Chapter 6 Sketchy Place

The piled-up snow crunched under Ryan’s runners. He had a hole in the side of his left shoe, and his sock and foot were wet and cold. He shoved his bare hands into his worn jacket and trudged on. The outdoor neon light of the corner store blinked off and on. The thing had a smiley face, now capped by a hat of snow.

Standing in front of the store were three guys with toques on, talking to a fourth wearing a baseball cap. The fourth guy was big, taller than Ryan. Ryan was near enough to see the foursome, but he couldn’t hear them. He figured the big guy was in charge — he was up in the other guys’ faces.

Ryan took a deep breath. He didn’t care what was going down. His problem was they were blocking the door. The big guy shoved one of his buddies.

Shit. How much do I want that pop? Ryan asked himself. If I turn tail now, they’ll come after me. It’s just like juvie — boss or be bossed. He kept walking toward the store.

The big guy turned toward him. Ryan nodded, trying to show he didn’t want trouble. The three guys backed away, giving Ryan room to pass on one side of the double door. The big guy held his ground. As Ryan opened one side of the door, the guy gave him “the look.” Ryan knew all about “the look” from juvie. The meaning was clear.

This guy figures he can take me, Ryan thought. He isn’t just checking me out. Staring right back at him, Ryan kept moving.

His muscles were tense as he entered the store. The door closed behind him. The guy behind the counter had earbuds in and wore a red shirt with Trev written on it. Ryan looked around the store. He grabbed a small can of Coke for Pete and a root beer in a small glass bottle. The big guy was still outside the door. Ryan found a can of hair spray and a couple of bungee cords. Carrying his purchases, he went to the counter to pay. Trev kept bouncing to the beat in his head as his fingers hit the cash register.

Ryan put the pop can in a jacket pocket and let the bungee cords hang out of his jeans pocket. He grabbed the spray can and flipped the cap off. Then, cupping the spray can in his hand, he stuck it in the other jacket pocket and held it there. With his free hand, he grabbed the pop bottle.

As he walked to the door, Ryan could see the big guy looking in at him. The other three had moved back from the doorway. Ryan concentrated on the big guy and moved toward the door. If he took out the leader, the rest might run.

Ryan was just out the door when the big guy opened his mouth. “Looks like you got lots of cash to throw around. It’s my turn. Hand it over.” His beckoning hand came close to Ryan’s face.

“Ah . . . sure,” said Ryan. “I got it right here.”

His hand came out of his pocket, clutching the spray can. He aimed for the big guy’s face and shot with full force.

The guy screamed. His hands shot up to his eyes. Ryan doubled his fist over the spray can and punched the guy in the stomach. He crumpled to his knees. The pop bottle in Ryan’s hand tumbled onto the ground but didn’t break. Ryan whipped the bungee cords out and hog-tied the guy. When he looked up, he saw the three guys standing there with their mouths open. He stuck the spray can back into his jacket pocket, grabbed the pop bottle, and started running. The three guys were right behind him.

Ryan scanned right and left, looking for a way out.

“Wait up,” one of the guys yelled. “We’re not after you. We want to get away from Fist.”

Ryan stopped. He grabbed the bottle tighter, looking for something to break it on. He felt the adrenalin pumping through his body. The guys walked toward him.

“Fist is one badass dude — hassled us all night,” said the skinny guy with the black toque.

“Not that we couldn’t take him,” said the short guy, who had a scar on his cheek. The other two nodded in agreement. “Hey, where did you learn to hog-tie like that? I only saw that at rodeos on TV. Never seen anything so funny.”

Ryan’s muscles relaxed. “Worked on a ranch.”

“We’ve got to celebrate getting away from Fist. We were going to a party before he caught up with us. Want to come? Wait till the guys hear what you did,” said the skinny kid.

“What’s your name?” asked the guy with the scar.

“Ryan.”

“Call me Rev. He’s Cruiser,” he said pointing to the skinny kid. “And that’s Sparkplug.” The third guy nodded his head.

“You guys like cars?” asked Ryan.

“Yeah,” said Rev, grinning. “We like them so much, we try out a different one every weekend. Fist always thinks he can pick the fastest ones. Tells us what to do.”

Somewhere in Ryan’s head a tiny voice said Leave. He remembered another party, the one where he got drunk and stole a car. Fun while it lasted, but then he’d landed in juvie with the biggest headache in the world and part of his life gone.

This party didn’t have to end that way. He could have a couple of drinks then go back to the motel — no one the wiser. Ryan’s mouth felt dry. The root beer looked good, but he might need it later. A voice inside his head warned him that nobody was ever your instant friend unless he wanted something. Ryan hesitated.

“Come on, there’ll be girls there,” said Cruiser.

That did it — girls. Ryan followed the guys to the party house. Still cautious, he walked on the outside of the group, carrying his bottle at the ready.

The party house was close to the motel. Ryan could hear the noise and music as they neared the place. He followed the threesome up the stairs and inside. The smell of weed mixed with the odour of beer — good times. He looked around the room. The guys weren’t lying. Ryan saw lots of girls, but his eyes stopped on the one in the corner. She had long, jet-black hair and eyes like blue marbles. High black boots covered her long legs. She wore the tiniest tee and the shortest skirt Ryan had ever seen. She looked good, so damn good.

Ryan’s mouth was dry, and his hands felt slick as he clutched the bottle. The girl smiled his way. She was standing with two blond girls who were beckoning the guys over. The three guys moved toward the girls and Ryan followed.

“Hey, girls,” said Rev. “I’d like you to meet Ryan. He hog-tied Fist at the corner store. We saw it all. Would have helped, but Ryan didn’t need us.”

The black-haired girl smiled. Ryan moved closer to her.

“Would you like some of my beer?” She waved her bottle at him, and then she nodded to the corner of the room where her girlfriends, and the guys were headed. Ryan noticed she wore a silver necklace with the name Crystal engraved on it.

Ryan took a mouthful of her beer. He followed her, put his pop down on a table, and grabbed a bottle of beer for himself. Then he sat next to Crystal, thinking it was his lucky day. Nothing could possibly go wrong.