"He'll be here after he buys his sandwich. He said he did it." We all waited anxiously. He came and sat.
"Lucky for me I'm right-handed," he said.
"Does that hurt?" Raspberry asked him, nodding at his cast.
"A little. I gotta wear it for a long time, and of course. I can't work. I could drive with one hand, but delivering the tanks is impossible. My dad got the truck running. It's smashed up, but it runs. Needs a headlight," he added and bit into his sandwich.
"Mrs. Browne said you would lose your license.'
"I might. I gotta go to court, but until I do. I still have it," he told us.
"That's all great news. Stuart, but we want to hear what you told Mrs. Browne and what she said," Alanis said. He nodded, hurriedly chewed and swallowed.
"Just what I said I would tell her. I told her I came with the alcopops and you guys told me to leave. She sat there looking angry and told me it was just as much a crime to lie about a crime as it was to commit it. She tried to scare me," he added. "but I told her I wasn't lying. I was wrong to try to blame you guys. I think she believed me finally."
"Good," Nikki said.
"We won't have you assassinated now," Raspberry told him. He laughed and turned to me.
"Sorry I got you in trouble. Jordan."
"Let's forget about it already," Alanis said. "Next time, we'll all be more careful."
Stuart nodded and ate and smiled at me. I could see the smiles on the three girls.
"You want us all to sign your cast?" Nikki asked him. "Sure," he said and again looked at me.
"Who would you like to do it first?" Raspberry asked him.
"Jordan's closest." he said, digging into his pocket to get a pen. He handed it to me. "You can write anything you want," he said.
I wrote. Get better, Jordan.
"Nice," he told me. I gave him his pen.
"Do you even want anyone else to write on it. Stuart?" Nikki asked. teasing.
"If you want," he said.
"Naw. Raspberry?"
"I'm too tired to write anything."
"I don't put anything in writing," Alanis said, and the three of them laughed.
"So, tell us everything. Stuart. Are you confined to quarters like a bad sailor boy?" Nikki asked him.
"Hell, yeah. I gotta ao right home after school every day forever. But." he added with a wide smile of his own. "I can sneak out when I want. I still got my old motor scooter, and it's not hard to drive it with one hand. My dad's going to his small- business company convention this weekend, in fact. Maybe I'll come over to see you," he told me.
"We'll let you know if we're having any guests this weekend." Alanis answered for me. "I can't wait to see Mrs. Browne in the ball. I'm going to ask her if she thinks we still need lawyers."
Everyone laughed, even Stuart.
"You better take off your hat before you ask her that," I said.
"Don't worry about it. Okay. Stuart," Alanis said. You can eat lunch with us every day, if you want."
"I could? Thanks," he said.