Rainbow Road by Alex Sanchez Page A

exhaling relief.
    “How’s everything else going?” his dad asked. “Everyone getting along?”
    Kyle glanced across the table at Jason and Nelson. So far, four days had gone by and even though at times it seemed like they wanted to kil each other, they hadn’t—yet.
    “Everybody’s fine,” Kyle replied.
    “Al right. Cal your mom tonight. She’l be worried about this. Okay? Love you.”
    “Love you, too,” Kyle echoed and hung up, announcing, “He said okay.”
    “Woo-hoo!” Nelson thrust his hand in the air to high-five Kyle. “How much is the credit card limit?” He clapped his hands and bobbed his head, chanting, “Party!
    Party! I wonder if they have an ATM here.”
    Kyle scowled at him and asked Jason, “You’re not mad at me?”
    “No.” Jason gave a vague shrug. “It’s kind of reassuring when you screw up.”
    Kyle pondered that and leaned back in his seat, stil wishing he hadn’t lost the walet.

chapter 20
    Jason wasn’t exactly thriled that Kyle had lost his money, but at least now he felt less dumb for running out of gas, leaving behind the tent poles, and not having known who Rosa Parks was.
    Up til now this trip had reinforced Jason’s image of Kyle: inteligent, thoughtful, caring, and wel organized. Jason admired him, but at moments he felt inferior by comparison.
    That unease had never come up in his relationship with Debra. Because she was a girl, he never felt like he had to compete with her. But because Kyle was a guy, Jason sometimes felt like they were competing—and Jason was the loser.
    As Jason drove out of the Burger King parking lot, Kyle gently laid a hand on Jason’s shoulder. “Sure you’re okay about the money?”
    “I’m good,” Jason replied. He wished he could articulate his complicated thoughts. Instead he reached up to Kyle’s hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze.
    For the next hour he focused on the road, until he told Kyle and Nelson, “I need to take a dump.”
    “How fascinating,” Nelson replied. “You know, Kyle and I take a huge interest in your bowel movements.” Jason ignored the remark, scanning the horizon for an exit sign, but Kyle spoke up: “Nelson, would you cut it out? Please?” Nelson opened his mouth in mock shock. “Kyle, don’t deny it! You know we wonder every day about Jason’s poop.”
    “Nelson!” Kyle shouted. “Would you shut up ?”
    Jason realized it was the first time he’d heard Kyle tel—or at least ask—Nelson to shut up. Fortunately, Nelson did.
    “About time,” Jason muttered as an exit came into view.
    At the bottom of the ramp, a lonely road offered up a solitary gas station with a beat-up tow truck and a couple of service bays. Jason parked beside a pump so Kyle could fil the tank, and he hurried inside for the restroom key.
    Pushing through the door, he stopped in astonishment. At the counter, brushing her hair, sat Britney Spears—or at least a teenage girl who looked exactly like the singer: sexy brown eyes, silky blond hair, luscious lips.
    “Um …” Jason hesitated. “Men’s room key?”
    “Sure.” The girl flashed a bright white smile and handed Jason the key, her soft fingers grazing his.
    When Jason came back out of the restroom, Nelson was standing at the counter, talking to Britney and borrowing her lip gloss.
    “Everything come out al right?” He grinned at Jason.
    Jason pretended not to hear and handed the girl the key. “Thanks.”
    She smiled like the photo on a CD. “You’re welcome.”
    Outside, Kyle was squeegeeing the windshield.
    “Did you see her?” Jason asked in a stage whisper.
    “Yeah.” Kyle nodded. “There’s a Britney look-alike contest in New Orleans tonight. She asked if we could give her a ride, so she won’t have to wait for the bus.”
    “Oh, I get it.” Jason gazed through the plate glass window. Even the girl’s figure resembled Britney’s, slim and shapely. “Fine with me,” he told Kyle.
    Kyle gave him a slant-eyed look. “Okay.” After