Read Online From What I Remember by Stacy Kramer - Free Book Online Page B

talked me into doing Murphy’s paper.”
    “And look where that got us,” she says, pushing a few stray curls off her face.
    She’s got a birthmark above her lip, and the longest eyelashes I’ve ever seen. She’s kinda hot. Not Lily hot. Hot in a different way. I never noticed it before.
    The truck slows down and pulls into a 7-Eleven. Kylie parks a few cars away.
    “What are you thinking? ’Cause I’m thinking we’re at the end of the road here. It’s been fun. But now we’re done. I mean, seriously, what are we going to do? Jump the bad guys?”
    “Probably not the best idea,” Kylie admits.
    The two dudes exit the U-Haul. From the back, they look like father and son. One of them towers over the other. They’re seriously inked; even their bald heads sport tattoos. I so don’t want to have anything to do with these guys. I watch as they head into the 7-Eleven, thinking to myself, I am out of here.
    Before I have a chance to say anything, Kylie’s out of the car and heading toward the truck. I follow her because I’m wondering what the hell she’s thinking.
    “What are you doing?” I ask.
    “You wanted a plan, here’s my plan. I’m going to get into that truck and get my computer back.”
    “That’s a bad plan, Kylie. These are bad guys. We are way out of our element. We need to get out of here. Like now.”
    Kylie isn’t listening to me. She runs around to the back doors of the truck. Shakes them. Locked. She moves to the driver’s side door. Locked. Yeah, people with stolen electronics tend to lock their doors. But then, Kylie manages to open the passenger door.
    “Kylie, get back here. Seriously. We gotta get out of here.…”
    I’m talking to myself. Kylie ignores me and disappears into the truck.
    This is no longer fun. Or cool. I’m not into it at all. It’s freaking me out. Kylie is even crazier than I thought. She’s going to get herself killed. And me along with her.
    A couple of minutes go by and she’s not out of the truck. I can’t decide if I should just drive away and never look back, or go in after her. Stupidity wins out over common sense, and I climb into the passenger side. I can’t see much. A partition separates the back of the truck from the front. There’s a small window between the cab and the back. Kylie must have crawled through it, because she’s nowhere in sight.
    “Kylie, what is your problem? You are going to get us killed.”
    “I found it. I’ve just gotta dig it out. But I need help,” Kylie calls out.
    I peer through the window, but can’t see her because she’s hidden behind about a million dollars’ worth of stolen electronics. There are wide-screen TVs, DVD players, cameras, iPads, speakers, desktops, laptops, printers. It looks like an electronics store warehouse. I want to run away as fast as I can. This is messed up.
    “Please, Max!” Kylie begs, because I haven’t moved.
    The desperation in her voice draws me in. Knowing full well this could be the biggest mistake of my life, I crawl through the opening and land on the face of an enormous flat-screen television. I make my way over the equipment, toward Kylie, where she’s attempting to pull her backpack out from under an iMac. We can’t have much more time. Those dudes have got to be on their way back to the truck. I mean, how long can it take to pee and buy a Coke? I push the iMac to the side, freeing Kylie’s backpack, and that’s when the front doors to the truck open.
    The two dudes climb in, slam the doors, and rev the engine.
    FUCK!
    The truck slowly pulls out. With us inside.
    We’re hidden from view by all the equipment, at least for now. What happens next is anyone’s guess.
    Kylie and I stare at each other. She looks like I feel—freaked and terrified. I’m sure I must look like that as well. I’ve never been this scared in my life. Frantic, I quietly crawl my way to the back door, but it’s locked from the outside. We’re totally trapped. I take Kylie by the arm and