Small Steps (Holes 2)

Ginny laughed at him.

He held her hand as she twirled in a circle.

“I ain’t never been accused of goin’ too slow,

So hang on, baby, and don’t let go!

“Oh, I got no rearview mirror,

And none on either side.

Got no rearview mirror,

And none on either side.

Ain’t no lookin’ back, babe,

When I take you for a ride!”

When the song was over, Kaira announced that she’d like to introduce a couple of friends of hers. To Armpit’s horror, she turned to him and Ginny. He had a hard enough time just standing in the front of the room in speech class.

“Come on out,” she said, wiggling her finger at them.

Ginny stood up, but Armpit remained glued to his chair.

“You better go,” said Terry, the soundboard operator, “or it will just get worse.”

Armpit held Ginny’s hand as they walked across the stage, but it was hard to say who was helping whom this time.

“These are my friends, Ginny, and . . .”

Armpit thought she’d forgotten his name again, but she remembered at the last second.

“. . . Theodore. They almost didn’t get to see the show tonight. Some low-life ticket scalper sold them counterfeit tickets.”

Everyone booed.

“Well, I guess you ended up with pretty good seats after all, didn’t you?”

She held the microphone in front of Ginny.

“Yes,” Ginny said, then flinched, startled either by the sound of her amplified voice or by the cheers of the audience.

“So how do you like the show so far?” Kaira asked her.

“It’s awesome!” said Ginny, and everyone cheered in agreement.

“How about you?” Kaira asked, holding the microphone in front of Armpit.

He didn’t know what to say. “Awesome,” he echoed.

No one cheered this time.

“I think it’s awesome too,” said Kaira. “In fact, I think it’s the best damn show I’ve ever done!”

Cotton rat-a-tatted on the drums in agreement.

“So, Ginny, what’s your favorite song?”