Romiette and Julio by Sharon M. Draper Read Free Book Online

they put in the computer and then they figure out where your phone line is hooked up and then they come to your house and ring your doorbell and slice your heart out after they have sex with you!”
    “Destiny, does your brain ever hurt from all the wild imagining you do?”
    “I’m for real, Romi! I didn’t make this up. I saw it on TV. You be careful, Romi. Stay away from that guy.”
    “I’m supposed to talk to him tomorrow after school,” Romi said quietly.
    “Not a great idea. Anybody with a screen name like Spanishlover is up to no good. I saw a talk show where this one man was giving these girls this drugcalled Spanish fly. He would drug them, and they wouldn’t know if the man was having sex with them or not, and he got them all pregnant.”
    “Destiny, I think you have sex on your brain. I didn’t take any drug from him or have sex with him through the computer screen. I didn’t let him know anything about me. All I did was talk to him in a private chat room.”
    “You went to a private room? I saw another talk show where they used these private chat rooms to bug the phone lines of the people they lured into them. Then they stole their identities and charged up millions of dollars on their credit cards.”
    “Destiny, you watch too many talk shows! And I don’t have a credit card. So I’m safe for now. But I will be careful. I promise.”
    “Hey, Romi, I have a really serious question for you. This is a deep philosophical question.”
    “Here we go again. Hit me with it.”
    “Pizza is round, right?”
    “Right.”
    “And garbage cans are round, right?”
    “Right.”
    “So why are pizza boxes square?”
    “Eat your pizza, Destiny.”
    “Romi?”
    “I’m almost afraid to answer.”
    “The pieces are triangles. Why?”
    “Eat your pizza, Destiny. Don’t think.”

10.
At School
    Julio glanced at his watch and darted into the bathroom. He figured he had just enough time to make a pit stop before his last class’s bell. He didn’t even notice the boy dressed in a purple hooded sweatshirt that hung down to his knees. He was followed by four kids dressed exactly the same. They walked slowly, methodically, forming a tight circle around Julio. A toilet flushed. The boy in the stall, a scrawny kid who looked like he’d been flushed before, took one look at the scene in front of him and ran out of there before he had pulled his pants up completely.
    “Hey, Chico!”
    Julio tightened his jaw and tensed his fists. “My name’s
not
Chico.”
    “Got something for you, Chico.” The boys in purple tightened the circle around Julio.
    Julio’s fear was turning to anger. “My name is
not
Chico! And you better not get any closer.”
    They backed away one step, in unison. “Got a message for you. We don’t want you here. Got that?”
    Julio stepped forward, into the face of the tallestpurple threat. “What do you mean? What did I ever do to you? And who is this ‘we’ you talking about?”
    The tall boy looked coolly into Julio’s eyes and showed no fear, only challenge. “You see purple—you get out the way. The Family ain’t happy about you being here. We know you from that Texas Tejano gang. You ain’t welcome here.”
    “I don’t remember asking you for the welcome wagon! Just stay out of my way or I’ll show what Texas Tejano really means!”
    “We don’t need no wetbacks movin’ in here takin’ over our territory! We own this area.”
    “You wouldn’t know a wetback if it was dripping on your own yellow back!”
    “Watch your mouth, Chico. Or it might get busted.”
    Julio decided he wasn’t going to take any more. “I tell you what,” Julio said slowly and clearly. “Why don’t
you
stay out of
my
way instead? I don’t want to have to tighten you up, but I ain’t scared of you, or purple, or The Family. Now move out of my way!”
    The figures in the purple circle took one step toward him, stared him down with eyes of hate, then abruptly turned as one and walked out