Moving Neutral by Katy Atlas Read Free Book Online Page B

bouncer appeared in the doorway an arm’s length away from us.
    You girls should have just tried to get backstage the old fashioned way, he said, leering at Madison. She jerked back, her body recoiling from him. I tried to pretend I didn’t know what he meant.
    Tears stung in my eyes as I grabbed Madison’s hand and pulled her through the door. Leaving the concert made me feel as if I was going to throw up, but it was better than whatever alternative the bouncer had been imagining.
    The door slammed behind us. Loudly.
    Neither of us spoke for what seemed like an eternity, and I leaned against the building, staring down the street into space. We stood there long enough that we heard the beginning and ending of what had to be the last song. Long enough that people started to filter out of the front entrance, and I overheard snippets of conversations as groups of girls walked past us.
    Amazing, one girl said, making me want to plug my ears.
    That last song rocked, someone agreed, the words floating through the night air in our direction.
    Madison looked stricken, as if someone had knocked the air out of her. I sunk down onto the concrete sidewalk and leaned back against the building. We didn’t speak for a few minutes, and I tried to block out the chatter from the people leaving the concert.
    Led Zeppelin cover, I heard someone else say, and my stomach clenched. Sitting here was just making things worse, and there wasn’t a lot we could do about it now.
    It’s okay, I said. It could have been a lot worse. I giggled, letting some of the tension out. I thought she was going to call the police.
    Madison seemed to register my presence again, and groaned. I am such an idiot. She sat down next to me and rested her head on my shoulder. I thought I recognized her when she opened the door, but I didn’t know where it was from. I thought I’d just seen her in some article about the band.
    Only us, I sighed. I have the worst luck. And now I’m going to be grounded for the whole rest of the summer. I wondered what my parents were doing right now. Calling out the bloodhounds, probably. I was going to be dead meat the second I got home.
    Madison looked up at me as if she’d just remembered. Casey, I’m so sorry, she said. This was such a dumb idea.
    She looked even sadder than I felt.
    I’ll live, I said, nudging her shoulder in what I hoped was a reassuring way. Come on, we can’t just sit here all night. It’s too pathetic.
    She nodded, pulling the bottom of her tube top down over the waist of her jeans. I wondered if she felt self-conscious, after what the real Lindsey Thompson had said.
    We walked down the block, passing the front doors of the concert hall, where people were still streaming out in thick rows. I turned away from them -- the last thing I wanted to see was that creepy bouncer, gloating at us.
    I checked my watch as we waited at a stoplight, as Madison peered into a bar through tinted windows. It was only eleven. Her parents weren’t waiting up for us, like mine always did. We had an hour before we even had to think about heading home. We could find somewhere to sit for a little while, at the very least.
    Let’s go somewhere, I said. We don’t have to head back yet.
    Madison nodded in agreement. Not a bar, she said, turning away from the window. With my luck tonight, our IDs will get taken too.
    I thought back to our walk to the concert. What about that coffee shop, near where we parked?
    She nodded, as if she’d been thinking the same thing. On the way to the show, I’d noticed a bookstore with a little cafe section that had looked cozy and warm. I remembered walking past old, beat-up sofas, the kind you could sink into, not even sitting, really, just laying around. I hoped it wasn’t too crowded.
    Do you remember where it was?
    Right near where we parked the car, she said, not meeting my eyes.
    She led me down two side streets before admitting that she didn’t know the address of the garage. I think it