Page 26 - StickyPinesBlackHoleLake

Resignedly, Lucy patted him on the arm. “It was nice knowing you.”
Tex lumbered across the Persian rug, zombie- like, towards the flat-screen TV.
Feeling vaguely abandoned, Lucy stepped through the sliding-glass door into a cloud of burning wood, roasting wieners and pre-teen desperation.
Sticky Pines Elementary and Middle School (SPEAMS) had students all the way from kindergarten up to the ninth grade. There were at least three different class years present at Joey’s party, all of them Upper. Quite a coup for a seventh-grader.
Lucy realised with a start that her and Tex’s costumes were far more elaborate than anyone else’s. At least mine entails a leather jacket.
Milo was by the bonfire, wearing a royal-blue
suit and tie that brought out the colour of his
eyes. On his lapel a patriotic badge read “It’s
morning in America!” He was laughing with a
couple of eighth-grade soccer players in prison
Uncorrected Sample
Not for Redistribution • Copyright © Protected
25