“Hi,” Tommy said, opening up the door just as she reached the porch. “You look the same as you did at my school. We have pizza. Do you like pizza?”
“I do.” Inside, she instantly caught sight of Dutch. Her happy song, “Hobo’s Blues,” trilled through her when he smile-squinted at her. She smiled back and everything sort of blurred just for a triple-time-moment.
She wasn’t expecting that.
CHAPTER 42
Dutch
1. Go to Perk’s house
2. Gramps would pick him up in a few hours
There was a wrestling match going on inside him.
He and his grandpa spent almost every single evening together.
No, that wasn’t right.
It wasn’t almost, it was always—Every. Single. Night.
They would play cards, or they would read together. Gramps would tell him old stories, or they’d watch old movies. And because Dutch wasn’t there tonight, Grandpa would be alone. Dutch could practically see him sitting at the small table, maybe playing solitaire, eating grilled cheese (would he remember to turn off the stove?), wishing that Dutch was there, and always wishing that Grammie was there.
Sometimes it seemed like he really thought that she was just out at the store, or reading in the bedroom, or taking a walk down the block to where there was a small forest area.
Those were the times that Dutch worried most.
He did feel a little better, though. He’d looked online at a discussion board for people who have family members who were losing their memories. Dutch couldn’t call it dementia and he wouldn’t call it Alzheimer’s, but after Gramps had woken up the night before calling for Grammie from his bed, he’d decided to look a little more at the discussion boards.
Dutch hadn’t posted anything, but he read a little. And then Gramps seemed fine all day, encouraging him to go out with his friends. It was different every day. Every moment, almost.
“I’ll be fine,” he’d said, ruffling Dutch’s hair. “It’ll be good for you and that means that it’ll be good for me, too.”
Now, Dutch felt guilty for having fun. For being with his friends—and he’d never been able to say the word “friend,” let alone “friends” before. But they’d laughed at his jokes and didn’t seem to notice that he squinted whenever his face felt like squinting.
He wanted to be with his grandpa.
But he wanted to be here … more.
Was that bad?
And of course there was Pearl.
Pearl was there. She was smiling and happy and didn’t have that faraway look in her eyes like she did the time at Adam’s house.
And she’d touched his arm. Just really quick. But she did.
And she blushed. He knew it was ridiculous to think that she blushed because of him. But she had blushed.
He was sure of it.
“Do that one trick with the three piles of cards that you showed us before Pearl came,” Adam said, interrupting Dutch’s thoughts. “That’s your best one.”
They were all sitting in Perk’s massive living room. Or was this the game room, or the lounge, or the courtyard? Whatever it was, it was a really big room. He and Gramps’s entire apartment was about this size.
Ray shrugged and grinned, going through the trick again.
Dutch’s grandpa had taught him a few card tricks when he was little. They were pretty good, though he wasn’t sure if his hand would be steady enough.
He watched Pearl smile and point to a pile of cards and wish that he remembered.
Adam laughed at the end, when his card—the seven of spades—appeared. “That is so cool.”
Dutch had no idea how Ray did it.
“Come on,” Pearl said. “You have to tell me how you did that.”
Her cheeks were pink and Dutch had to look away. Was she blushing now because of Ray? Being back at their small apartment with Gramps, suddenly felt like a good place to be. “Just a little sleight of hand,” Ray said. “The trick is to get the person focused on something other than what you’re trying to do.”
That was right.
When Dutch wasn’t looking, Ray pulled a sleight of hand with Pearl.
But no. Dutch shook his head, hoping to get the sense back inside. Pearl wasn’t like that. She was nice to him, just like she had always been nice to everyone. She didn’t like Dutch, but she also didn’t like Ray, and that made him feel a little better, though he wasn’t sure if it should.
Dutch took another slice of pizza and sat on the floor.
“Okay,” Pearl said. She smiled and sat down in front of him, her plate of pizza on her lap. “Now I have a card trick I’m going to try on you, Dutch,” she said. “My aunt taught it to me a while ago so hopefully I remember.”
He wished she wasn’t so kind and her smile wasn’t so wide.
“You ready?”
He nodded. He might just ask her to do the trick over and over and over again … just to keep her sitting and smiling in front of him.
CHAPTER 43
Adam
“You can’t move a piece like that, Adam,” Tommy said. He laughed. “The horse can only do this or that. Okay?”
“Got it.” Adam moved the horse in the direction that Tommy had instructed and sighed. He hadn’t played chess since he was seven. Tommy had asked him to play before, but Adam had always been able to distract him. But tonight Tommy had been so anxious to play chess with Ray, saying, “When’s he coming?” “Do you think he’ll play with me?” “I can’t wait to play chess with Ray” that Adam found himself volunteering to start a game before Ray even came.
He and Tommy were like brothers and that’s what brothers did.
Now he wished he was sitting in the living room with everyone else. He hadn’t liked playing chess back then and even less now. Sitting, staring, and waiting was not his thing. Plotting and then getting things done was more his style. “So, Tommy,” he said, taking a bite of his pizza. “What would you think if you saw a car on a roof?”
Tommy looked up from the board. “Why would there be a car on a roof? Like Wacky Wednesday?”
Adam nodded and moved his knight back to where it was before. He’d like to just quit, but Tommy hated to quit games. If he remembered more about the game, maybe he could lose on purpose? “Yeah, like Wacky Wednesday. Would you think that was a good trick?”
Tommy laughed. “Yes. That would be so funny.”
Good. Tommy didn’t know why they were going to do it, but it was important that he liked it.
“How would the car get there? Is it like magic?” Tommy asked. “It’s your turn.”
Adam looked over at Ray, who was sitting in the living room, a plate on his lap. Had he figured out how to make the car on the roof work? “I don’t know how it would get up there,” Adam said as he moved his horse again. “But something else would be really funny, too, right? Fill a car with marshmallows or something?” It still sounded silly but just in case.
“I’d like to eat marshmallows.” Tommy swiped his nose.
“How about seeing them in a car? A whole car filled with marshmallows.”
Tommy paused and tapped his chin. “I like the car on the roof. And then I’d want to eat all the marshmallows.”
“Yeah, me, too.”
Tommy sighed and looked at the chessboard. “You’re not very good, Adam.”
Adam laughed. “I know, right?”
“Can I play with Ray? I don’t want to hurt your feelings ’cause that isn’t nice, but you’re not very good.”
He wasn’t hurt. “Sure. Hey, Ray,” he called into the living room. “I think Tommy wants a more worthy opponent.”
“Yeah, a worthy opponent,” Tommy repeated.
“Sure.” Ray carried his plate over to the kitchen table and took Adam’s spot. Not his spot in Tommy’s life, of course. That wouldn’t happen.
Adam shifted to the chair in between, not quite ready to go into the living room yet. “So Tommy said that he’d like to see a car on
a roof, too, but we can’t figure out how someone could get it up there.”
“Unless it was magic,” Tommy said. He rearranged the pieces into their starting positions on the board.
Ray shrugged. “Well, it depends on the car. They definitely can’t use the steel ropes and cables ’cause it’ll ruin the car.”
“Ramps?” Adam asked.
“Maybe, but I just don’t know how they’d get them.”
“Then what?”
“I don’t know. Lifts, maybe, but I’m not sure if the car’s wide enough or the lifts could go high enough.”
Tommy took one of Ray’s pawns. “Are you gonna put a car on a roof? I saw a giant snowman on a roof before.”
“That’s cool,” Ray said.
Adam stood up, trying to ignore the annoying worry that was trying to climb to the surface. “Nothing can top a prank like that. You’re smart enough to figure out a way, right?”
Ray squirmed a little in his seat. “Sure.” He moved his rook. “Your move, Tommy.”
CHAPTER 44
Perk
The pizza boxes were now empty but for a few lone pepperonis and tossed-aside crusts.
Perk looked over at the kitchen. His best friend had abandoned the chess game—he was surprised Adam had lasted as long as he had—but it looked like Ray and Tommy had just begun playing. If he didn’t stop it before too long, there would be no distracting Tommy.
“Hey, guys,” he said. He grabbed a piece of discarded crust and took a bite. “Let’s get started.”
“But we did just start, Perk. We need to finish our game,” Tommy said.
“Sorry, but they can’t stay for too much longer, and we need to talk about stuff all together, okay? You can sit over here with us.”
Tommy leaned back in his chair and folded his arms across his chest. “Why can’t Ray and I listen and play chess at the same time? Sometimes you do that, Perk.”
“I hardly ever do that,” Perk said. “But come on. You can come in here and talk with us.” Perk started putting the pieces away, silently praying Tommy wouldn’t throw one of his fits.
“We’ll play next time,” Ray said. “Come on. You can sit by me.” Ray started for the living room, and Tommy stood up and plopped down next to him.
Disaster averted. He owed Ray.
“So,” Adam was saying, “Ray is taking care of the car thing. Now we need to plan out what we’re going to do with the prestigious Camp Beaumont that Hill is hoping to go to this summer.”
“Hey, Perk,” Tommy said. “Tell them about the camp that I’m going to this summer. Tell them.”
Perk turned to Tommy. “Not now, maybe in a bit, okay?”
“It’s going to be the best camp in the world. I’ve never been but that’s what the man said. He said, ‘The best camp in the world.’”
“Yep, he did, Tommy. Now you need to be quiet so we can talk about something really important, okay?”
“Okay.” He pretended to zip up his lips, lock them, and then toss away the key.
Perk began again. “Camp Beaumont says that they need a video of Hill. Ray overheard Parmar say that they hadn’t made the video yet—”
“I think it’s done now,” Pearl interjected. “Hill was talking about it at lunch today.”
“Really?” Perk reached for his computer and opened it. “That means we’ve gotta move fast. I just hope he hasn’t emailed it off yet.” Perk logged onto Parmar’s e-mail and checked his Sent messages. Whew. “Looks like we lucked out.” He checked Parmar’s desktop and downloads for a video. “It’s here, but he hasn’t done anything with it yet.”
“But what if he sends it tomorrow, or in a few minutes, even?”
Perk clicked on the e-mail settings. “I’m going to change his e-mail password for now so he can’t get in and I’ll mess with his Wi-Fi. It’ll hold him off for a little while, but I’ll have to stay on it. On Monday we’ll have to get a new video.”
“What’s the video of?” Tommy asked. “Can we watch it?”
Perk tried to ignore Tommy and continued on. “We need you for this part, Dutch.”
“Me? Why me?”
“Perk?” Tommy asked again and tapped Perk on the shoulder. He shrugged it off. Perk hated to ask it of Dutch—Dutch got bullied enough as it was that asking him to purposefully set himself up to be picked on seemed cruel. “Well, we need to catch him in the act.”
Dutch was quiet a moment and then Perk could tell he understood. “Oh.”
“Yeah.”
Tommy tapped Perk on the shoulder again and then pulled at his T-shirt sleeve. “Perk. I have an e-mail now. People can e-mail me if they want.”
“You’re right,” Perk said quickly. “I’ll give it to everyone before they leave.”
“There has to be another way to catch him at it,” Pearl said.
Dutch shrugged. “But not another way to guarantee we get a video. I get it.” He paused. “I said I was in from the beginning so … I’m in.”
Ray reached over and patted Dutch on the shoulder. “I’ll make sure to be nearby.”
“Perk?” Tommy said.
Perk shh’ed him.
“Perk,” Tommy half whispered.
Perk stood up. “Sorry, guys,” he said. “You keep talking. I’m just going to get Tommy busy with something else.” He pulled his brother to his feet.
“But I don’t want to do anything else. I want to be here.”
Perk led him out of the room as he continued to protest. It was times like these that it would just be better if Tommy wasn’t so … so Tommy. “I know,” Perk said. He breathed deep and popped in Finding Nemo. He’d only lost his temper once with Tommy and he wasn’t about to let it happen again. “Do you want to watch Finding Nemo?”
Tommy looked at him as if Perk was trying to trick him into eating mashed potatoes—Tommy’s least favorite food. “But I want to see everyone.”
Perk pushed Play and Tommy instinctively grabbed his beanbag chair. “You will. I’ll make sure they say good-bye, and Adam is spending the night, so you’ll get to see him.”
Music began behind him and Tommy brought his finger to his mouth. “Shh, Perk. It’s starting.”
Perk sighed and rubbed his brother’s hair and then went out to rejoin the group.
Adam had already given the old iPod to Ray, who was busy taking it apart while Pearl ran through everything out loud.
“So I put the bug in Hill’s ear about Dutch’s iPod, which doesn’t work, and the science paper. You and Perk set up one of those mini video cameras on top of the trophy case across from Dutch’s locker. Hill comes by, bullies Dutch, and steals the iPod because he thinks it works; Ray stops him before it gets bad. Then we switch out the videos?” She paused. “How are we going to do that?”
Adam looked over for Perk to answer. “I don’t have computer class on Monday and my parents will kill me if I bring mine to school, so I’ll have to get on his computer, upload our video, and delete his. Does that work for everyone?”
They all nodded.
Around nine-thirty Pearl, Ray, and Dutch left, Dutch’s grandpa driving everyone home.
Perk closed the front door, then started cleaning up the kitchen with Adam. “I think this is all going to work, don’t you?” They seemed to have the plan for Hill really nailed down now. Getting the video would be easy, and then they just had to wait.
“Yeah, now Ray just has to figure out the car on the roof.” Adam stacked a plate in the dishwasher.
“Maybe we should come up with another plan for the car?” Even as Perk was saying it, Adam was shaking his head. He should’ve known. It was impossible to change Adam’s mind.
“No, nothing else is even close to being big enough.”
The sooner they got the whole car thing figured out, the better.
CHAPTER 45
Ray
He didn’t have much time.
“One hour,” his dad said. He wiped a grease-covered hand along his pants. “I better see you
r butt back in this shop by two or you’ll be pulling a double shift for the next month. Understand?”
“I’ll be back.” Ray ducked out the front door and started down the street. Two blocks to the library. He picked up his pace. Making it there with enough time wouldn’t be hard; he just hoped that there was an open computer—not always easy to come by on a Saturday—and he was able to find the information he needed. But what worried him most was not finding what he hoped, what he needed, what Adam and Tommy and everyone else needed.
Pushing through the doors, he swept a hand across the sweat on his forehead before finding the bathroom and washing his dirty hands. The two tables of computers were mostly open, and he quickly signed the sheet for a thirty-minute session.
“Hi, Ray.”
Ray turned. “Hi, Mrs. Potter.” The school counselor was nice, even if she tried a little too hard sometimes to be everyone’s friend.
“What are you up to today?”
He shrugged. “Nothing much.”
She scanned his shirt and pants, both smeared with grease and dirt, his orange wax towel hanging out of his pocket. “Were you at your dad’s shop?”
“Yeah. Lunch break.” Time was ticking.
She nodded. “I saw that you’re planning on taking the automotive technology track in high school.”
“Yeah.”
Her hands were folded in front of her, holding on to her purse. “You’re not interested in taking the regular diploma track?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know.”
“I think you’d do great.”
He shrugged again.
“Well,” Mrs. Potter said. “Let me know if you change your mind and I can help you work with your schedule.”
He nodded.
“I won’t keep you any longer. See you at school.”
“Bye.”
She walked off.
He should’ve said thanks. Maybe he should’ve said “Yeah, can you change my schedule?”
Either way, it didn’t matter now. She was gone and he had things to look up.
After getting online he typed “length and width of Shelby Cobra” in the search bar and hit Enter.
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