Gumdrop Angel by Scott Cawthon

Author:Scott Cawthon
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.

* * *

In the car on the way home, Sergio did what he needed to do.

Claire was chattering about how lovely his parents’ home was. “Have you ever thought about designing a big house like that?” she asked.

Sergio didn’t bother to answer the question. He said, “I don’t want to date you anymore,”

Claire looked at him. “What did you say?”

“You heard me. I don’t want to date anymore. All you do is find fault with me. I don’t like it.”

“Find fault? How do I find fault?”

“The shirts. The CDs.”

“What? Giving you gifts is finding fault?”

“You told me I should wear lifts.”

“You said you felt short; I was just trying to be helpful!”

“You don’t like my taste in vegetables.”

“I was just telling you mine tasted good!”

“I don’t know why you go out with me if there’s so much wrong with me,” Sergio complained.

Claire crossed her arms and glared at him. “You’re being ridiculous!”

“Yeah? See? Now you think I’m ridiculous.”

Claire sighed. “You’ve lost your mind.”

Riding in the console as always these days, Lucky Boy giggled.

Claire picked up Lucky Boy and shook the toy in Sergio’s direction. “And you play with dolls.”

Sergio grabbed for Lucky Boy. “Put him down!” He turned to look at Claire, and the truck swerved.

Claire held Lucky Boy away from Sergio. “You’ve started treating it like a guru, and I was going along with it. But really, Sergio. It’s a tchotchke, a doll, a little statue. It’s not your personal guide through life. If you think it is, you’re a weirdo.” Claire pressed the button to lower her window. “You need to get rid of this thing.” She raised her arm to toss Lucky Boy out of the truck.

Sergio lunged for Lucky Boy, and as he did, he wrenched the wheel.

They were heading into a curve, and the lifted truck couldn’t handle the severe turn. It tipped right over, left the road, and headed down the rocky embankment. Suddenly, they were upside down. Then right side up. Then upside down. Every flip of the vehicle was accompanied by the screech and crunch of metal against rock. Every jolt threw them around within the confines of their seat belts, which jerked against their bodies.

Thankfully, Sergio was able to grab Lucky Boy away from Claire as the truck started going over, so the toy wasn’t damaged. The truck landed right side up, but its roof was smashed down toward their heads.

Claire started screaming the second the truck stopped moving. Sergio worked as fast as he could to undo his seat belt and himself. He wanted to get out of the compressed space filled with Claire’s hysterical shrieking. He managed to kick his crumpled door open and stumble out.

Just as he turned to help Claire, another truck stopped. “Are you okay?” a middle-aged man called out.

Sergio took stock. He’d gotten jostled about, for sure. It felt like he’d pulled a couple muscles, and he knew he’d have bruises, but nothing was broken. He looked at Claire. She didn’t seem to have anything broken, either.

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