very soon. Well…I do have to cash

the checks. That could take a few days.

And this, says Mom, is from Scott

and me. It would have been more, but

you never returned the hundred from

the other night. You know, the money

you didn’t spend on the hotel. I’m not

sure I want to know what you did spend

it on, but anyway, happy birthday….

What does that mean? Do they

suspect the real intent behind

my visit to Robyn? They haven’t

acted strangely at all, but maybe

I have. Have I? I don’t think so.

Either way, she gives me a card

with daisies and puppies on the front

and two hundred dollars inside.

I can’t look her in the eye—not

with pupils the size of dimes—and

I’m afraid if I hug her she’ll catch

a solid scent of ingested crystal.

So I stand at a distance and say,

“Thanks, Mom. I promise to spend

it wisely. Maybe I’ll even put it

in my savings account. Maybe it can

even stay there, now that I’ve got a job.”

So you got the job at 7-Eleven?

She waits for my affirmative nod,

then adds, I hope this doesn’t mean

you won’t finish up your GED. You

Tags: Ellen Hopkins Crank
Source: readsnovelonline.net