"Good luck with the play tonight, Rachel," I said, knowing I'd see her before it started. "Thanks for that!" Rachel replied, smiling. "Hey, how about we hang out after the show, just the two of us?" I suggested, returning her smile.
"Are you sure? What about Chloe?" Rachel questioned. "I'll talk to her. I think she'll be fine with it," I replied, feeling a bit guilty about our last fight. "Doing what? Something illegal?" Rachel teased, leaning closer. "Just something fun," I joked back, and she gave me a playful smirk.
Her eyes were so beautiful. Wow… it was easy to get lost in them. 'No! Don't go there, Aiden! You and Rachel can't happen!' I reminded myself.
"Hella yes. Count me in," I said with a grin. Rachel replied, "I should head out now," as she climbed out of the truck. I quickly followed her, saying, "Wait, don't forget your bag!" She smiled and said, "You can keep it. It was a gift from my brother. Drive safely!" Then she kissed me on the cheek, making my face feel really warm. Wow...
I grabbed the duffle bag and walked over to a concrete shack near the railroad tracks. "Let's check out what she left me," I said, placing the bag down and opening it. "Whoa, your brother has awesome style," I exclaimed, spotting some punk rock shirts inside.
The first one I noticed was a black t-shirt that read, 'Punk is the Bacon of Music,' with the A in bacon styled like graffiti. It looked really cool, so I put it on with my black jacket, jeans, and sneakers. Just as I finished getting dressed, my phone buzzed. I took it out to see who had texted me.
F: I'm at the junkyard now.
I stepped out of the truck and noticed Frank's RV just a few feet away from the shack. Suddenly, the door swung open, and the woman Rachel's dad had been kissing walked out. What was going on there? I definitely needed to ask Frank about it.
"Price, get your ass in here!" Frank shouted from inside the RV. I sighed and entered, immediately hit by a shitty smell. "Why does it smell like shit in here, Frank? Did you have a rough night?" I asked as I walked in.
"Shut the fuck up. It's always a rough night. Where's Chloe?" Frank replied while starting the engine. "I don't know. She got mad and left," I said. "Alright, fine. Just grab my notebook from the back," he instructed, focusing on the road ahead.
I began searching for the notebook but couldn't find it in the front. I went into the bedroom and was shocked by how messy it was. Wow, I thought my room was messy! Suddenly, I heard a noise coming from under the bed.
"Whoa!" I shouted, jumping back from whatever had just appeared from under the bed. When I looked down, I found a tiny puppy tugging at my pant leg. "Aw, hey there, little buddy," I said with a smile, unable to resist giving him a few gentle pats.
"Oh shit! Pompidou! Come here!" Frank yelled. The puppy scampered over to him and flopped down on a pile of newspapers. "You little killer," Frank said as he settled down next to the puppy. Pompidou? That's a funny name for a dog.
I returned to searching for the notebook, which was resting on his bed among some pills and magazines. I picked it up and headed back to the front. "Is this it, Frank?" I asked, holding it up for him to see.
"Yeah, take a seat," Frank told me, gesturing to the spot next to him. I plopped down and threw my notebook onto the RV's dashboard. "So, Pompidou? That's a badass name for a puppy," I remarked as I settled in.
"It's French," Frank answered. "French for what?" I questioned, crossing my arms. "Do I look like I speak fucking French?" he snapped back. I was just curious; there was no need for him to be rude.
Now that I was next to Frank, I figured it was a good time to ask about the woman who had just left his RV. "Who are you talking about?" he replied. "The girl who left before I got on?" I clarified.
Frank glared at me and said, "Oh, her? I was going to introduce you. Her name is Mind Your Own Fucking Business." After some persuasion, I finally found out her real name was Sera. Frank claimed she had been stirring up a lot of trouble.
Curious, I leaned in and asked, "What kind of trouble?" He quickly shut me down, saying, "Don't worry about it, Price. I shouldn't have said anything." I shrugged and responded, "Oh, thanks for the info."
"It's nothing," Frank brushed it off, then changed the topic. "Did you hear the mill burned down?" My eyes grew wide, as I remembered Firewalk's shows there. "Seriously? That fucking sucks," I replied, thinking about Rachel.
"Yeah, my friend Damon was in charge of the place, and he lost a ton of cash that night," Frank began to explain. "Lost money? How come?" I asked, curious. "He always had a few projects going on, and I help him with some of them," Frank answered. "Wow, that's quite a story, Frank," I said, leaning back in my chair.
"He's been involved in some things I don't really like, but I can't really push him around like I used to," Frank admitted. I was shocked that he was opening up about this. The way he spoke made it seem really serious.
"We need to talk about something important," Frank said, shifting the topic. "Is this about the 75 bucks I owe you for the weed?" I replied, reminding him of my debt.
"Yeah, but that's not my main concern right now," Frank said. "Check the last page of my notebook. There are some notes about a guy named Drew. Do you know him?" My heart raced when he mentioned Drew.
I flipped to the last page and saw the huge amount Drew owed Frank. "Wow, that's a ton of cash," I exclaimed, glancing at Frank. "Drew deals oxy for Damon. The football players take it like it's nothing," Frank explained.
"Huh. Does it pay good?" I asked him. "Go bigfoots. Problem is, Drew owes a grand and he's not answering my calls. You know what's going on with him?" Frank asked as he looked over at me.
"Does it pay well?" I asked him. "Yeah, but there's a catch. Drew owes me a thousand bucks, and he's ignoring my calls. Do you know what's up with him?" Frank said, glancing at me.
"No way. I avoid people like that," I replied, shaking my head. "Not everyone fits into a category, Price," Frank said, correcting me. I rolled my eyes at his comment. "Here's the plan: I'm taking you to Blackwell. You need to go to Drew's room, find the cash, and bring it back to me. Can you do that?" Frank explained.
Was he for real? I just got kicked out of Blackwell. "What's in it for me?" I asked. "I'll give you ten percent of what you find," Frank said. "Alright, deal," I agreed, feeling uneasy about this whole situation.
We drove for another fifteen minutes until we reached Blackwell. Frank let me out at the dorms and then left. Okay, time to see what happens. Just as I was about to enter the dorms, my phone buzzed, and I checked it. It was a message from Rachel.
R: At school again… They got tents up from dressing rooms.
A: I'm here too, actually. Doing an errand for my dealer.
R: Oh, you are? So bad of you. Come see me when you're done.
A: Hella yes. Also, I saw that woman your dad was with coming out of my dealers RV!
R: Are you for real?
A: Yeah, apparently she was causing trouble for a lot of people. Frank told me her name's Sera.
R: I think it'd be better if I don't learn her name.
A: Shit, sorry.
R: No, it's fine.
A: Catch you later.