Read Online 13 by Jason Robert Brown - Free Book Online Page A

do?” I asked.
    Brett nodded. I took a deep breath and smiled for the first time in hours. Finally some good news. This was going to be easy.
    â€œThere’s six other movies in that mall,” I said. “Just say you’re going to a different one. I do it all the time in New York.”
    Brett shook his head. “Too bad this isn’t New York.” He stood up and leaned against the blackboard. “They won’t let you in unless a grown-up buys the tickets, then goes in with you. They’ve got security watching.”
    I shrugged. Still seemed easy enough to me. “Then just get your mom to go.”
    Brett raised his eyebrows. “I don’t think she’s gonna blow off the Crusade for Christ so we can all see The Bloodmaster .” He paused. Again came the golden grin. “Besides which…if my mom was there, that would ruin my plan.”
    This was getting complicated. “What plan?”
    Brett shrugged. “Keep your trap shut, Brain, but Friday night, I’m going to make Kendra my girl.”
    It had been a long day. It seemed like ages sincehomeroom. But I still remembered what Archie had said about the Indiana rules.
    â€œYou mean you’re going to…”
    Brett smiled, then tilted back his head and wagged his tongue to the heavens.
    â€œTongue time!” he said.
    I thought briefly of Nina Handleman—how I had been content enough with her top lip.
    â€œWow,” I said, smiling. “Yeah, I guess you wouldn’t want your mom around for that.”
    Brett was all business again. “Exactly. So your mom’ll have to come.”
    My mom? Could I tell Brett I hadn’t talked to her in two weeks?
    â€œWow, Brett, I don’t know.” I sighed. “She gets wigged out if she cuts herself shaving her legs. She’s not big on horror movies.”
    Brett shook his head. “You’re not thinking of this the right way, Brain. Picture it! Kendra sitting next to me. Girl on screen being eaten by monster. Kendra burying her head in my chest. Me comforting Kendra. Kendra looking up lovingly. Me stuffing my tongue down her throat.” Brett looked at me. “You don’t want to stand in the way of something that beautiful.”
    Didn’t sound too romantic to me. Then again, if it were me and the girl was Nina, well, I might think differently. I stood up. By that point, I realized what wasexpected—another twist in a completely insane day.
    â€œI can try, man,” I said.
    Brett was moving to the door. “No, no. Don’t just try, Brain. Get it right, okay?”
    â€œOkay,” I said. Then I shrugged. “But what if she says no?”
    Brett opened the door. “Simple. If she says no, you make her say yes. Or else I’m not coming to your little bits mits—” He paused and searched for the word. “Your biz mizz—” He paused again. This time an arm went out as though he were trying to grab the words out of the air. Finally he just turned to me and looked right in my eyes. “Make it work or none of us are coming to your little party.”
    The door slammed and I was alone with the test tubes.

9
    I PEEKED outside the door, checking for any hall monitors who might catch me wandering around school in the middle of sixth period in my gym clothes. Coast was clear. I stepped out.
    DINK clump.
    â€œIt’s perfect. You don’t even know it’s perfect, but it’s soooo perfect.”
    Archie had been listening outside the door the whole time, apparently.
    I sighed. “Listen, I don’t want to get in any trouble, okay? I just want to get back to the locker room and change my clothes, and then I want to go to last period and then I want to crawl into a hole and die.”
    He shook his head. “No, no, no! You’re missing the point! I know you’re all nervous about the movie, and what if they don’t come to your party, and whatever, but