After school, David waited for Journey at the split in the sidewalk where one path led to the buses and the other path led to the parking lot. He was determined to intercept her if she tried to sneak away to the bus. Marcus showed up before Journey did.

"Where's your girlfriend?" David asked, noticing the cheerleader was missing.

Marcus winked at him. "What girlfriend?"

David laughed and shook his head.

Marcus looked around. "You waiting on someone?"

David smiled. "Maybe."

Marcus's eyes widened. "Dude, what's with you lately? Are you dating that chick?"

"Nah, man. We're just friends," he answered.

Marcus laughed. "Good."

David's head snapped back. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"She's kinda weird, Dave."

David folded his arms over his chest. "She's actually pretty cool. And maybe if you thought about girls with your brain instead of just your dick, you'd see that."

Marcus held up his hands in defense. "Dude, chill out. I'm just saying she's not your type."

"What's my type?"

Marcus cast his eyes over to a group of girls surrounding Rebecca Ashburn.

David laughed. "Rebecca's definitely not my type. Not anymore."

"Whatever, Dave," Marcus said, shaking his head. "Justin and I are going to Shady Side to watch the mud races tonight if you wanna go."

Journey was coming down the sidewalk behind Marcus. "I'll let you know," he replied, still looking past his friend.

Marcus turned and saw her, then looked at David and rolled his eyes. "You're fucking smitten."

"Fuck you, Marcus."

Journey smiled politely at both of them when she approached. "Hi, Marcus."

"Hello again," he said. "We were just talking about you."

David slapped him, hard, on the chest.

Marcus winced but laughed.

Journey pointed to a pencil drawing of a throwing star on the cover of the notebook Marcus was carrying. "Did you draw this?"

Marcus looked down at the doodle and nodded. "Yeah, it's the—"

She cut him off. "It's the Metallica ninja star."

David watched Marcus's eyes double in size. "Yeah. It is."

She inspected his drawing more carefully. "It's pretty good," she said.

David decided that Marcus couldn't look more surprised if she had spoken to him in Mandarin. The three of them turned in the direction of the parking lot with David in the middle. Marcus looked over at her again. "You like Metallica?"

Journey nodded. "They are my second favorite band."

"What's your first?" he asked.

"Alice in Chains," she answered without hesitation.

"No shit?" Marcus asked.

She nodded. "No shit." She looked over at him. "I think Layne Staley has the best voice in rock and roll."

"Better than James Hetfield?"

"It's a close race," she answered.

David didn't miss the impressed grin on Marcus's face. He caught Marcus's eye and shrugged as if to say 'I told you so'.

When they parted ways at the bumper of David's white truck, Marcus slapped the tailgate. "Let me know if you're gonna make it to the races tonight, Dave. And Journey"--he looked at her--"you're invited too, if you can make it."

Her brow crumpled with confusion. "Uh, OK. Thanks."

"I'll call you later, Marcus," Dave said and opened Journey's door.

"What was that about?" she asked as she climbed into the cab.

He lingered at her door. "Oh, me and the guys sometimes go down to Shady Side on Tuesdays. They have mud races. It's pretty fun."

"Oh," she said.

He looked past her. "Do you, uh, wanna go?"

She turned her palms up. "Grounded, remember?"

His shoulders deflated. "That's right. I forgot." I wonder if she'll be ungrounded in time for the Homecoming game next week. There's a dance after. Too bad I've already got a date. Abby will probably be named Homecoming Queen, and this late in the game I can't cancel on her. I wonder if Journey knows I'm only taking Abby as a friend. Maybe if...

Journey snapped her fingers in front of his face, and he realized he was staring out into space. She laughed. "Are we going to leave or camp out here for the night?"

He chuckled and closed her door.

Ten minutes later, they were parked in front of her two-story brick house. She studied the house for a minute before looking over at him. "Do you want to come in for a few minutes? Nobody's home, but you can't stay long because if they catch you here, they might kill us both."

He laughed and turned off the engine. "Sure."

He followed her inside the house and up the wooden staircase.

The Durant family had expensive taste in furniture. There was a baby grand piano and grandfather clock in the room that over looked the driveway. The den had a big screen television with maroon leather couches. And the dining room had a fancy-looking dining table and a matching display cabinet filled with gold-rimmed dishes. Journey, in her flared blue jeans and army jacket, didn't look like she belonged at all.

He studied a vase that was four feet tall while she picked up the house phone. "What do your parents do?" he asked.

She looked up. "Uh, they are antique dealers."

That explains a lot, he thought, looking around the room.

She dialed numbers on the keypad and held a finger up to her lips. "Gotta call and check in with the warden. Be quiet."

He nodded and walked over and ran his hand across the couch to see if it was real leather. It was.

"Hey, Dad," she said into the phone. "I'm home... Yeah, it was a pretty good day. What time do you want me to have dinner ready?" She listened for a minute. "Ok. Yeah. Love you too."

She disconnected and walked into the kitchen toward the refrigerator. "You thirsty?" she asked. "I've got Coke, Diet Coke, tea—"

"Coke," he said.

She handed him an ice cold can and took out a Diet Coke for herself. She looked at him and bit her lip. "Give me one sec."

He nodded and opened his can. "OK."

She took off in a jog down the hallway off the living room. On the refrigerator was a photo of a little girl playing in a water sprinkler. She looked like she was five years old. A moment later, Journey was at his side again. "Is this you?" he asked, tapping the photo.

"Yeah," she said, hooking her thumb in her pocket.

"Look at your cute pig tails," he said.

She rolled her eyes. "Shut up. I'm going to the porch. You coming?"

He nodded and followed her through a sliding glass door off the kitchen. The back deck was huge, and there was a picnic table that overlooked rolling hills off behind the house. "This is nice," David said, walking to the railing and looking over.

She stepped up on the table bench and sat down on the top. Her can popped open with a soft hiss. "Yeah. It's not bad," she said.

He watched her flip the lid of a pack of cigarettes open and he laughed. "So, the grounding wasn't enough to teach you a lesson, huh?"

She lit the cigarette with a pink lighter. "It taught me to keep my big mouth shut."

He stepped over beside her. "Can I have one?"

She looked up, shock evident in her eyes. "You smoke?"

He nodded. "Don't tell my coach."

She shook her head and handed him her pack. "You're just full of surprises."

He sat down next to her and lit the cigarette. "Really?"

She laughed. "I had you pegged for a Boy Scout."

He leaned toward her and blew out a puff of smoke into a perfect ring. "I am definitely not a Boy Scout."

She giggled. God, he loved it when she giggled.

He nodded back toward the house. "So, what's your life like here?" he asked. "No offense, but you don't look quite like you fit in at this place."

She tilted her face up toward the sky and laughed. "That's the understatement of the year!"

"So, what are your parents like?" he asked.

She sighed. "They're really strict. They work a lot, and when they're not at work, they're at church." She took a long drag on her cigarette, signaling the end of the conversation. "What about yours?" she asked.

"My dad's pretty tough, a retired Master Sergeant. He bugs me a lot about joining the Army like he did. Mom is cool though. They don't hover much, which is nice," he said. "I'm sure you'll meet them sometime."

She blinked up with surprise. "Yeah?"

"Yeah. Why not?" He bumped her with his shoulder. "I'm afraid you're going to have to create a permanent position for me in your social group."

Her eyes sparkled when she laughed. "You're so weird."

David leaned into her. "And now, you're stuck with me forever."

****************

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