“No.”
It was almost seven o’clock. X-Ray still hadn’t showed. Armpit and Ginny waited on the front porch, along with Ginny’s mother.
“You listen to Theodore and do everything he tells you,” said her mother.
“I will,” Ginny promised.
He would be driving Ginny’s mother’s car. She insisted on it, which was fine with him, because if he took the X-Mobile they’d have to first take X-Ray home and they were running out of time. Besides, Ginny’s mother’s Camry was undoubtedly more reliable, and safer, than X-Ray’s machine.
His mother came outside. “Still not here?”
Armpit shook his head.
“You must be very proud of Theodore,” said Ginny’s mother.
Armpit’s mother was caught off guard. “Uh, well, yes, of course I am.”
If he sold those tickets I’m going to kill him, Armpit thought, and then a second later the X-Mobile pulled around the corner.
X-Ray parked in front and slid out the passenger side as Armpit and Ginny headed down to meet him.
“What took you so long?” Armpit demanded.
X-Ray ignored the question. “Hey, Ginny, are you ready to rock ’n’ roll?”
“Yes.”
X-Ray laughed, then handed Armpit the envelope containing the two remaining tickets. “Just remember,” he said. “Be flexible.”
“All right,” said Armpit.
“You hear what I’m saying? Flexible.”
“Yeah, I hear you,” Armpit said. He didn’t have time for any of X-Ray’s nonsense.
He and Ginny got into her mother’s car; then he carefully backed it out of the driveway while everyone waved good-bye. He saw X-Ray say something to Ginny’s mother, who laughed.
They turned the corner. The clock on the dashboard read 7:06. The concert wasn’t until eight.
He winked at Ginny. She shut and opened both eyes.
Armpit sang: “I’m gonna take you for a ride! And we’re gonna have some fun! I’m gonna take you for a ride!”
Ginny joined in: “And we’re gonna have some fun!”
Armpit: “I’m gonna take you someplace you never been before . . .”
They sang the last line together. “And you’ll never be the same again!”
15
They sang all the way to the Lonestar Arena. “You know, you don’t stutter at all when you sing,” Armpit pointed out.
Ginny laughed.
“Maybe you should sing all the time.”
Ginny laughed again. “Good mor-ning,” she sang. “I’ll have pan-cakes.”