We Were Here by Matt de la Peña

Author:Matt de la Peña
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Fiction
ISBN: 0385736703
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Published: 2009-10-13T07:00:00+00:00

July 23

Mong had Dallas drop us off at this quiet little beach town called Malibu. It’s way different from how Venice was. There aren’t so many cars or people out walking around or young people. And the stores are smaller with less flashy signs, and all of them have stands outside selling beach towels and sunscreen and Styrofoam coolers.

We got out, stood by Dallas’s driver’s-side window thanking him for giving us a ride. He nodded at me and Mong, then grabbed Rondell by his sweatshirt, told him he better get his ass on a hoop team and quick. “Even if it’s one in Mexico, boy. They got pro teams there, too, you know.”

“They do?” Rondell said.

“Hell yeah,” Dallas said. “Got one of my boys down there somewhere right now. Gettin’ paid, too.”

Rondell nodded.

“I’m sayin’, though, it’s a sin to waste talent like you got.” He let go of Rondell’s shirt and pushed him away from the car. “A sin, boy. You hear me?”

Rondell nodded.

Dallas waved at me and Mong again and then drove off.

We went across the street to this cluster of stores, bought more hot dogs and fruits and donuts, and this time Mong had us buy a bundle of wood instead of charcoal. There was a liquor store next door and Mong sent Rondell in with a list thinking he’d have the best chance of passing for twenty-one. Mong seemed to have our whole night planned, probably figuring it was our last one in America. And it wasn’t just him, either. I think we all sort of wanted to go out in style.

Rondell came back from the liquor store with beer and Mong’s whiskey, and we took everything across the street, followed Mong a long ways down the beach until he stopped in line with this big blue two-story beach house. He tossed his bag on the sand, said: “This is it.”

“This is what?” I said.

“Where my dad used to take me when I was a kid.”

“You went to this beach before?” Rondell said.

Mong nodded, pointed up at the big blue house. “Stayed at that place,” he said. “Every summer. Just me and him.”

Me and Rondell threw our bags in the sand too and looked up at the house. It was the nicest one in the whole row. I tried to imagine how it’d even be like, chilling inside such a big place, right on the beach, but I couldn’t really picture it. I peeked at Mong and then went back to the house. It seemed crazy that a kid who used to stay in that place could end up down here with me and Rondell, on the run from a group home. If I hadn’t read his file, how his old man came from money and was a lawyer, I wouldn’t have believed his ass.

Mong started clearing space for a makeshift barbecue pit, me and Rondell trying to help out but really just getting in the way. The beach was quiet, except a few older couples walking by holding hands.

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.