Free Zip by Ellie Rollins Page B

wet. The water had messed up his mohawk and his hair hung down in clumps around his face, making his head look smaller
    “How was the diversion?” he asked, grinning
    “Amazing,” Lyssa admitted. She glanced over her shoulder to make sure no one was following her yet. The road was all clear. She turned back to Demo. “I don’t know how to thank you.”
    “Don’t worry about it,” Demo said
    Lyssa’s mom used to tell her that it was good manners to give gifts to show appreciation for someone who had helped you. Making a quick decision, she yanked open her backpack, digging through the worn-down nubs of pencils and her favorite pair of sunglasses for something she could give to him. Her fingers brushed the bound-together demo CDs at the bottom of the bag. Hadn’t she made them with the intention of giving them away? Well, now was her chance. Knowing she’d chicken out if she hesitated, she pulled out one of the CDs and thrust it into Demo’s hands
    “This is for you,” she said. “You let me watch your singing and so…so here.”
    Demo turned the case over in his hands, then glanced up at her questioningly
    “It’s a recording of my songs,” Lyssa explained. Now she felt embarrassed. She looked down at her feet, resisting the urge to stick her hair into her mouth. “I mean, it’s nothing special, and you have to imagine a band would be—”
    “I’m sure it’s killer,” Demo interrupted, and she could tell he meant it. “Thanks a lot, Lyssa.” He paused for a second, and the smile stretched across his face started to wilt, like day-old lettuce. “Are you sure you want to leave?”
    Lyssa’s heart pulsed in her throat, and, once again, she imagined what it would be like to stay. Talking late into the night with the Lotus Crew. Going on adventures with Demo. Singing on street corners during the day—if she could work up the courage
    But then a gust of wind blew past, ruffling the hair on the back of Lyssa’s neck and blowing her braids out behind her. If she stayed here, what would happen to her home? She thought again of standing by her mom’s side in the garden, their toes wriggling deep into the earth. If Lyssa didn’t protect their roots, who would?
    “I’m sure,” she said with a small smile. “If you’re ever in Austin, head to the Texas Talent Show. That’s where I’ll be.”
    “You can count on it,” Demo said. Lyssa waved to him and headed down the street to the bus depot. Demo called out after her
    “Good luck!”

CHAPTER EIGHT
Goldfish Don’t Look for Mosquitoes
    T he bus depot was crowded with people. Men and women wearing suits and carrying briefcases rushed by Lyssa; teenagers jostled her with their large, lumpy backpacks. Twice, she would have ended up sprawled in a heap on the floor if she hadn’t had Zip to hold on to. An old man was swaying in front of the entrance, singing under his breath. As Lyssa walked past him, she wrinkled her nose. He smelled like the clowns at the fair did after drinking their “special” cider.
    Some of Lyssa’s confidence began to slip away. Everything about the bus station seemed big and strange. She caught sight of a huge, electronic billboard hanging over a row ofdesks, flashing city names, times, and rows of other numbers that Lyssa didn’t understand. The numbers changed quickly—Lyssa had to watch the city names flash by three times before she finally saw
Austin, TX
. There were only two times listed next to the name: 11:35 and 6:35.
    Lyssa’s mouth went so dry her tongue could have cracked. She looked from the billboard to the digital clock below. It was 11:20 right now—which meant that she had less than fifteen minutes to get that bus ticket or she’d have to wait until after six to leave. She swallowed, stepping out of the way as a man with a briefcase pushed past her. The cops were sure to check the bus depot before six
    “Come on,” she whispered, glancing down at Zip. “We can do this.”
    She pulled off her