Bright Lights, Dark Nights by Stephen Emond Read Free Book Online Page A

it,” Dad interrupted.
    â€œWell, tell it, then!” Ricky said, settling back in his seat.
    â€œAdrian Ford, tall, tall guy with a head like a solid boulder,” Dad started. His story is a little fuzzy in my mind because I saw I had a Facebook message from Naomi Mills, and the world spun for a split second and up was down and down was up. What I remembered of the story while I was waiting for a signal to load Facebook involved my dad getting picked on at school by this guy Adrian, who’d been the king of the school, and my dad took it and took it, until one day he stood up to Adrian and told the bully to meet him after school. The bully never showed and left Dad alone after that, presumably because Dad had earned his respect or something. None of it applied to me, because Dad was a cop and had been kind of big deal. I wasn’t about to call out Lester or Beardsley or anyone else at school, and as long as I was friendly, I didn’t have any need to. Besides, I was pretty sure I’d seen that same story line on some sitcom repeat.
    I accepted Naomi’s friend request, probably just minutes after she sent it. I could risk the dorkiness.
    Dad was still in lecture mode. “You gotta be careful with guys like these,” he was saying. We were taking a detour, apparently, as we left the smaller streets to pass the markets. “These guys are animals. I see some pretty wild stuff. I was joking around back there, but these guys carry knives—these guys have guns.
    â€œYou can tell me if you’re in trouble, you know, right?” He kept looking at me to verify I was listening. It was a little troubling with people walking on the sidewalk and crossing the street.
    â€œDad, I’m fine,” I said.
    Naomi was asking me if I wanted to go to the Foo Fighters concert. U were a huge hit with the fam , her message read. My mom would totally let me go w/ u. I can work this.
    Was that a good message or bad? Was she saying I was a big nerd, but she could use me to get to the concert? Who was I kidding? I didn’t care. Operation Uncle Dave is a go , I replied. Count me in.
    â€œIt’s good that you stood up to them,” Dad said. He just kept talking. “And those are some ugly dudes to face, too. But you can’t run from problems. You tackle them head-on, right? You did good. I’m proud.”
    â€œDad, we were walking. That’s it,” I said. My phone buzzed. I was afraid to look at the screen. What if she’d changed her mind, or she’d been just joking and I’d misinterpreted it and hadn’t caught the tone? What if she hadn’t asked at all and I’d just responded to an imaginary message? Reception was poor, and her message took, like, ten seconds to show up, which was a very long time when you were in midconversation with Naomi Mills.
    LOL that was fast! Naomi replied. Not exactly a confirmation of plans.
    I’m in my dad’s cop car. I think I’m under arrest. :P , I wrote back. I tried to send it, but the Internet dropped out again. Technology fail. The phone buzzed again as Dad pulled up to our building, and my eyes darted to the screen.
    NOOOOO , Naomi wrote back. Post bail! We need you free til after the concert!
    Bake me a cake with a nail file in it, I wrote.
    At that exact moment, I’d have escaped Alcatraz if I needed to.

 
    Chapter Four

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    10/23 10:35 WalterW1014: Hey, are you going to the Foo Fighters concert Saturday?
    10/23 10:35 NateTheGreat01: Have I said or done anything to indicate I’d be going to a Foo Fighters concert? Or do I have a clone running around I need to be concerned with?
    10/23 10:35 WalterW1014: I’m just wondering if I should go.
    10/23 10:35 NateTheGreat01: If you have to wonder, maybe just don’t go?
    10/23 10:36 WalterW1014: Well, a girl I was talking to wanted to go, and I might have said I’d go too.
    10/23 10:36 NateTheGreat01: Really? Who?
    10/23 10:36