Double-Dare O’Toole by Constance C. Greene Page B

“Stop that! Not now!” Fex and Barney stood in the middle of the rug, looking at their feet. Probably the guy was blowing in her ear, Fex thought.
    â€œThat’s the boyfriend,” Barney whispered unnecessarily. Fex had already figured that out. “The one that gets the Mopeds wholesale.”
    â€œOh,” Fex said. “Yeah.” The silence stretched out, into the corners of the room. Fex prayed for the bell downstairs to ring, for lots of kids to arrive. A wailing ambulance pulled up beneath the window. Barney raced to look out. Fex followed.
    â€œThis way I keep tabs on everything,” Barney said. They looked out and saw nothing but the ambulance, its lights flashing.
    The bell finally rang. Barney buzzed in the guests. Fex stood quietly, not sure of what to do, where to go. Barney’s mom and Dougie bustled back and forth, carrying bowls of potato chips, Fritos, pretzels.
    â€œPretty good feed, eh?” Dougie said, slapping Fex on the back. With a flourish he brought forth an ice bucket filled to the top with ice cubes.
    â€œNothing but the soft stuff for you kids, though,” he said, smiling his peculiar smile. “Be a couple of years before you try the hard stuff, right? You want to hold off on that for a long time. Not good to start too early, I say. Bad for the body. You want to take care of the body, the muscles. Take regular exercise. Now you take me. A hundred pushups at night, a hundred in the morning. Work out at the gym regular. Look at that.” In a flash he’d rolled up his pale blue sleeve to show Fex his muscles.
    â€œAll right,” Fex said as he watched Dougie’s muscles ripple. The room began to fill up. Fex didn’t see Audrey. He was afraid Dougie might not let him loose, might keep him there all night, showing off his muscles.
    Maybe Audrey had decided not to come. He wouldn’t be too surprised at that. Someone put on a record. Kids started to dance, throwing their arms up in the air as if they were trying to get rid of them. Miraculously, Dougie disappeared. Fex went over to where the soda was laid out and helped himself to a Coke. He filled up a glass with ice and poured in the Coke slowly. Then he leaned against the door and watched the dancers. Fex wasn’t sure he liked parties. He liked the idea of them, but the actual party itself he wasn’t too sure about.
    â€œHey, Fex!” Barney hollered. “Come on and dance!” He gyrated by with a girl Fex had never seen before. She was tall, with long brown hair. Her jeans fit her as if they’d been pasted on. She was older than he, fourteen, maybe fifteen. But still in good shape. She was beautiful.
    Fex stared at her as she danced by, tossing her hair like a girl in a shampoo commercial. Then he saw Audrey talking to a couple of kids from school. She didn’t look at him. I bet she knows I’m here, he thought. I just bet she does, and she won’t even say hello.
    Someone shoved him hard in the middle of his back. “Long time no see,” a voice said. Fex turned and looked up, way up, at Wesley. Wesley was the kid who’d double-dared him to ride his bike up on the parkway last year. Wesley had gone to private school this year. Wesley was a troublemaker.
    â€œHow’d you get so tall?” Fex asked him. He was amazed at how much Wesley had grown. Wesley stuck out his foot. Against his will, Fex was impressed. Wesley wore the most terrific-looking pair of cowboy boots Fex had ever seen. They were smooth and glossy, with high slanted heels. The real McCoy. No wonder Wesley looked so tall.
    â€œYou fall down much?” Fex asked, jealous of Wesley’s heels.
    Wesley got red in the face. “You still up to your ass in double-dares?” he said, snuffling juicily at his own wit.
    â€œWesley, the worm,” Fex said. He stood and watched the dancers, who looked like whirling dervishes, all elbows and arms and legs. He craned his