58 fixed. I cleared my throat and looked at Courtney to my right. Luckily, my windows were tinted, so she couldn’t see Vince without staring intensely. She still seemed to be fixing her mascara smudges with her fingers. “Are you ready—“ Before I could finish, a car horn completely scared the shit out of Courtney and me. I looked over and noticed my mother’s blue SUV right behind me. I gulped hard. “Shit.” “Who’s that?” Courtney asked, crossing her arms, and seeming very annoyed. “I don’t know. They probably just want me to get out of the middle of the road,” I lied as I forced a smile at her. She raised an eyebrow and didn’t seem too impressed with me. I looked in my rearview mirror and my smile instantly faded. I noticed my angry mother fast-walking towards my door. Sweat started forming on my face; my mother wasn’t mad very often, but when she was, it was a shit show for sure. She came up to my door and knocked on the window. Her arms crossed tightly in an instant. “Um, can I help you ma’am—“ “Roll down this window, Jason Gene!” my mother yelled from outside the truck and cut me off. Courtney burst out laughing. “Gene? No way!” My face turned beet-red. There’s nothing I could have done to stop this embarrassing situation from happening. I rolled down the window very reluctantly to see my mother’s face plain as day. She had her eyebrows raised and a very disappointed look on her face. “What are you doing?” she said calmly, in her usual emotionless tone. Her eyes kept moving from me to Courtney. The calm before the storm . . . “Just . . . chilling,” I said, clearing my throat. All of a sudden, I saw Vince walking towards us as his shaggy, black hair started blowing in the wind with each step. I knew it was over now. “You lied to me, Jason. I think you forget that I am close with Vince’s family and can contact them to see what you’re doing,” she said in the same tone. “I’m sorry. But what’s the difference if—“ “You lied! That’s the difference. Now you’re grounded,” my mother said firmly. The word grounded seemed to ring in my head, because it gave me a terrible headache after she said it. I haven’t been grounded since middle school. I knew this was going to be rough. Courtney whipped out her phone and started to call someone. I snapped my head toward her and stared, but she didn’t seem to look my way. I mouthed “Who are you calling?” to her. “Travis,” she said out loud in a very furious tone.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NzkyNTY=