Read Online Suck It Up by Brian Meehl - Free Book Online Page B

shortage.” Drake stopped at the bottom of the stoop and struck a dramatic pose. “‘With no red gold flowing anew, tears of silver will have to do.’” Then he hit Morning with his megawatt smile. “Tele-journalism is what I do, poetry is who I
am
.”
    The driver, now with a camera on his shoulder, joined Drake, followed by a woman carrying a microphone with a big “H” on it. “Where’s the princess of PR?” the camera guy asked.
    Drake glanced down the street. “Must be running late.”
    Penny came out the door and onto the stoop. “Hey, Drake. Ready to go?”
    â€œThis better be good, Penster,” Drake said as he grabbed the mic from the soundwoman. “But I can’t promise airtime. You know how it works. Gory bumps gooey every time.”
    Surprised that Drake seemed to know her, Morning glanced at Penny. “What’s going on?”
    â€œWe’re doing a press conference about your miraculous return to St. Giles.” Before Morning could object, Penny grabbed his arm. “Gimme a sec,” she told Drake as she pushed her client into the entryway. “Morning, this is New York. Everyone dressed in black with purple hair claims to be a vampire. I had to go with a different angle to get the media outlets here.”
    He waved outside. “You mean all one of ’em.”
    She held his shoulders like a steering wheel. “Listen, I trusted you enough to let you stay in my house last night. Will you trust me enough to do this interview? I promise you, it’s a lot bigger than it looks.”
    â€œI know it’s a lot bigger. I’m a vampire. If you want, I’ll prove it to you right now.”
    Penny gripped his shoulders. “Please, don’t use the V-word on camera. If you do, our little media play will go up in a cloud of BOWGAS. You know what BOWGAS is? It’s short for the Book of Who Gives a Shit.”
    Morning remembered Birnam’s warning about another stage Lifers might go through in their first encounter with a vampire. Total dismissal. There was only one cure for it. His own version of gas. He shut his eyes and laser-focused on a gray mist. As he dove into a mental wormhole, a loud sound snatched him back.
    Drake’s head poked through the opening door. “Penster, every nine minutes there’s a death by unnatural causes in the city of sob stories.” He tapped his watch. “You got three minutes before my police scanner starts to wail.”
    â€œWe’re good to go,” Penny said, guiding Morning outside.
    He wondered if he was ever going to get the chance to come out.
    The cameraman started shooting as Drake joined them on the stoop. Drake began with a transition to an absent anchorwoman. “Thanks, Kristin. I’m here on the Lower East Side, at the St. Giles Group Home for Boys, for an incredible moment in the life of this young man, Morning McCobb. This is his friend Penny, and she’s going to fill us in. Penny.”
    Penny talked to the camera. “Last November, Morning McCobb left St. Giles for a Thanksgiving meal in a real home, and then mysteriously disappeared for ten months. Unlike so many stories about missing children that end tragically, this one is about to end happily. In fact, we’ve arranged a surprise reunion with the nun who raised Morning since he was a baby.”
    As Morning realized he’d been set up, Penny reached back and opened the door. “Sister.”
    A stout old nun wearing a gray pantsuit barreled outside and wrapped Morning in a bear hug. Tears streamed down her face as she alternated between laughter and thanking God. Morning answered her joyous embrace with his own. It felt like he hadn’t seen her in years. He tried not to cry in front of the camera. But Sister Flora squeezed a couple of tears out of him anyway.
    Drake pushed the mike toward her. “Sister, what was your first thought when you saw