sidewayz glory by Todd Strasser, Sammy Yuen Jr., CRAIG PHILLIPS Read Free Book Online Page B

Kennin punched the accelerator hard. Just past the garbage cans he cut the wheel and yanked the e-brake, doing a 180 just as the ’vette came around the corner.
    Kennin floored the BMW. Only now he was heading straight back at the ’vette.

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    left side of the Beemer’s front bumper toward the left front fender of the ’vette. With less than fifty feet between the two speeding cars, Jack had a split-second choice: go head-on into the BMW or veer to the right.
    The result was an explosion of garbage cans and white plastic garbage bags flying through the air as the ’vette plowed into them.
    It was a small reward compared to what Jack had done to Shinchou, but Kennin could feel a smile creep across his lips. He quickly drove back to the intersection where he’d told Tito to wait with Shinchou. They were there, standing under a streetlight. Kennin skidded to a stop and pushed open the passenger-side door for his sister.
    â€œGet in,” he said.
    His sister frowned. “Where’d you get this?”
    â€œTell you later,” Kennin said. “Now get in fast before Jack gets here.”
    Tito got in the back while Shinchou got in the front. Kennin took off. Shinchou opened her bag and took out a cigarette.
    â€œBetter not,” Kennin said. “Don’t want the owner to know we borrowed his car.”
    Shinchou slid the cigarette back into the pack. “How’d you know I was there?”
    â€œJust lucky,” Kennin said.
    Kennin’s sister slid down in the seat and raked her fingers through her long black hair. Kennin glanced at Tito in the rearview mirror. “How’d it go?”
    â€œLike you said,” Tito said. “The guy was totally freaked. As we left he said something about his money.”
    â€œGuess he’ll have to work that out with Jack,” Kennin said.
    Shinchou gave him a sour look. “Don’t think you’re doing me a favor. As soon as Jack finds me, I’m going to get it bad.”
    â€œThen he better not find you,” Kennin said as he drove toward the south side of town.
    Shinchou straightened slightly and became more alert. “What do you mean? Where are we going?”
    â€œSomeplace where Jack won’t find you,” her brother said.
    â€œMaybe I
want
Jack to find me,” Shinchou said.
    Kennin glanced at his sister. She looked thin and pale, and the makeup around her eyes was smudged. Before she got involved with Jack, she’d never looked this bad. For a moment Kennin didn’t understand why she’d want Jack to find her. Then he did. The crystal meth. He had what she craved.
    A little while later they pulled up in front of a run-down wood-frame house. In the darkness Kennin noticed a couch on the porch. Sitting on the couch was a heavy woman wearing a ratty-looking housedress. Leon was sitting in a rocking chair next to her.
    â€œWhat is this?” Shinchou asked nervously.
    â€œA place where you can get help,” Kennin said.
    Shinchou stiffened. “I don’t need help.”
    â€œRoll up your sleeve,” Kennin said.
    Shinchou slumped down in the seat. “No.”
    â€œYou gotta go in there, Shin,” Kennin said. “You can’t go home. Not unless you want Jack shoving you into motel rooms with creeps until the morning they find your body in a Dumpster somewhere. You’ll be safe here. No one will know where you are. And that woman knows how to help you.”
    Shinchou started to cry. Kennin reached over and softly stroked her hair. “Come on, sis. You know it’s the right thing to do. You know Jack’s just using you. The day he stops making money off you, you’ll never see him again.”
    â€œI’m scared,” Shinchou sobbed, wiping the tears off her cheeks. “What if he does find me?”
    â€œHe won’t.” Kennin looked over the seat at Tito. “Right, Tito?”
    â€œRight,” Tito