Page 6 of Something Tattered
Next to me, Derek gave a self-satisfied snicker. Mortified, I looked behind me and spotted my chair a few feet away. I yanked it back toward the table and plopped my butt back down, wishing I could magically disappear.
Derek leaned close and whispered, "Oh man, you should see your face."
"You jerk," I hissed. "That wasn't funny."
"You kidding?" he whispered back. "It was hilarious."
It wasn't hilarious to me. I looked to the front of the room, where the guy was still standing. His mouth was tight, and he was staring straight at us.
Of course he was. We were being incredibly rude, and not only because of that awful misunderstanding. I gave him an apologetic smile. "Sorry."
With a slow shake of his head, he looked away.Apology not accepted.
Well, that wasn't humiliating or anything.
Andy looked to the guy and said, "If you'd like to show us your portfolio, we'll get started."
The stranger said, "What portfolio?"
Andy hesitated. "Surely, you brought one?"
Before the guy could answer, Derek spoke up. "What'd you think? That you'd just waltz in and get painting?"
The stranger gave Derek a hard look. "Pretty much. You got a problem with that?"
Derek laughed. "What, you want us to supply the paint, too?"
The stranger's gaze drifted over the room. "Thatwasthe deal, right?"
Derek called out across the table. "Hey, Andy, you see any paint around here?"
Watching this, I was utterly horrified. Unless the stranger was a total idiot – and it was pretty apparent that he wasn't – he'd obviously been misinformed.
Thishadto be our mistake. And what was Derek doing? Mocking him for it.
All of this wassowrong. Before I knew it, I was on my feet again. "It's okay," I assured the guy. "We can reschedule."
Next to me, Derek called out, "But it's gonna cost you."
I whirled to face him. Through gritted teeth, I said, "No. It'snotgoing to cost him, because obviously, there's been a mistake."
Derek laughed like I'd just said something hysterical. He turned back to the guy and called out, "Speaking of mistakes, wanna hear something funny?"
The guy's muscles were corded into visible knots. "I dunno. Do I?"
"Oh yeah," Derek said. "Get this. When you came in,she–" He flicked his head toward me. "–thought you were a stripper."
Chapter 4
At Derek's announcement, I heard myself gasp, and I wasn't the only one.
Behind me, one of the girls whispered to the other, "Hey, can I borrow ten bucks?"
"What for?"
"Oh c'mon." She giggled. "Youknow. Just in case."
"Oh, rats," the other one said. "All I have is quarters. You know, for the snack machine."
