The Perfect Escape (The Perfect Escape #1) - Suzanne Park Page 0,88
from the beginning. My, um, friend, wanted me to be her partner in an outdoor competition where we win a cash prize if we made it to the finish line first. The zombies, or fake dead people, were obstacles. They were things in the way to make it harder to win.”
One of the hugging, screaming girls asked, “So you didn’t hurt anybody?”
Without thinking, I answered, “A few of the zombies got in the way, and I had to disable them. But they were all robots. Well, actually, I did have a few skirmishes with some real people, but they tried to hit me first. But my partner zapped one of them back in the butt, um, backside with a stun gun.”
Lucy yelled, “That’s not nice, hitting first!” She pointed to a sign on the wall. NO HITTING. “Did you fight them with your CRAP MACAW?”
“Krav Maga. And yes, Luce, I did use those moves I learned in my classes to defend myself.” The kids perked up. A few parents were definitely going to be asked about crap macaw tonight.
The kids’ comfort level grew. Soon I was bombarded with questions and comments.
“What did you win?”
“Did you get a ribbon? Or a trophy?”
“I’m going to be a zombie for Halloween.”
“How did you poop outside?”
“Do you run fast?”
“Is it true that zombies only come out at night?”
“Can I see the money you won?”
Mrs. French saved me. “Class, it’s hard to hear when you all talk at the same time. We have time for one more question. If you have a question for Nate, please raise your hand.”
Twenty hands shot up. Lucy beamed at me. Share day success!
“Let’s hear from someone who hasn’t spoken yet.” She pointed to a tiny little girl with purple glasses.
She put her hand down and wrung her hands. “Um. I forgot my questi—oh wait! I think I remember. Um…”
I ran through the list of potential questions and answered them. I’ll spend the prize money on college and my business. It was a great learning experience, and I would definitely do it again. Toughen up and you’ll go far in life.
With a loud clap, she yelped, “I know! Do you have a girlfriend?”
The Seahawks kid pointed and laughed at me. Thanks, kid. “Smoochy, smoochy, smoooooooochy!”
I’d never been so vulnerable in my life. Little kids who didn’t even know me asked me the one question I didn’t want to answer. Sitting attentively, they waited for my response.
Lucy came to my rescue. “Nate isn’t allowed to have a girlfriend because he is grounded forever. But his bestest friend-girl is Kate.”
Thanks, Lucy.
“Class, can we say thank you to Nate for visiting our classroom?” Mrs. French trilled.
“Thaaaank yoooooou!”
“Thank you for having me!”
The bell rang at the exact right time, and I patted Lucy’s head on my way out. When I got to the car, I rolled down the front windows and breathed in the frigid air.
My bestest friend-girl was Kate.
I folded my arms on the steering wheel and put my head down.
Kate, I wanted to say. I was an idiot. About the competition. About wanting the money. Fuck the money.
Please, call me back.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Nate
“It’s mine?” Lucy asked. “All of them?”
“Yes. All yours!” I said.
She hugged the unopened boxes of various collectible figures that I’d bought and saved over the years. The ones that she pulled down from my shelves and admired but knew better than to take out. I’d lectured her so many times on what “mint condition” meant that I’d lost count. Here I was, with a closet full of toys I’d never played with, pristine in their packaging, bringing me so little happiness. What was the point in that?
I wasn’t stupid, though. There were dozens of toys I had in a foot locker by my bed that she would never touch with those Play-Doh and slime-covered fingers of hers. Those were kept safe with my two-pronged combination and padlock containers.