Carter Finally Gets It by Brent Crawford

Author:Brent Crawford
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction - Young Adult
Publisher: Disney Publishing Worldwide

27. Arcade Backfire

EJ and I are chillin’ out at the arcade on a Saturday night (pathetic). I wanted to go to the movies or sit in an ice bath, but EJ’s ADHD has lots of fuel here, and there’re always hot chicks at the arcade, so here we are.

“You see me gettin’ wicked eye contact with the chicks at the Ms. Pac-Man?” EJ asks.

“Yeah, I do, ’cause you’re staring at ’em. They’re scared and trying to figure out whether or not to call security on you.” I laugh.

Even though Lynn’s advice seems to have blown up in my face, EJ still asks for clarification on how to use it. “What I don’t get is,” he says as he hip checks the Star Wars game, “how you like ’em for real, but pretend not to. But you really like ’em underneath it all, right?”

“Dude, I don’t know why it works, it just does. Why don’t you go practice on one of those Ms. Pac-Man chicks? Quit stalkin’ ’em and go talk to ’em. Just pretend you’re not into ’em and then ask a question. What’s the worst that could happen?” I ask like a fourteen-year-old Dr. Drew.

“I don’t know what to ask ’em,” he says. “You go talk to ’em, Carter.”

“Man, I’ll start to stutter, and that doesn’t help anyone,” I say. “Girls hate me, that’s just a fact. I’ll go with you, though.”

Every great pilot needs a wingman. A guy by his side who tells him how much fuel he has and how he’s doing. The pilot has one job: fly the plane. Or in this case, talk to the girl. The wingman just helps the pilot out. Like a corner man at a prize fight or a coach on the sidelines.

I don’t think EJ’ll go through with it, though. He’ll just stare at these chicks until his mom comes and picks us up. But he thinks it over for a second, rolls his eyes back into his head, and breaks for the Ms. Pac-Man machine.

“Whoa, slow down, turbo!” I say, but he doesn’t hear me. The pilot makes a move; the wingman follows.

We walk toward the group of girls with great purpose. I can’t believe we’re doing this. I’m not even flying the plane, but my heart is in my throat. If I have to talk, the stutter is going to soar. EJ, on the other hand, is a picture of determination. Puberty is changing us all. He kind of looks like Wolverine just before his claws come out and he gets to kicking somebody’s ass.

“Go easy, man. Just pretend you don’t like ’em,” I say.

“I got it, bro,” EJ says with pure focus.

“Hit ’em with a question,” I say.

“Got it,” he replies.

“Breathe, dude,” I add for good measure.

I’m not great at a lot of things, but I’m a good wingman. I thought we’d chat for an hour or so about what questions he would ask and how to respond to their responses, but we’re just going for it! Hell yeah, just a couple of cowboys on a roundup.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.