The Right and the Real by Joelle Anthony

Author:Joelle Anthony
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
ISBN: 9781101561843
Publisher: Penguin Group US
Published: 2012-04-25T21:00:00+00:00

chapter 17

LAVON HAD MOVED HIS SEAT ALL THE WAY BACK in order to cram himself into the Beast, and so far, he’d refrained from commenting on my driving, but if he thought I didn’t notice his hands clutching the sides of his seat, he was sadly mistaken. I forced myself to concentrate more on the traffic and less on our destination.

“Tell me again why you’re draggin’ my ass ’cross town?” he asked.

“Well…last time I went over to Dad’s, he wouldn’t open the door for me, so I thought I could stand off to one side and you could knock. And then when he opened the door, I could ask him for the title to the Beast.”

My plan was to sell it and use the money for the down payment on my tuition. I didn’t know why I hadn’t thought of that the very first day Dad kicked me out. The Beast was five years old, but it was a Lexus. It had to be worth a lot. I could probably even get a new, smaller car, and an apartment. LaVon’s laughter rocketed through the SUV, bringing me back to reality.

“What?” I asked him.

“You think,” he said, “your old man’s gonna open the door to me? You’re crazier than I thought.”

Anger flared up in me. “My dad’s not a racist.”

“Chill, girl. I never said nothin’ about him being no racist. But have you looked at me lately?”

We’d stopped at a light, and I glanced over at him. “Ummm…”

“Hell,” he said, “if I came to my own door, I’d call the cops. You don’t have to be no bigot to be scared of me.”

I sighed. “Yeah…okay. You’re right. I’m an idiot.” I’d thought about asking Krista to come along to knock on the door for me, but I would’ve had to explain way too much. “I’ve got it,” I said, a new idea forming. “You lurk in the bushes and when he sees you, I’ll say you’ve been following me. He’ll have to let me come inside then.”

“Next plan.”

I slumped in my seat as I turned down my old street. “You wait in the car and then I give you a ride to work afterward like I promised?”

“There ya go.”

I pulled the Beast up to the front of the house. Maybe having LaVon go to the door wasn’t a good idea, but it might not hurt to have him seen in the passenger seat. If nothing else, it might pique my dad’s curiosity.

“They got a new mailbox,” I muttered as I opened my door.

LaVon put his window down and pulled a pack of cigarettes from his pocket.

“Could you get out?” I asked. “I don’t want you stinking up my car if I’m going to try and sell it.”

“Fine. I’ll stand outside and freeze my ass.”

“I can’t believe you smoke anyway,” I said. “I thought you were some organic-eating, bike-riding health nut.”

LaVon shook his head. “Girl,” he said, “you don’t know nothin’.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, I’m doin’ the best I can to leave the booze and herb alone,” he said, all his usual humor gone.

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.