"Shit shit shit." I grunt, beating my fists against the steering wheel of my old hoopty as it fails to turn over yet again.
"Try pumping the gas." Jacob suggests from the backseat, mouth full of poptart.
"I've been doing that for the last five minutes. I'm going to flood the engine."
"Mom said if I miss one more day of school they're going to lock her up." Inez sighs, flipping her short blonde curls over her shoulder. She kept bobbing her leg up and down like a nervous chiauaua and I bite the inside of my cheek to keep myself from snapping on her. "Maybe we should call her? She might know what to do."
"Whatever we do, we are not calling Mom." I announce attempting to crank it up once more. "She already has enough on her plate as is, I don't want her worrying about this too."
"Well what do you suggest we do then?" Inez mutters.
I take a deep breath, and I slowly come to accept the fact that I didn't have an answer to that question. My watch tells me it's too late for the busses to still be running, and that we still had a few hours before mom would be back to rest before she went to her next job.
I rest my head on the steering wheel, biting the dead skin off my lips when I hear the garage door open from across the street. I curse under my breath, Inez's electric blue eyes the size of saucers when she realizes what I'm about to do.
I'm afraid I have no other choice.
"Hey Kaleb! Essie! Wait up!" I call a bit too enthusiastically, jogging to the end of their driveway where the twin's shared Crown Vic was prepared to speed off. Inez and Jacob follow leniently behind, clutching the straps on their backpacks.
Kaleb hesitantly rolled down the driver's side window, an unsure look etched across his face. Essie didn't even bother looking up from her lap.
"Hey! It's been a while, eh? How are you guys?" I ask, poking my head inside the window. It was more directed at Essie considering our little... encounter last night.
"Late." Kaleb says dryly, pushing his sunglasses back onto his face though it was still dark out. "How may we help you?"
I awkwardly rub the back of my neck. I didn't really know how to ask, but I figured I just do it. "Listen dude, we need a ride. My car's not starting and these two can't miss another day of school."
"Ever heard of walking?" Kaleb snickers, a grin spreading across his stupid lips.
Essie punches him in the arm, hard, and the two have and the two have one of those weird twin telepathy moments before Kaleb haphazardly unlocks the door.
"Hop on in." Essie mutters, glaring at Kaleb in the corner of her eye. He leniently unlocks the doors, but of course instructs us to first wipe any mud off our shoes before climbing in.
With Kaleb's driving, we made it to school with fifteen minutes to spare. Inez dashed before she was sucked into any more awkward small talk and Jacob ran off to the band room to meet up with his friends.
Kaleb triple locked the car, and looked up to me as he tightened the laces on his Converse. "If you want a ride home meet me here at 3:15 sharp. No earlier, no later."
"No need." I sneer, glancing around to make sure no one saw me exit their car. "I've got soccer practice today and Inez and Jacob are already taken care of."
Essie and Kaleb exchange amused looks before Kaleb shrugs and joins a crowd of kids who look like they would Naurato run across campus if it weren't against the code of conduct.
"What was that about?" I ask curiously, following Essie towards the school. Her black ringlet girls were bobbing up and down as she hopped up the front stairs one by one, holding out her arms for balance.
