Read Online Taming the Star Runner by S. E. Hinton - Free Book Online Page B

now.
    â€œSo you’re a Virgo, huh?” The dark-haired girl was a little drunk.
    â€œDo you know Jim Beals?” said the redhead. “He’s in law school.”
    â€œI don’t think so. I just started—you ever heard of Morris and Harris? That’s my uncle’s firm.”
    â€œOh, yeah, I’ve heard of them.”
    â€œI wouldn’t have thought you’d be a Virgo. I would have said Aquarius.”
    Travis almost jumped—he
was
an Aquarius. But he just shook his head.
    â€œThis is the first night I’ve been out since I moved to town. Any other good hangouts?”
    They talked awhile longer—Travis trying to remember lawyer-type words he’d heard Ken use. The girls insisted on buying him a birthday drink—he went to the john when they called the waitress over. He’d never had a margarita before, it was pretty good stuff. They kept talking. When it was time for the next round he gave them the money for it and headed off for the john again. They probably thought he was tooting up or had the world’s weakest bladder.
    He got drunk enough to make a big mistake—he told them about his book. The dark-haired girl had been skeptical from the first, but he and the redhead had been having fun; now he lost them both.
    â€œOh, yeah, sure, you have a book coming out.”
    And when he kept insisting—dammit, he had to tell somebody—they started disbelieving
everything
. He knew exactly when it dawned on them he wasn’t twenty-one either. He’d lapsed into talking like sixteen and couldn’t stop it.
    They finally said they were going to the ladies’ room. Of course they had to go together. He spotted them twenty minutes later with some other guys.
    So what? He found an empty chair at the back of the room, almost got into a fight over it—people were lurking like vultures to pounce on empty chairs.
    He was in a crowd and still lonesome. It was as bad as school. He wished he’d told Casey after all, it would have been better than wasting it on those bimbos. He tried to picture Casey in this place…
    â€œLet’s see your ID.”
    Travis looked up, startled. Some guy with a beard was glaring down at him.
    Travis searched his pockets.
    â€œUh, I guess I lost it. Maybe in the john. I’ll go see—”
    The guy hauled him up by his jacket and shoved him toward the door.
    The crowd had thinned out quite a bit, and Travis wondered what time it was.
    â€œGary, did you let this kid in here?”
    They paused by the doorman.
    â€œHell, no.”
    Gary followed them outside. Travis assumed he was kicked out and was ready to go anyway, but the guy still had a grip on his jacket.
    â€œHe didn’t come up through the drainpipes. How’d you get in here?” He shook Travis like a stray cat.
    â€œOh, you know, I walked—”
    â€œYou didn’t walk by me, man,” Gary said.
    â€œWho sold you drinks?”
    This is getting real boring, Travis thought.
    â€œLook, I’m new in town, I didn’t know what your drinking age is.”
    â€œIt sure as hell ain’t fifteen, man.”
    â€œI could lose my license over this, dammit! You know what kind of money I put in this place? What kind of money I
borrowed
to put in this place?”
    He was shouting at Gary but shaking Travis, who was having a hard time standing up anyway.
    â€œWho sold you drinks?”
    â€œNobody, really man, I brought my own…” He searched through his jacket, then vaguely remembered he’d left the empty Coke bottle on a table.
    â€œLook, nothing’s happened—” Gary began.
    â€œSomething’s happened all right—you’re fired.”
    He finally let go of Travis and stormed back into the club. Gary and Travis stared at each other.
    â€œAnd you’re dead meat,” Gary said, and slugged him. Travis went down on his butt, then flipped backward and cracked his head