Ray continued to drive away.
“Wait! It’s a white Suburban.”
“Too late!” X-Ray said as they bounced over a speed bump.
The horn sounded on the Suburban.
X-Ray yelled an obscenity out his window, then lurched out of the parking lot and into traffic.
“Are you nuts?” Armpit yelled. “That’s two hundred and seventy dollars!”
“Our respect is worth a lot more than that,” said X-Ray. “Who do they think they are?”
“If you don’t sell the tickets, I’m going to kill you,” Armpit warned him.
X-Ray laughed. “Always the joker.”
9
Armpit felt pretty silly carrying
Coo to school on Tuesday, and wished he had taken his backpack. He was still mad at X-Ray, but he was even madder at himself. The concert was four days away and no tickets had been sold. Six hundred and ninety dollars down the toilet.
“Hey, Armpit, want a ride?”
He glanced over to see a yellow Mustang slowly moving along beside him.
“Where you going, Armpit?”
There were five people in the car, three guys and two girls, and although he only recognized the two guys in the front seat, he knew he didn’t want anything to do with any of them. The driver was named Donnell, and the guy beside him was Cole. Both were three or four years older than he was, and he was sort of surprised they knew his name. It was not good news.
“Come on, hop in,” said Cole. “We’ll take you where you want to go.”
The trick was to say no without offending anyone, especially Cole, who was known to be a little bit crazy.
“It doesn’t look like you got much room,” Armpit said.
He wondered what they were doing out so early in the morning, then realized they must have been up all night. They were probably high.
“Always room for a brother. Sharese can sit on your lap.”
“That’s okay,” said Armpit as he continued to walk. “I’m fine walking.” He continued to walk and the car rolled slowly alongside him.
“What’s the matter? You don’t like Sharese?”
“Hi, Armpit,” called a girl in the backseat.
“I just like to walk, that’s all.”
The car pulled ahead of him, and for a second he thought they were through with him, but then it swerved sharply into a driveway, blocking his path. The passenger door opened.
“You know, when a brother offers you a ride,” said Cole, “the right thing to do is accept.”