Free Also Known as Elvis by James Howe Page B

stuck to each other with Krazy Glue.
    After my dad left when I was ten, it was Addie and Joe and Bobby who kept me from running away. Whether I wanted to run off to find my dad or to make him worry so much he’d come back home, who knows. But it was the gang that convinced me to stay.
    They were always there for me—until the week I needed them most.

The Skeezie-Steffi Dialogues: Rain
Steffi:
Rain makes me sad.
Skeezie:
Always?
Steffi:
No, not always. Sometimes. This is one of those times.
Skeezie:
Yeah, we had enough rain last night. Why’s it got to rain today?
Steffi:
It’s not the fact of the rain that makes me sad.
Skeezie:
Is it because it’s keeping the customers away and there go our tips?
Steffi:
No. I’m sorry we won’t be getting any tips, but I don’t mind having a slow day. It’s a mood thing. I get melancholy. Does that ever happen to you? You’re a guy and you’re only thirteen, so probably not.
Skeezie:
Who says? I get moods. Remember me telling you about sitting out in Penny’s doghouse? I do that when I’m down.
Steffi:
Mm.
Skeezie:
(singing) “I get so lonely, I get so lonely I could die.”
Steffi:
(laughing) That’s an Elvis song, right?
Skeezie:
“Heartbreak Hotel.”
Steffi:
Is that how you feel sometimes? So lonely you could die?
Skeezie:
Nah. I just like the song.
Steffi:
I feel that way sometimes.
Skeezie:
I thought you had a boyfriend.
Steffi:
I do. But that doesn’t mean I don’t get lonely. We can even be together and I get lonely. Crazy, right?
Skeezie:
I dunno. What do I know? I’m a guy and I’m only thirteen.
Steffi:
Alex wants us to get married.
Skeezie:
Dude. Don’t do it. You’re nineteen.
Steffi:
I know, right?
Skeezie:
My parents were nineteen when they got married.
Steffi:
Really?
Skeezie:
Uh-huh.
Steffi:
Wow.
Skeezie:
Yeah, wow. Don’t be crazy like that.
Steffi:
But if they hadn’t gotten married, they wouldn’t have had you.
Skeezie:
You got a point there.
Steffi:
You and your sisters.
Skeezie:
Yeah, me and my sisters, and a big, fat broken home.
Steffi:
Hey, my home’s broken, too. And my parents were a lot older than yours when they got married. Maybe age has nothing to do with it.
Skeezie:
Maybe. I don’t know. I think it does.
Steffi:
I told Alex, what’s your hurry, and he’s, like, it’s our only way out of here, Steff. And I’m, like, are you kidding me? There are plenty of ways out of here without getting married.
Skeezie:
Why do you want out of here? It’s not bad. Joe’s always talking about breaking out of here, too, like Paintbrush Falls is prison or something.
Steffi:
Alex doesn’t know what he wants.
Skeezie:
So what do you want?
Steffi:
I don’t want to get married, that’s for sure. Not at nineteen. And I’m like you. I like Paintbrush Falls. I could see living here my whole life.
Skeezie:
Me, too.
Steffi:
Look, this place is dead. Why don’t you take off? Aren’t you seeing your dad later?
Skeezie:
Tomorrow. He’s out fishing with his friend Del. He doesn’t care if it’s raining or not, as long as the fish are biting. I hate fishing.
Steffi:
(laughing) So do I.
Skeezie:
It’s so freakin’ boring.
Steffi:
I feel sorry for the fish.
Skeezie:
I should get over to Zachary’s. We’re going to hang out.
Steffi:
Have fun.
Skeezie:
You still sad?
Steffi:
A little. Alex and I are going to the movies tonight.
Skeezie:
Maybe it’ll cheer you up.
Steffi:
Maybe it’s why I’m sad.

Not a Victoria’s Secret Tennis Ball
    Zachary opens the door wearing one of his Joe lookalike outfits. Normally, this would make me laugh, but right now it just makes me miss Joe.
    Greeting me with, “Oh, my goodness,” Zachary tells me to get inside quickly and not drip on the rug because his mother’s kind of fussy.
    â€œWhere’s your umbrella?” he asks.
    â€œI’m a