Outriders by ED DECTER

Author:ED DECTER
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: ALADDIN PAPERBACKS
Published: 2007-07-15T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER SEVEN

July 6 (2:41 p.m.)

RETURNING

Bettina’s sister, Viveca, is really, really, really beautiful. Bettina’s hair is curly and wild, but Viveca’s is super-straight and kind of glossy. She’s always doing something with it—hooking it behind her ears or gently flicking it away from her face—and she must use some kind of special shampoo because her hair smells really, really, really good. Don’t get me wrong—it’s not like I’m crushing on her; she’s way too old (nineteen). It’s just that every guy anywhere near her age (including Kyle) seems to get really goofy when Viveca is around. Kyle has given Viveca in excess of nine thousand free SurfFreezes. Every time Kyle says to Viveca, “This one’s on the house,” Viveca does this kind of breathy inhale, like she’s absolutely shocked and delighted. Then she kind of tilts her chin downward, which causes that glossy hair of hers to casually drape across her face like she’s about to tell the most amazing secret. She looks right at my brother and says “Kyle, thank you sooo much.” My brother looks so forward to this thrilling moment that he is absolutely terrified to risk destroying it by asking Viveca out. Deep down, Kyle must know that he is not fated to be Viveca Conroy’s boyfriend, mainly because Viveca will date only much older guys who are gainfully employed and drive late-model cars or pickups. And for that reason, Viveca was one of the most important associates of the Outriders.

Bettina and her sister were not especially close. In fact Bettina resented the two or three hours per day that Viveca spent using makeup and hair products in the one bathroom at the tiny Conroy apartment. But while the sisters did not have a tight bond, they did have an understanding. You see, Viveca didn’t just date one older-guy-with-a-nice-car at a time. She dated a whole bunch of them at once—and none of them knew about the others. The only person on Earth who knew the full scope of Viveca’s multifaceted social life was Bettina. And Bettina was wicked-good at keeping a secret. She could withstand any type of parental interrogation that Mr. and Mrs. Conroy could dish out. So in return for Bettina’s silence, Viveca was willing (on a limited basis) to help us out from time to time, especially when we were in need of a vehicle that required a driver’s license. That’s why, when our mini-armada got back to Sternmetz Marina at about three thirty in the afternoon, there was a guy named Ernie Driscoll waiting behind the wheel of a brand-new Dodge Ram pickup with Viveca Conroy in the passenger seat by his side.

Bettina had set this all up by cell phone while we were still out at sea. One of Din’s cousins had given him this awesome PDA phone; it was so full-featured that even Din was having difficulty finding ways to use all of the powerful preinstalled software. Din’s PDA could hook up to the Internet, display full-motion video, and connect

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.