Shift

5

Seventy-five bucks feels good in my hands. It also feels dirty. Michael Bosa didn’t do shit to earn that C I got him on the bio test today. And yeah, I earned him a C instead of a B because this scam only works if I make it believable. I don’t think he’s ever gotten a grade higher than C in his entire life. The B is for me, and only because A’s don’t happen in here.

Honestly, what does it matter? Is forcing him to understand the differences between DNA and RNA going to somehow make him something other than a shortstop destined to flunk out of the college that picks him up? Probably not. And now, I’m seventy-five bucks richer.

I don’t know why that intake thing is important, but it meant a lot to Dustin that he was finally able to get it, and have it installed by Friday. This Friday, for whatever reason. The idea to get it back for him struck me after I left him in the kitchen last night.

After he helped with my negotiation.

After we almost—

Bailey is always the last one out of class, which means my car is the last one out of the school lot. Normally, it’s fine, because we don’t have anywhere to go. But today, I’m kinda in a hurry.

I stand on the hood of my car when I catch a glimpse of her hair in the last crowd of students spilling out the south exit. Dialing her number again, I hold my phone against my ear while waving my other hand in the air.

“Hello!” Logan, this jock asshole I have had way too many classes with, shouts, waving back while approaching me. He knows I’m not signaling for him, but the football players at this school like to think everything is about them. He sees it as an opening, which would be fine if his next move wasn’t going to be something totally aggressive or demeaning. His dumb smile is way too eager, so I lower my hand as I glare at him and flip him off before he gets too close.

“Pshh, fine. Fuck off then, Ha

“Hey, what’s up?” Bailey finally answers.

“Hurry. There’s someplace I need to go.” I wave again while I bounce on my toes.

“Are you on your car?” She’s still walking slow, which is infuriating because beyond me telling her to hurry, clearly she can see I’m trying to rush her along.

“Yes, Bails, I’m on my car. I’m trying to get you to hurry!” I shout into the phone.

“Fine, geesh.” She hangs up on me but breaks into a jog which is a fair trade for making her a little bit mad.

I hop down from my car’s hood and get in, starting it up and backing out of my spot so I’m primed to get into the exit line. I take off toward it before my friend has a chance to shut the passenger door.

“Jesus, Ha

“Sorry. We’re on a mission.” I pull my sunglasses from the visor and slip them on while we roll our windows down. I don’t have air conditioning in this thing, which is fine for half the year, but when the Arizona weather warms up, it’s downright brutal. In March, the weather is still close to perfect, so the windows go down the second we go anywhere.

“Okay, I forgive you,” my friend says. I swivel my head and meet her pursed lips and dimmed eyes. After a few seconds of silence, I bust out a laugh and squeeze her hand.

“I’m sorry. You’re right,” I admit. “I’m anxious, and I totally took that out on you.”

Her mouth curves just enough to soften her eyes, and soon, she’s laughing with me and squeezing my hand back.

“Okay, so what’s this mission? Where are we headed?” she asks.

I hand her the receipt from Earl’s.

“Oh, fun. An oil change place, yay.” Her words drawl out to showcase her sarcasm.

“I need to buy something . . . for the boys,” I say, stumbling on my words. I almost said “for Dustin.”

“Can’t they buy their own crap? I have to be home in an hour.” She’s already pulled the makeup wipes out from my backpack and is clearing her face of mascara and lipstick. She’s just as pretty this way, but I wouldn’t dare stop her from putting on my makeup every morning. It makes her so happy to have this tiny act of rebellion. Between this, borrowing some of my outfits, and crawling out her window on Friday nights, Bailey can survive all of the stern formalities that come along with life in her household.

“This one’s a surprise,” I say.

She flips the mirror closed on her visor then pushes it up to the roof.

“A surprise, huh?”

I can feel her eyes on me.

“Yep,” I say, forcing my cheeks not to burn and my mouth to remain loose as I maintain a casual smile.

My friend snickers while I scan for traffic, pulling myself close to the steering wheel as I leave the student lot.

“Uh huh,” she finally says.

“What?” I flash her a quick look, lifting my right shoulder.

I’m so busted.

“You’re getting something for Dustin. Don’t you lie to me, Ha

I cringe at the utterance of my middle name. She’s broken out the secret warfare, and that tone, the one that’s a little melodic. The one a smart-ass know-it-all would use.

I wrinkle my nose and squint my eyes, shaking my head to stretch out the lie. It’s useless, though, because the moment my eyes meet hers, she cackles at my lame attempt.

“Girl, you are buying a present for a cute boy. There’s nothing wrong with that, so quit trying to cover it up.” She lightly pushes my shoulder.

I halt the car at the stoplight a block from campus and breathe out a heavy sigh. My shoulders sag. If Bailey can see through my façade, there’s no way I’ll be able to hide this from my brother.

“Okay, fine. But it’s not like that. I swear.”

I lie.

“I feel bad because Dustin’s dad broke his windshield and he had to sell this part to pay for the replacement, and I know how important it was. I have the money, so . . .” I shrug.

“It’s sweet,” Bailey says.

“Yeah?” I lift a brow.

She nods.

I breathe in through my nose to ease the tightness in my chest. It has little effect. I have to ignore the feeling, though, and push on. It takes about ten minutes to get to Earl’s, and I know the guys there are going to be a pain in my ass. I try to build up my pretend courage and arm myself with the bluster my dad and brother have taught me from years at the track. This scene—the shop, the track, the cars themselves—is very much a man’s world. I fully expect the guys on shift today to try to take advantage of me and pocket the extra cash. I did not do two assignments and a test for Michael Bosa for nothing, though, and this one-seventy-five that I’ve saved up is the exact amount I need to reclaim that part for Dustin.

“You ready?” I turn to my friend.

Her eyes widen and she shakes her head.

“What? I’m not robbing the joint. I’m spending my money.” I hold the wad of cash out as proof. I jacked one six-pack of beer from the corner market two months ago, and now Bailey thinks I’m a hardened criminal. I did it on a dare from my brother, and frankly, the way Dustin looked at me after made me wish I hadn’t. I didn’t even drink any of it at the party we went to.

Most of the guys in this place at least recognize me. I roll my shoulders back and punch my feet into the ground with my stride. I know how much Dustin got for the part. I dug the exchange receipt out of our dumpster. My lucky day, Earl seems to be off. The rest of the guys working for him are young and malleable. They have no idea I’m seventeen, and if I say things just right, they really don’t care. I catch a faint whistle leaving someone’s lips as I enter the bay.