CHAPTER 8: Mommy's Flat Tire
All weekend long, I couldn't stop thinking about what we'd talked about at dinner. I mean, I really liked Jason. He was friendly, he was cool, and he had a neat sister. But after hearing what Daddy and Elizabeth had to say, I just couldn't believe that anyone would act that way.
Now, I'm not saying I've never lost my temper, or done or said something stupid when I'm angry, but I would never lash out at someone the way he did. The one thing that stuck out in my mind about that was that Kristy and Abby could've gotten hurt, whether it was an accident or not.
Anyway, as a favor to Daddy and Elizabeth, I decided to stay away from Jason.
On Monday after school, Nancy and I were waiting for Mommy. She was going to take us to the big house so the Three Musketeers could hang out together. Normally, it's a lot of fun, but I wasn't as enthusiastic as I usually am.
"Are you all right, Karen?" Nancy asked. I guessed she'd noticed how quiet I'd been all day.
"Huh?" I answered. "Oh, yeah, I'm fine."
I wasn't totally fine, of course. I wanted to tell Nancy about Jason, and what Kristy had said happened at her school last week, but I just couldn't. I tried to put it out of my mind as I saw Mommy's car drive up.
"Hi, girls," Mommy said as we got in and buckled up. "How was school today?"
"Oh, pretty good," Nancy said. I knew I could count on her not to tell Mommy that she thought something was bothering me.
On the way to the big house, Nancy and I were talking about that night's homework, what the three of us could do together, that sort of thing. To my surprise, I thought less and less about Jason.
I'd just finished wiping off the lenses of my glasses with my shirttail when all of a sudden...BAM! We'd run over something! I'm not sure if we did, but the impact almost made me drop my glasses. Luckily, I caught them and put them on before they hit the floor.
The next thing I noticed was that we were slowing down. That could only mean one thing: a flat tire. And nothing's worse than getting a flat tire.
"Oh, great," Mommy groaned, stopping the car and slamming her fists on the steering wheel.
"Want Nancy and me to get help?" I asked.
"No, you two stay put," Mommy said as she unfastened her seatbelt. "I'm going to see which tire went flat."
Boo. Oh, well, I was glad we were almost there.
A minute later, Mommy got back in the car. "Well, the back tire on the passenger side is shot," she told us.
"Does that mean what I think it does?" Nancy asked worriedly.
"Not if I can help it," Mommy answered, rummaging through her purse for her cell phone. "I'm calling Daddy and asking him to come get you."
I started to feel a little better, until I heard Mommy shout, "Oh, NO! Not you, too!"
"What happened?"
"My phone's dead!" Mommy cried angrily. She rested her arms on the steering wheel and pressed her index and middle fingers against her forehead.
Boo and bullfrogs! Not only were we stranded, but we also couldn't call for help! I was almost ready to jump out of the car and flag someone down when I saw a motor scooter coming our way. I didn't think anything of it until this person stopped near us and removed their helmet.
Jason! Where did he come from?
"Is everything all right, ma'am?" he asked Mommy.
"I'm afraid not," Mommy sighed. "I've got a flat tire, and my cell phone's dead."
"Oh, boy," Jason said. He put his backpack on the hood of the car, opened a pouch on the side, and took out another phone. "Here, you can borrow mine. I recharged it just this morning."
"Wow, thanks!" Mommy exclaimed. "Thanks a lot!"
I think all of us were relieved. I know I was, but at the same time, I was worried about what Daddy would say when he found out that it was Jason who had helped us. Hopefully, he wouldn't be too upset.
As it turned out, Charlie was the one who picked us up. Jason had already left by the time he'd arrived. We also wondered how Mommy would get home.
"Don't worry, Karen," she said. "I called a tow truck after I called Daddy's, so I'll get home all right."
Good. I guess Jason's not such a bad guy after all.