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“No. I didn’t back it up. I have a ton of stuff on my plate. So, no. I messed up. Okay?” Max is helping me out and I’m yelling at him. What is wrong with me? This is so not the way normal people behave. Then again, I’m a little stressed at the moment. Hopefully, I can chalk it up to that. Though I doubt it. More likely, I can blame it on my extreme lack of social skills.
Max doesn’t say anything. There’s an awkward silence as we trail the bike for a few blocks. I’ve got to learn to edit myself. If I get my computer back, I vow to try.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to bite your head off,” I say. It’s the second time I’ve apologized for being a bitch. At a certain point, if it walks like a bitch and talks like a bitch…“It’s just, I spent five months writing my speech, and then I’ve got a screenplay I’ve been working on for two years, and it’s…it’s kind of a big deal—”
“Also not backed up, I’m guessing.” Max smiles. He’s got a really beautiful smile. Perfect white teeth, dimples. No wonder every girl at Freiburg has a crush on him.
The bike makes a sudden turn off on Kearney Villa Road, maneuvering through three lanes of cars.
“Quick, he’s turning,” I cry out.
“Yeah, I see. It’s go
There’s a lot of honking as Max snakes his way through five lanes of traffic, nearly colliding with several cars. At one point, I shut my eyes, not wanting to see what I’ve wrought.
But then, miraculously, we’re on the exit ramp, unscathed.
“Impressive,” I say.
“Yeah, I’ve got mad driving skills. Don’t know shit about American history though.”
Unfortunately, we’re about thirty seconds too late.
As we turn onto Kearney Villa Road, the bike pulls up to the side of an orange-and-white U-Haul truck. Two guys climb out of the truck and approach the biker. They look exactly like the kind of guys you don’t want to mess with. Muscled up, bald, badass. They almost look like twins except that one is crazy tall, maybe over six-three, and the other one is at least a head shorter. Kind of a Mini-Me. If they weren’t so scary looking, it would actually be kind of a fu
The biker pulls stuff, and more stuff, from his seemingly bottomless backpack and hands it off to the men. iPods, small electronics, and my backpack are among the stash. One of the men presses a wad of cash into the biker’s hand. And then, as fast as it all began, it ends, and the biker disappears down the deserted street.
All we can do is pull over and watch.
“That is some serious shit going down,” Max says.
“It feels like we’re in a Michael Ma
“Welcome to the other side of the tracks.”
“Ah, news flash, I live on the other side of the tracks and I’ve never seen anything like this.”
We watch as the two men load their newly acquired goods into the back of their truck, jump into the front, and drive off. Forget the Michael Ma
Max starts up the car and makes a left turn. “What are you doing? Where are we going?” I demand.
“Back to Freiburg. This thing has just blown up. This is not some kid on a bike anymore. He’s working with other people. Probably very bad people. We don’t want to get involved. And we’re missing the last day of school. This is actually the one day this year I didn’t want to miss.”
“Stop the car. I want to get out.”
“No way. Are you kidding me?”
“Maybe you didn’t hear me, but my valedictorian speech is on that computer.”
“So, write a new one.”
“Oh, okay, I’ll toss off another one this afternoon.”
“Just say whatever comes to mind. I’m sure it’ll be fine.”
“Yeah, well, thanks for that brilliant advice, but that’s not how it works. If you knew anything about writing, you’d know it takes weeks, months, to get something right.”
“If you say so,” Max says, clearly not really listening, not really caring. Screw him.
Max is about to head back onto the freeway, which is when I jump out of the moving car. Not smart. Especially since I’m already banged up from my fall.
Max pulls over and rolls down his window. “I will buy you a new computer and a backup drive, okay? Just get in the car.”
I don’t respond. I turn and walk down the street. I can see the U-Haul stopped at a light, heading the other way. Max jumps out, rushes up to me, and gets right in my face.
“Seriously, Kylie, what are you doing? You’re going to run after the truck? Like some kind of superhero? Why don’t you quit while you’re still alive?”
“I can’t.” I wish I could. But it’s true. I can’t. Max obviously doesn’t understand.
“I know it’s a huge drag, but there’s nothing you can do.”
I know he’s trying to be nice when what he’d really like to do is dump me right here on the side of the road. I’m sure he’d rather be anywhere but here. And frankly, so would I.
I keep walking. Max follows me.
“Let’s call the police,” he says.
“We don’t have time. We’ll lose them.”
It’s at this point that I glance over at the Beemer. The driver’s side door is wide open. I can see that Max has left the keys in the car. I make a snap decision to do something I know I will regret later. But I just can’t help myself.
I turn, race back to the car, and jump into the driver’s seat. Max figures out what I’m doing a split second too late. I’m already gu
“You coming?” I ask.
“Kylie, you are totally extreme,” Max says. Strangely, he doesn’t seem as a
I laugh, despite my desperation. “Follow them at a distance. See where they’re going. If it seems dangerous, I’ll bail. Promise.”
Max looks at his watch. “I’ll give you a half hour.”
ime’s up. Nothing much has happened. We’ve been following the truck for a half hour as it heads south. The U-Haul isn’t in any hurry, just cruising. We’re keeping a safe distance. “Do you, uh, wa
I always thought she was such a weirdo. She’s barely spoken to anyone but Will in six years, but suddenly she’s all crazy tough. It was hot, the way she took control. Lily would never do that. I know I should make Kylie turn the car around, that this can’t lead anywhere good, but I’m not ready. Things have been so stressed lately, with Dad, college, squash, and graduation. I’m happy to skip out on real life for a while, follow a U-Haul, and play action hero. It feels good to get out. So what if it’s the last day of school? It’s not like anything that great happens. It’s all about the parties after school, and I’ll definitely be back for that.
We’re cruising through parts of the city I never see: National, Chula Vista. Taking back roads south, toward the border. Maybe that’s where these guys are headed. Over the border to Mexico. A good place to sell stolen stuff. Nowhere I want to go.
“Do you wa
“It’s cool. You can drive.”
“Okay. Thanks.”
She’s on best behavior. She knows I could shut this thing down anytime. I don’t know why, but I don’t want to let Kylie down. At least not yet. She’s thinking she’s somehow going to win this thing. I’m sure she’s going to lose. Still, I’m willing to wait it out a little longer, on the off chance Kylie knows something I don’t.