Hide with Me by Sorboni Banerjee

Author:Sorboni Banerjee
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Young Readers Group
Published: 2018-11-05T16:00:00+00:00

JANE

Maybe I could leave even sooner. This lunch shift plus one more might actually do it for the bus ticket, if I could wrangle enough tips.

“Well, hey there,” a vaguely familiar voice called out. “Ding, ding. Do I gotta ring a bell for service or what?”

I realized I’d been wiping the same spot on the counter over and over, so deep in thought.

“Sorry, zoned out.” I grabbed a menu and pushed it over to the customer, looked up, and froze. “Oh. Hi.”

It was Sophia’s boyfriend, Diego. He slid onto one of the sea-green vinyl stools, its metal legs screeching as he dragged it across the checkered tiles.

“Heard you were working here. Like it?”

“Sure,” I said. “How about you? Everything good in the, uh . . . where do you work again? Something with cars?”

“Everything at the shop is fantastic. Had some guys stop by this morning though, made me think of you . . . What’s the pie of the day?”

My back stiffened. “What?”

“Pie of the day? I hope it’s pecan. I sure do like pecan pie.”

“It’s apple. What guys?” I nervously looked around. Nancy was busy in the back. The only other people here were Mr. and Mrs. Hillcrest in the corner booth. They weren’t listening, peering over their matching bifocals at the newspaper they shared, waiting for their meatloaf special.

“I guess I’ll have a slice of the apple then,” Diego said. “And a coffee—extra cream, extra sugar. I got a sweet tooth.”

I cut him a slice of pie and placed the plate in front of him with a louder clatter than I intended.

“Will you tell me what you’re talking about?” I leaned in close.

“Why don’t you tell me what I’m talking about?” Diego said and took a big bite of pie. “Mmm. Can I get some whipped cream?”

Frustrated, I accidentally sprayed out a huge blob.

He laughed and scooped up a fingerful and licked it off. “Why you stressin’, girl? I’m looking out for you. Sophia asked me to help. I’m helping.”

I turned and grabbed the coffeepot, trying to act as normal as I could. But I couldn’t hide the sharp edge in my voice. “Tell me what you’re getting at, Diego. Please.”

He leaned both elbows on the counter and gestured for me to come in close.

“Some guys have been asking if there are any new girls around . . . with big blue eyes . . . Know of any?”

The steaming coffee I was pouring him overflowed and splashed out onto my arm. I jumped back with a wince.

“Nope,” I said, looking him straight in the eye. “Do you?”

“Sure don’t,” Diego said. “I told you: any friend of Sophia’s . . .”

He slid an envelope across the counter to me, hidden under a couple of dollars for the pie.

“I’m on your side, Jane,” he said, pointing at my lopsided name tag. “And if I were you, I would take this and run.”

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.