Stuck in the 70's by Debra Garfinkle Read Free Book Online Page A

“Senior year of high school is supposed to be fun. Wild and crazy fun, not backgammon and computers fun. Yes, Shay, let’s sneak out of the house in the middle of the night and have fun.”
    “Whatever. I just wanted some fresh air.”
    We head downstairs. Tyler opens the sliding glass door to the backyard, then points in the faint moonlight to a wooden glider. We sit so close w e’re touching. “How did you wind up in my bathtub?” he asks me. “I c an’t believe y ou’re from the future. I mean, I can believe it. When my dad said the pope died, I—”
    “You d idn’t believe me before.”
    He d oesn’t answer.
    “Your father is really up on the news,” I say to change the subject.
    “He’s w ell-i nformed about everything. Politics, the stock market. Everything except his family.”
    I c an’t see Tyler’s face well, but I hear the hurt in his voice.
    “I s houldn’t complain,” he says. “He works hard to support our family. And it’s not as if I come from a broken home. You’ve never even seen your father. Is it hard?”
    I d on’t answer. No one’s ever asked me before. If I tell the truth—that I wonder about my father a lot, what he looks like, if he has other kids, if he ever thinks about me beyond the child support checks—if I tell Tyler that, I might start crying right here, and Tyler would be sorry he ever asked.
    But maybe h e’d hold me and wipe my tears and say he understood. Or maybe h e’d think I was just a stupid, dramatic girl.
    “Shay, why did you come here?”
    His voice is so gentle. I think he would have understood about my dad.
    “I d on’t know what I’m doing here.” Gawd, I sound as soft as Tyler. That’s not me. I’m no wimp. I cross my arms. “I need to get home. I’m having this big blowout eighteenth birthday party in a few weeks. Plus t wenty-e ight years.”
    “We can throw you a party here. My mom bakes the best birthday cakes.”
    “That’s not the kind of party I meant. It was going to be a kegger.”
    “Oh,” he says.
    “So I have to go home and invite people before they make other plans.”
    “And I bet a lot of people from home miss you.”
    “Yeah.” Who misses me? Mariel, maybe. Jake’s probably weirded out about where I went. Mom might miss me once she notices I’m gone.
    Tyler stretches his arm across the glider. It’s not around me exactly, but it’s behind my back. He clears his throat. “If y ou’re lonely here . . .”
    “What?”
    He moves his head in close to mine.
    “Oh, gawd. You’re not making a pass at me, are you?”
    “No!” he squeaks, jerking his arm back to his side and leaning away from me. “But did you have to sound so disgusted?”
    “I just want to get back to 2006, okay?”
    “Maybe we could help you,” he says.
    “We?”
    “My best friend Evie and I. We’re taking AP Physics, and Evie scored a perfect 800 on the math SAT.”
    “La di freakin’ da.”
    “At least have lunch with us.”
    “ I’ll eat with you if y ou’ll help me.”
    “Okay. You ready to go to bed?”
    What a horndog.
    “You know, back to my room. I ’ll take the floor again.”
    “Oh. Yeah. Thanks.”

10
    People are gawking. Even Evie. Especially Evie. She’s sitting on the school bus a row behind Shay and me, but I feel her eyes burning into us through her glasses. Practically everyone on the bus is at least stealing glances. I bet they’re looking at Shay, thinking Wow! and then looking at me, thinking Why?
    I return their stares and add a grin. I have replaced the title of Tyler Gray, Unpopular Nerd with Tyler Gray, Foxy Chick Magnet.
    “I’m glad you decided to accompany me to school, Shay.” I talk loudly to ensure that everyone on the bus can hear me.
    “You better honor your end of the deal and get your friend to help me,” she says.
     
     
     
    I stare out the window. The Valley looks different. We pass orange groves, barren hills, big front yards, and packs of children. There’s a dingy diner called