Kidman took the bag and went to the van. He got inside and headed back. In the apartment, the Mexican pulled out the money from the bag and handed it to some guy.
“Count it with the machine to see if it’s the exact amount.”
After a while, they finished with the counting, gathered the money in the backpack and gave it to Harry. Kidman put it on his back and took off again.
On the road, Paco told him the address, parked on a skate spot and Dirty headed to deliver the second bag. He walked slowly along the sidewalk, around the block, trying not to attract attention. Dirty went to the third floor, walked through the long corridor and stopped in front of number 32. Because he knew he would meet a blond woman this time, his vanity came over him, and he straightened his torn sleeve and his hair. He looked around and raised his hand to knock.
At that exact moment, police officers with guns in hand ran to Harry. Kidman was frightened, he raised his other hand and waited to be arrested. The cops went around him, stood in front of the apartment next door, number 34.
“Boston PD, open up!”
When no one opened, one of them hit the door with his foot, and they all stormed inside. A snapping of handcuffs was heard and, before Harry could see what was happening, a woman’s hand pulled him inside.
“Shh,” she put a finger to Kidman’s lips as a sign to shut up and looked through the peephole to see when the cops would clear off. After that happened, she pulled Harry into the room and his sleeve remained in her hand.
Kidman stared at her blankly and then angrily threw the rest of his jacket. Harry turned to the mirror and started fixing his shirt. The blonde girl watched him from behind, admiring the view.
“Do you want something to drink?”
“No, I have to go.”
The blue-eyed blonde pulled out a business card and handed it to Harry, “Call me, my name is Lisa.”
Kidman smiled, took the card and left.
Back in the van, Paco looked surprised, “Huh, didn’t they put you in jail, holms?”
“If you are asking about the cops, they were after the apartment next door. They arrested some dealers quickly.”
The Mexican looked at him, shaking his head approvingly, “You were born under a lucky star, Harry. If you need money again, just call me.”
Paco pulled out a wad of money and handed it to Kidman.
“Where do you want us to leave you?”
“If you can, leave me where we met,” Dirty maliciously smiled.
“Ha ha ha,” a loud laughter was heard in the van, “thumbs up Harry, I like you.”
The van drove away in the dark and after a while left him to his car.
“Yo, ese, is this car yours?”
Kidman straightened his shirt collar, moved the glass from the seat and all the garbage, sat comfortably, played some rap music and winked at him.
“What do you think?” then he spun the tires and drove off in high speed.
“Hello, Mike, are you free? Wait for me at Joe in 15 minutes. I have a favor to ask. I’ll explain when we meet.”
Along the way, Harry stopped and bought his father’s Greek statue back.
“If you have money problems in the future, I can give you more money for it.”
“I know,” he winked and left.
He stood by his car and lit a cigarette, but part of the flame fell on his shirt. Some girls were passing by and persistently arguing about something when they suddenly stopped. In front of them was none other than Harry, who was vigorously trying to remove his shirt from his back. Cursing, he managed to extinguish his shirt before the hole became significant. Then he put it on again without the pin on the buttons, smiled to the dreamy girls and headed to Joe’s.
Chapter V
Ice Cube
Mikе arrived a little early, slightly conceived after talking on the phone with Harry, and went into the place. As always, it was full, but Shelley saved their table in the corner. Once seated comfortably, she emerged from the kitchen.
“How are you doing, Mickey? Do you want something?”
“Do you happen to know what Harry has gotten into or what he did all day?”
“Why, did something happen to him?”
“The point is, I don’t know. He called me minutes ago and told me that it’s urgent and to wait for him here…”
Before he finished his sentence, a black Maserati stopped in front of the building, from which "Notorious B.I.G. - Party and Bullshit" could be heard loudly. His headlights shone so strongly that people in the pizzeria had to divert their eyes away. The door of the car closed, but the music didn’t stop, and headlights continued to shine brightly.
Harry suddenly appeared at the door with a slightly burned shirt. He put his hand over his eyes and looked around. Everyone was looking at him, but that didn’t make an impression on him. He finally saw his buddy, “Mike, are you coming?”
“Anyway, I’ll see you tomorrow, Shell…”
“Yes, yes, but no. This time, I’ll come too. Joe, I’m getting out with Harry, you will manage without me today.”
The old Joe, Shelly's grandfather, looked through his glasses towards Dirty, “Go, go. Harry, don’t involve her in your stories. You know how many things I know…”
“Relax Joe, I will take care of her like my own sister.”
“I can take care of myself,” the black-haired beauty hit him in the back.
They entered the car and with dirty gas, Harry took off.
“You can turn the noise down now,” cried Mike. “That’s better. Tell me, where did you disappear after school?”
Kidman smiled, “Shell, didn’t you tell him?”
“Aa, tell him what? Did something happen between you two?” the girl asked with interest.
“Who, what, how?” Mike started asking with an even bigger interest.
“Tess,” here Harry gazed Odonal slightly seriously.
“Noooo,” uprooted Mike, “you dog. You didn’t do it, right?” he continued to enthusiastically interrogate, forgetting for a moment that they were not alone in the car.
“We were almost there when her boyfriend interrupted us,” here Kidman turned and looked at Shelley. “Someone lied to me that she was available.”
Shelley smiled, pleased, “I told you that she was free for prom, but you did not wait for me to finish... And, what happened in the end?”
“Well, her boyfriend"The Hammer"is looking for me even as we speak. I worked for some Mexican drug dealers for a moment, the expensive suit I rented is ragged and, if you haven’t noticed, the left window of the car is gone…”
“Ha ha ha,” staring at the empty space, Mike pushed his hand to make sure that it wasn't there. “I suppose you called me for that? Okay, drive to the garage downtown, I will arrange a new one right away.”
Mike’s father held several car workshops around the city.
“It would not be a bad idea to change your clothes too,” Shell said and, while they were joking, she put her hands on his eyes, preventing him from seeing the road.
After leaving the car, as they were already in downtown, and it was late enough, the clubs were opened, they headed to the nearest one. Kidman and Odonal drank whiskey as if it was juice. Several hours later, they were drunk as hell. Mike’s girlfriend arrived just to take him, and poor Shelley had to carry the drunken Harry a few blocks.
“Shell, you know I love you, right?” leaned Kidman on the Maserati.
“Harry, why are you telling me that only when you’re drunk or you need help? Why do you keep pretending that you do not know that I’m in love with you and that it hurts me every time I see you with a girl...” Shelley noticed that Harry had fallen asleep on the seat.
She calmly got into the car, put the seatbelt on and drove home.
The girl parked the car in front of Kidman’s garage and took him to her room with Joe’s help. They placed him on her bed, while she laid on the couch and fell asleep.
On the next morning, she wondere
d how to wake him up for school. Mission impossible was more possible than that. Subsequently, she decided to let him sleep and went to school without him.
It was already noon when Harry’s phone rang. It woke him up. For a moment, he did not know where he was, and his left eye still did not want to open. He raised his head up, looked out the window and saw his room. Here, his confusion became even greater because he could not understand why he could see his room from his window. Soon enough, he managed to awake and realized that he was in Shelley’s room. His phone didn’t stop ringing.
“Alooo, you,” annoyed, Kidman picked up without even looking who was calling.
“Harry, do not raise voice at your mother and wherever you are I want you home right away,” then she slammed the phone.
Dirty feverishly began to think which of the things that happened yesterday were going to bite him in the ass. There was no way of knowing with certainty, so the apology had to be improvised on the spot.
Not even thirty seconds passed, and Harry entered through the front door. His mother looked surprised, “If you were so executive at school too, maybe even Harvard would accept your application. Come, sit with us,” his mother gestured towards a chair, and his father poured juice for himself.
“What is it,” Kidman asked impatiently and looked at his father.
“First,” continued his mother, “you haven’t been very regular in school. Second, I know when you sleep at home and when you don’t. Third, someone mysteriously changed the window of your father’s car. And not least...” slight pause followed. “What are these things on the web that your father and I are watching?”
Harry’s dad looked at him sternly, and while his mother was not looking, he quickly winked at him with a smile, before reverting back to his strict appearance.
“I can explain everything. First, the clips were from my birthday, and my absence from school recently was because I was hiding from Patty and Nat’s father. Second, I slept at Shelley’s last night. We studied until late and I fell asleep. And about the car, someone had broken the window, and I decided to change it before you accused me so that I can miss the whole melodrama.”
Ms. Kidman was focused with her arms folded and casually looked at her husband. A smile appeared from somewhere.
“Jack, even though he sounds just like you, he lies much better.”
“Son,” said the father, “I was expecting more from you. But your mother is right. You only have a few more months to finish successfully, do not screw up. Everything else can wait,” the father drank his juice, “because otherwise, you know where I have work connections...”
At the prospect of that thought, Harry tensed visibly.
“You won’t hear more complaints, I guarantee you... But you will let me fix things as I want. I don’t want you to worry about me more than that.”
“Ha ha ha,” his father laughed, “I strongly hope that your words have coverage.”
The conversation was interrupted by a phone ringing, of which Kidman took advantage and quickly bailed out.
“Harry,” his father suddenly caught him on the stairs, “Patty, and Nat...” a big smile appeared on his face. “Bravo. I am proud of you. Don’t worry, I'll deal with your mother. Just take care of things at school. Do you have money?
“Actually, I'm a little short since last night...”
“Take this money, the car window probably wasn’t cheap,” his father handed him a few hundred dollars.
Harry maliciously took them.
“You have no idea.”
After fixing himself, Kidman decided to have "breakfast" at Joe’s, and he wanted to see Shelley too.
In front of the pizzeria, he noticed a large poster of one of the biggest clubs in the city: "Friday Rap Party, free entrance for ladies. Live with Ice Cube."
Harry shook his head in approval, then went inside to eat. He sat in the leather booth and waved to Shelley.
“Why didn’t you wake me up in the morning?” he smiled.
“Do not think that I didn’t try. There isn’t a force in this world that could have woken you up. You were pretty drunk last night.”
“You are right,” thought Harry, “and how did you manage to bring me to your bed?”
“Don’t ask,” laughed the girl. “I carried you all the way to the car and then I drove to our house.”
Harry looked at her with a slightly tilted head and keen interest.
“Shell, what are you doing on Friday?”
“I was wondering how long it would take. But if you’re going to use me as a driver, you should know that it’s not going to happen.”
“Nothing like that, we will go with the bus. Me, you, Mike, Sarah. What do you say?”
“Bus? That will be an interesting view. You and Mike in a bus, ha ha ha...”
“As you agree, bring me a large pizza for punishment, because I’m dying of hunger.”
The next morning, Harry went to take Shelley from her home, and both arrived at school. He remembered for a moment the words spoken with Tess, that they would clarify things in school, but he didn’t see her anywhere. The first period had already started when the beauty showed wet to the bone, as it was raining outside.
Harry with crossed legs and headphones in his ears, watched the girl from the last row, with great interest.
“I suppose you are late because of the rain?”
“I am so sorry.”
“Sit in your seat and try not to be late next time.”
The girl sat on her desk and waited for the teacher to turn again towards the writing board. After that, she turned to Harry and sent him an air kiss.
Half the guys in the class turned to check who she was sending that kiss. Harry kept looking at everybody very calmly, listening to his music. His interest towards her had diminished after everything that happened, but he wanted to at least sleep with her. That would give him a place in the Hall of Fame. Still, he had been in love with her for a long time.
Tess was beginning to lose patience when Harry finally moved. He winked at her and passionately sent her an air kiss in front of everyone. The girl was pleased.
Students watched with interest and even applauded. The teacher turned to check what the unexpected noise was, “Mr. Kidman, could you please stop with the kisses?”
Harry quietly sat on his desk and once again put the headphones in his ears. Everybody around was smiling. Mike waved his head from left to right, showing that he didn’t like that. Shelley tried to keep calm because she didn’t want to show that she cared.
After the long hour was over and the bell rang, the boys passed one by one and greeted Harry, as if he had become president. Kidman waited for everyone to go out and approached Tess, “You have no idea what happened to me since I decided to be a guest in your house. But it is already in the past. The important thing is that we got rid of The Hammer.”
The girl looked at him still surprised, “Why do you think that?”
Kidman’s eyes narrowed, “You didn’t break up with him? And you don’t mind kissing me?”
“Should I?”
Harry smiled, “No,” then he kissed her again, “what do you say we continue at your place?”
“It won’t happen, Harry. My parents are back. I have a better idea. Friday, I will go to the Ice Cube party. We can meet there and then go to a small hotel…”
“Okay, Tess. I'll see you there.”
While leaving the room, Kidman saw Mike leaning on the wall.
“You know there is no turning back, right?”
“I know, that’s why you will help me.”
“What are you talking about? Are you asking me for a threesome with Tess, because you know I'm with Sarah?”
“No,” Harry laughed, “Friday we are going to the party. You will take your woman, and because I promised Shelley to go, you will have to cover for me at some point...”
“Anyway, you will regret it in the end. Remember my words.”
Friday night slowly and
painfully came. Harry dressed from top to bottom in Versace jeans and T-shirt, knocked impatiently on the door of his neighbor. Shelley soon emerged behind Kidman, who was speaking on the phone.
“Yes, yes, we will be there soon. Yes, with taxi, we will...” here Harry suddenly turned toward the door and remained speechless.
“Hello, hello, did you enter a tunnel?” somebody was crying on the phone from the other side.
But the young boy kept looking at the girl in front of him and his eyes flashed slowly.
“Harry,” the beauty touched his hand for a moment, “are you okay?”
“And but… Yes,” recovered Kidman. “Alo, Mike, we are on the way.”
Dirty just closed his phone, and the taxi arrived. He opened the back door and helped Shelley sit, then he sat next to her.
“How are you, Harry?” the playful taxi driver asked. “I haven’t seen you on the TV this week.”
“There is still time,” smiled Kidman. “Drive to Odonal, then downtown. We are going to the Ice Cube concert.”
The car stopped in front of the already waiting Mike and Sarah. After they entered the car, the taxi drove towards the club.
Slightly crushed between the two sexy girls, Harry nervously shifted.
“How are you, Sarah? What’s new with you?”
“Well, there isn’t much to tell. But I hear a lot of things about you.”
Shelley also joined the conversation, “And what are these things? Share with the group.”
Kidman made several gestures to Sarah, supposedly inconspicuous, so that she does not open her mouth about certain stuff, but it was too late.
“Well, I heard that Tess will be waiting for you at the club. And then you may go somewhere…”
Mike, who was in front, seemingly shut his eyes before his girlfriend, as if to tell her, “Woman, sometimes you talk too much.”
Harry blankly stared at the car roof for a moment, then he turned to his neighbor with a feigned smile.
“Um, Shell,” here Harry slightly narrowed his left eye, “if I had known that this would happen with Tess, I wouldn’t have asked you to go.”
The girl looked at Kidman quite calmly, “I know, don’t worry. I’m also meeting someone at the club.”
Harry Kidman Page 3