sidewayz glory by Todd Strasser, Sammy Yuen Jr., CRAIG PHILLIPS Page A

the clock. “Five of twelve, dude. Almost closing time. How’re you gonna get home?”
    The words had hardly left his lips when Mariel pulled up in the red Lexus. Kennin watched Tito’s jaw drop.
    â€œNo way!” he gasped under his breath.
    â€œIt’s not what it seems,” Kennin said in a low voice.
    â€œOh, sure,” Tito smirked. “It’s midnight and the hottest girl in school is picking you up and it’s not what it seems. Mariel just happened to be passing by here exactly at closing time and just happened to stop in because somehow she miraculously knew that you’d need a ride home.”
    Kennin couldn’t help but be amused. He wondered how Tito would react if he knew Mariel wasn’t there to take him to his place, but to hers.
    â€œCatch you tomorrow,” Kennin said.
    â€œYeah, sure,” Tito said. “In the meantime, I hope you get some sleep tonight.”
    â€œIt’s not like that,” Kennin said.
    â€œAnything you say,” Tito grumbled, and went to get his BMX bike.
    Kennin got into the Lexus. It was fragrant with perfume. “Thanks for picking me up.”
    â€œMy pleasure,” Mariel said with a smile, and started to drive. “So how was work?”
    â€œThe same as always,” Kennin replied with a shrug.
    â€œWhat’s your job?” she asked as they rode through the dark.
    â€œWashing cars.”
    â€œMuch of a future in that?” she asked.
    â€œMaybe if you’re the guy who owns the car wash,” Kennin said.
    â€œThink you’ll be that guy someday?” Mariel asked.
    â€œNot a clue. How about you?”
    â€œI’ll wait till college to decide,” Mariel said. “Sometimes I think about acting.”
    Appropriate choice,
Kennin thought.
    They entered Mariel’s neighborhood, passing large houses with red or blue tile roofs and broad green lawns. It was after midnight, and most of the windows were dark. The streets were lined with palm trees, and the driveways had shiny new cars parked in them. Kennin lowered the passenger window to smell the sweet, moist air.
    Mariel pulled the Lexus into the driveway, next to a big Mercedes sedan. Like the other houses on the street, the windows in her parents’ house were dark.
    â€œClose the door quietly,” she whispered as they got out of the Lexus. In the dark driveway she took his hand and led him around the side of the house.
    â€œYou’re not going to tell your parents I’m staying here?” Kennin whispered.
    â€œI will,” Mariel whispered back. “When the time is right.”
    They went around to the back of the house. Unlike the last time Kennin had been here, the pool was dark. The only sound was the whirring of the filtration system. Still holding his hand tightly in hers, Mariel led him to the cabana. Shequietly turned the door knob, opened the door, and led him inside.
    Kennin expected her to flick on the lights and show him around. Instead, Mariel turned to him in the dark and slid her hands around his waist, pulling him closer until their bodies pressed against each other.

16
    to school the next morning, but Kennin insisted she drop him off a couple of blocks away so that he could walk. The last thing he needed was rumors starting because people saw him getting out of her car. In the afternoon he walked a few blocks and then she picked him up and drove him the rest of the way to work.
    But the third afternoon when Kennin left school, he saw a familiar-looking dark green unmarked cop car parked at the curb. Inside sat Detective Neilson. Kennin caught the detective’s eye and nodded. Then he motioned with his head down the block. Neilson nodded back and drove slowly to the corner.
    Kennin turned the corner. Then, away from the rest of the kids, he leaned into the window of the detective’s car. “What’s the word?”
    Neilson jerked his head over to the passenger side. “Get