Karia removed her disguise once she and Fred had boarded her limousine. "Honestly, now that I'm washed up I should be able to go anywhere without hassle!"
"Washed up is when the nuts really start hassling you," Fred responded as he took his own disguise off. Fred had become nearly as recognizable as Karia in the public eye after excess media coverage of Jerome's trial.
"It is? Nobody was kind enough to inform me of that."
The limousine was being disputed in court. Karia had no idea whether it actually was owned by her, owned by Jerome, or stolen from someone else, but while that was debated in court they were still driving her around.
"I've been thinking of writing Theodore."
Fred's eyebrows raised. "Hmm." His tone made it impossible to know what he was thinking.
"Is that 'yes, I approve' or "no, don't do that'?" Karia asked.
"Your asking the wrong person, Miss DeLeon."
"Have your ever had a girlfriend?"
"Not for eight years."
"Why not?"
Fred sighed. "Let's just say she was pretty much the female equivalent of your former stepfather."
"Ouch." Karia frowned. "Is she in jail?"
"Yes."
Karia was curious but the finality of Fred's tone persuaded her that further conversation on the subject was best avoided. "Have you ever met anyone who actually ever tried Sploosh?"
Fred shrugged. "Not that I know of."
Armpit was walking home after returning Twitch's car. He was lucky the junkyard was closed when he returned the car. Twitch had given him the hours but he had still been anxious. No doubt they would have arrested him and refused to believe that he hadn't stole it if he had been seen in the car.
He pictured the headlines in his head. KARIA DELEON'S BOYFRIEND ARRESTED IN AUTOMOBILE ROBBERY! POP SINGER YET TO COMMENT!
Of course he wasn't her boyfriend anymore. Had he ever been? Maybe very briefly. Or was he still?
In any case, Karia was yesterday's news for now. He had a feeling Twitch was going to be as much a problem as X-Ray if not more. Ginny's mother had been confused when he told her to hide her car keys, but she had nonetheless agreed to watch over Twitch while Armpit drove off. He doubted Twitch would be a problem at Ginny's house but was worried what he'd do once he left. Twitch would clearly try to steal another car at a later date.
Although it was dark out the weather was more than eighty degrees, and he was sick of it. Ever since he had gone to San Francisco he realized he preferred cooler climates over the Sun Belt humidity he had known most of his life. He figured he would buck the trend and live someplace chilly when he was old enough for retirement.
He wasn't sure what he would do in the future. He would be finishing high in three weeks but had no idea what he would study in community college. Or what he would do at University if his grades were enough for transferring.
Armpit finally reached the duplex where he and Ginny lived. "Did he cause trouble?" Armpit asked as he opened the door.
"No," Ginny responded.
"Why would I do that?" Twitch asked in annoyance. "I'm not a rude guest. Besides, I can't deactivate alarms at this hour without some scene."
"He was fine," Ginny's mother said, although it was clear she was still baffled by Twitch. "Anyway, I'll be off to bed. Ginny, don't stay up late."
"I w-won't."
Armpit glanced at Twitch. "Okay then. Well, I'm taking you home."
"Okay. Bye, Ginny," Twitch waved as Armpit opened the house door.
"Bye," Ginny responded.
"Do you have a car?" Twitch asked.
"No."
Twitch froze. "Armpit, I live more than eight blocks away. It's past eight in the evening."
"You should have thought of that before you carjacked," Armpit responded coolly, "So we walk the whole way."
"Can we catch a bus?"
"Next bus out here won't be in fifteen minutes."
"I can wait."
"I can't."
"What about X-Ray," Twitch whined, "let's call him and use his car."
"He's even further away than you are."
"What if I faint?"
"I'll drag you by the ankles, I suppose."
"Look, I get that I broke the law, but this is awful, Armpit," Twitch complained. "You can tell my social worker what I did as long as we get a bus."
"Nope. Pump those legs, Twitch, we're taking you home."
Twitch groaned.
Stanley Yelnats- the fourth that is - had been the one who suggested Small Steps as the song for Sploosh new ad campaign. He liked the song, but his real motive was meeting Armpit's apparent lover... who just happened to be one of the few singers he had heard of.
He had followed media coverage of Jerome Paisley's trial extensively and was fascinated by the whole situation. As a result of the coverage, aside from Hector, Armpit was the only ex-camper whose whereabouts after Camp Green Lake he knew about. What kind of girl wins over someone as guarded and stubborn as Armpit?
Not that he intended to berate her with questions about Armpit. He wouldn't even mention Camp Green Lake at all. He would just be a polite neutral observer.