Read Online High School 2 - Diversity - The Clash by Paul Swearingen - Free Book Online

one – you’re holding up
progress here. Or do you want to freeze your little tushie off in
this weather?”
    She dropped her backpack onto the front
floorboards. “You watch your mouth when you’re talking about my
anatomy, Mr. Radio Star. Show some respect.”
    He laughed. “Sorry. Saw you standing there,
all alone, and thought you might go for some pizza. All right?”
    “You think I would go just anywhere with
you, huh? How about Mexican food instead? I could get around some
enchiladas, maybe some horchata . You know, the real
stuff.”
    “Okay, I know what place you’re talking
about. But does your father know that I’m taking you out to the
city limits?”
    “Don’t worry about it. He’s working late,
but when he gets home I’ll just tell him that I was kidnapped and
forced to eat until my tummy popped. And he’ll deal with you at the
appropriate time.”
    Bob pulled the car into gear, peered behind
him, and stepped on it. “I bet he would.”
    * * *
    Carla ended up ordering two enchiladas
con carnitas and horchata , or cinnamon-flavored
rice water, and discovered that she actually was hungry. Bob
actually stared at her.
    “What’s the matter; you never seen a hungry
girl before?” she tossed at him.
    “Oh, is that what I’m observing? Looked to
me like a piranha ripping into a man’s leg.”
    She wadded up her napkin and bounced it off
his head.
    He picked it off the floor and dropped it
onto his plate. “Okay, fine. You’re a lady and need to be treated
like one. So wipe the sauce off your chin, madam!”
    Carla giggled. “And you’d better watch where
you’re spitting crumbs, Mr. Manners!”
    Bob brushed his shirt front and leaned
toward her. “Just in case you think this is purely a social
occasion, I’ve got some business news for you. Marvin is now
history since he couldn’t show up on time almost every day during
the past month or so. And the boss wants me to see if you’d be
interested in increasing your hours at the station. He wants me to
take over Marvin’s old air shift and someone else to take over
production, at least after school and into the evening, say from
3:30 to 6:30 or so, four days a week, possibly a few hours on the
weekends including a full board shift early Sunday. What do you
think?”
    Carla stared at him. “Almost 20 hours a
week. Are you sure the boss really wants me? I’ve only been there
for less than a week.”
    “Listen, kid. You might as well get used to
the radio biz. It’s a revolving door system in radio; you can get
out as easily as you can get in. Marvin found that out the hard
way. If you can be on time and punch buttons, you’re in.” Bob
finished his taco and wiped the fragments of grated cheese off his
shirt.
    “Tell you what. I’ll let you know tomorrow,
okay? I’ve sort of committed to tutoring someone after school, but
I can get out of it.” Carla finished her second enchilada and took
a long swig of the cold, sweet, cinnamon-flavored horchata .
    “Fair enough. The Sunday board shift is sort
of optional and up in the air anyway. No one likes to get up at
5:30 Sunday morning, and right now I’m doing it and wouldn’t mind
getting rid of it, even though I can get some studying done. All I
do now is punch buttons from six until eleven anyway; we run
nothing but syndicated programs. The news is network news, so all I
have to do is to record a weather forecast once or twice and run it
between the programs. I’m licensed so I take transmitter readings,
but you wouldn’t even have to do that.”
    “Like I said, I’ll let you know. I’ll have
to get permission from the parent.”
    “Okay, and I give you permission to leave
the tip. This one’s on me.”
    Carla nodded and rubbed her tummy. She’d
have to be careful with Bob; first doughnuts and now Mexican food –
what was he trying to do, fatten her up?
     

Chapter Twelve
    “What do you mean, you’re not going to be
able to tutor me any more?” T. J.’s nose was a scant five