Kickflip | bxb

eleven: the girlfriend

"Oh, you look so handsome." Gushing, Matt's mom reached over to straighten the left sleeve of his shirt where it had folded itself over. "See how nice you can look if you just put in a little effort, Matteo?"

Logan was snickering madly behind him. Embarrassed, Matt pushed his mom's hand away, muttering, "Jeez, Mom." He hadn't anticipated this reaction when he had decided to wear one of the t-shirts his mom had bought him for Christmas, a black and white patterned shirt that fit much more closely to the body than he was used to. He had also been surprised by how good he looked in it, but her fawning was making him self-conscious again.

"Are you sure you won't let me take you in for a haircut next week?" Mom eyed Matt's fluffy, flyaway curls with a dangerous glint in her eyes. "Just a little trim? All that hair must get awfully hot."

Logan finally lost it and started laughing out loud.

"Mom, stop," Matt protested, his face feeling very red. "Can we just go?"

"Of course!" Beaming, she swooped her purse off the hook in the closet and led the way into the garage. "Now, are you sure your other friends don't need us to pick them up?" she went on, adjusting the rearview mirror while Matt and Logan buckled into the back seat.

"I told you, they're meeting us there," Matt reminded her, rolling his eyes.

"Well, if you're sure. And you have cash for the ticket and the taxi home? Or do you need me to stop by the bank?" She backed swiftly out of the driveway and took off down the quiet street at breakneck speed.

Exasperated, Matt said, "I have cash, Mom."

From the other seat, Logan was making creepy baby faces, pretending to suck his thumb. Matt flipped him the middle finger, behind the seat where his mom couldn't see it.

The sun was low on the horizon as they drove into the city, long shadows spidering down winding roads. Matt wished they had taken the bus with Quinn and his friends. It felt very juvenile to show up to a concert in his mom's car, but she had insisted on driving, saying she would feel better if she knew where they were going. He regretted it even more when they saw the line outside the venue and his mom eyed the crowd skeptically as they approached. She didn't like the look of all that black makeup and black clothing and spiky jewelry.

"Is this the right place? Wow, some of those people look a little scary, don't they? Are these the same people who listen to Marilyn Manson?"

"Yeah, it's the right place," Matt muttered, spotting Faisal towering over the crowd near the end of the line. "Just drop us around the corner or something."

"Why not right here?"

"Around the corner," Matt begged. "Please, Mom."

Sighing, his mom drove around the corner before pulling up to the curb. "Remember, Matteo," she said, turning in her seat to give him an earnest look as they unbuckled. "If you need us to pick you up, just call us, alright? It doesn't matter how late it is. If you want to leave early, or you don't feel safe, or anything at all."

"Okay," Matt mumbled.

"Have fun, boys," she said, smiling brightly.

"See you, Mrs. B," Logan said.

As they slammed the car doors behind them, Mom added to herself, "I really need to convince Angelo to let me buy that boy a cell phone."

"If this music sucks as much as I expect it to, we might really have to call her," Logan told Matt, adjusting the collar of his shirt which suddenly felt a little tight.

"Shut up, Mack," Matt snorted.

The line was progressing steadily toward the door beneath a pungent haze of weed smoke. Logan and Matt joined Quinn and his friends shortly before they reached the front, to the grumbles of people behind them in the queue.