(Entrance music places as Budd, Trinity, Lenny, and Theresa walk on stage as the crowd cheers and claps)
Lenny: Alright alright everyone settle down now.
Budd: Why tell them that we want them to be pumped am I right!? (Crowd cheers loudly)
Lenny: (Crosses arms and rolls eyes)
Trinity: Jeez Lenny such a buzz kill.
Budd: Anyway... I lied to the crowd...I said I wasn't going to make another chapter till I had five reviews...well I got bored and was happy with three :3 (Crowd laughs)
Theresa: So we like to thank: Nightmarelover13, Guest, and Weirdcuitequeen for reviewing!
Trinity: (Eating cookie that guest gave to her.)
Budd: Haha thanks nightmare and I will stay awesome :P
Lenny: And answering CutieQueens question, you should read this chapter. Haha.
Budd: Woo I think it times for the chapters of the third!
Trinity: That made no cents.
Lenny: Is that a quarter in the pun jar?
Pun Jar. Chi-Ching!...Smash!
(Broken glass on the floor and quarters rolling away.)
Everybody: Trinity!
Trinity: I'm sorry! That voice scared me...
(Everyone looks at Theresa)
Theresa shyly: Sorry...it's a bad talent...
Budd: Uh...chapter three starts now! Enjoy everyone!
(Crowd cheers)
As soon as class let out, I hustled over to my locker and dumped everything inside. My plan was to go to Mina with empty hands and a clear conscience, and hope that she was in a good mood.
I was just about to close my locker door when Laney, Corey's younger sister, slid up beside me. I only jumped a little bit...like four feet.
"Hey Lenny."
"Lanes."
She was a year behind Corey and me, not that it mattered much. She was smarter and savvier than most kids, and even some of the teachers. Her hair was red like mine but went down to her shoulders instead of being in a half combed and half sticking up in the back...shut up I like my hair...anyway...her eyes were green like emeralds; her face was porcelain perfect. Mina Beff May have been a exotic beauty, but nobody made my stomach do belly flops like Laney.
I had come to realize, months after my friendship with Corey dissolved, that it was Laney I missed more. She had always hung out with us, eager to join whatever crazy scheme we had thought up, no matter how rough. Corey would always try to stop her. He doted on Laney, and never wanted to see her get hurt, but she would always ignore him and join us anyway. She was small, cute, and about as fragile as a tanker truck.
"Didn't see much of you this summer," she said.
"I was busy."
"Private-eye stuff?"
"Something like that."
"Humph," she said in the dismissive tone of a queen speaking to one of her subjects. She reached across me and grabbed a pretzel from the bag I kept on the top shelf of my locker.
"Go ahead," I offered, "help yourself."
"I could tell you wanted to give me one. I'm psychic."
"Oh yeah? What am I thinking of right now?" We stared at each other as if she were trying to read my thoughts and I was trying to stop her. If she succeeded, I was in trouble.
"You...vant...to give me...another pretzel," she said, trying to sound like a gypsy.
"Wow that accent is horrible," I said, laughing.
"I curse you and your salty snacks!" She chomped down on a pretzel, chewing violently, with her mouth open.(AN:It's very interesting to do that on a date, if your having dinner with your girlfriend or boyfriend just start eating with your mouth open...that will give you ten minutes of talking and entertainment(crowd laughs))
"Classy. You should do that for your yearbook picture."
She laughed, then chewed a little more discreetly. "So what kind of stuff?" She asked, going back to her normal voice.
"Huh?"
"What kind of private-eye stuff?"
"I can't tell you. Client confidentiality."
"Client confidentiality," she mimicked.
"Sure, make fun of my standards...but when you hire me to find your missing stuffed Unicorn, you'll be glad I have them."
"Missing stuffed Unicorn? Ugh. I don't think so."
"Uh, Lanes? I've been in your room. You hide them well, but they're there."
"Only so that I'll appear 'girly' enough for my mom."
"Good luck convincing other people of that."
"Point taken." She licked the salt off her fingers. "So why do you do it? The whole private-eye thing..."
I shrugged."Because I'm good at it. The same reason you play the bass."
Laney smiled at me. "I play bass because I love it and I'm good at it," she said "big difference."
I shrugged.
"Unless you love being a detective..."
"I don't discuss love in the school hallway." After I said it I realized that that could have more than one meaning. I quickly turned to my locker. My face felt hot enough to bake cookies on. I grabbed a pretzel, even though the last thing I needed at the moment was something salty...all the moisture in my mouth had evaporated. I fiddled with the pretzel for a moment, then gathered my courage and turned back towards Laney.
She didn't seem to notice anything out of the ordinary. She only "Humph"-ed again, reached around me, and grabbed another pretzel.
"I think I have some tape in my backpack," I said, trying to regain my composure. "We could tape the bag right to your mouth. Save you the trouble of having to reach for them."
She laughed and threw the Pretzel at me. "You're such a gracious host."
"Host? Nobody invited you over," I said with with a smile.
"Are you working on a case right now?"
I didn't want to start in with the whole Kon story. Laney wasn't a huge fan of Kons despite, or maybe because of, her brothers involvement. Plus, I wasn't exactly proud of my own compromised principles. "Maybe."
She looked at me suspiciously, as if I were a cat with feathers around my mouth sitting under an empty birdcage. "Client confidentiality?" She asked.
"Possibly."
"Oooh...the mysterious Lenny Sill."
"You'd better believe it."
"What if I didn't?" She had a wry smile on her face. She seemed to be inviting me to take a leap, to say something that could move our friendship in another direction. Or maybe she wasn't. Maybe that was just wishful thinking on my part. Between my earlier "love" comment and my impending face off with Mina, I was in no shape to judge what was going on between us just then.
"I have to go," I said saving myself the embarrassment of making the wrong decision. I grabbed the bag of pretzels and tossed them to her. "Something to remember me by." She had a confused look on her face. I closed my locker door and walked away before she could ask me another dangerous question.
"See you around, Lenny!" She called out.
I had to push Laney out of my mind and get focused, and there would be no hope of doing that if I turned to look at her again. So I waved without turning around, put my head down, and kept walking.
Mina' s locker was a couple hallways over from mine. I took my time getting there, trying to get my nerves in check, but it was no use; I was jittery, like a little kid with a three-candy-bar-a-day habit.
I turned the final corner, and there she was: Mina...
(Everyone walks back on stage)
Theresa: Did you guys love it!
Trinity: I know I did!
Lenny: Well you guys got to tell us by Reviewing! We're listening just tell us what you think!
Budd: And Bkpike dude...bro...I did this to you again! I'm soooo sorry! It's my fault brother.
Anyway hope you guys liked it! Now it's time for my Stats of the Week!
Story of the Week: I must be Dreaming by Music Skater. Check it out its a real cool beans story!
Saying of the Week: If you have enough...don't be greedy...unless your a millionaire...
Grojband update: The New episodes are almost here! Todd Koffman said on his blog that he is rendering editing the last of the episodes! So keep your fingers crossed!
Lenny: And that's all the time we have here for today! Join us whenever!
Budd:Thanks fo-log!
(Gets pushed out of the way by Theresa and Trinity)
Theresa and Trinity: Thanks for chilling with us everybody!
*Closes Garage Door*
Budd:That hurt!
(Crowd cheers and claps)
