Free Immortal Max by Lutricia Clifton Page B

ten o’clock at my house?” She writes her address on a yellow sticky note and hands it to me.
    â€œYeah, that sounds great.” I watch as she starts typing my words into a computer. My ad is now official.
    I walk back outside into the glaring sun and head for the security gate. From down the street, someone calls my name. Yee and Anise, still in their cheer outfits, wave me to a stop. Three little dogs sit on a porch behind them, leashes tied to the porch post. Tongues dripping.
    â€œCome over to my house!” Anise yells. “We need a third person so we can practice making a pyramid.”
    Anise’s house is a blue vinyl-clad split-level. Purple petunias spill out of the front flowerbed, the special kind Mom grows that bloom all summer. Her trademark. On one side of the front door is a strange-looking mask that I decide is an
Igbo Mmwo
. Next door is a tan vinyl-clad trilevel, a pagoda fountain in the front yard, and two cement Chinese dragons beside the front door. Yee’s house.
    I consider their offer, remember Chief Beaumont’s orders. “Can’t. Have to go straight to the gate when I’m done.”
    Yee and Anise exchange glances, untie their dogs, and dodge traffic. Sweat stains Yee’s shirt and glues her straight black bangs to her forehead. Anise’s shirt is sweat-stained, too. Her coffee-brown hair has turned to frizz.
    â€œWalk your bike to the gate and we’ll walk with you. I need to exercise Rooster and Rabbit, anyway.” Yee pulls two plastic bags from a box on a post and stuffs them in her pocket. Anise follows suit with one bag.
    Yee’s Pekingese wear different-colored dog halters. The one wearing red darts everywhere. I make a bet with myself that its name is Rooster. The one wearing blue walks quietly beside her. Rabbit. She’s matched the colors to the dogs’ personalities.
    â€œHow did it go?” Anise’s toy poodle, Midnight, wears a collar studded with tiny brass bells. “Did you talk to the chief? Mrs. Callahan? Did you get the job walking her dogs?”
    I become a limp rag, shoulders and mouth drooping. Watch them go sad-eyed. Say, “Gotcha!” They punch me on the arm and beg for details.
    â€œIt went great.” I use the back of my thumb to wipe salt crystals from the corners of my mouth. “Chief Beaumont is cool. AndMrs. Callahan said the paper will go out today—with my ad in it. I’ll be meeting her dogs tomorrow at ten o’clock. She couldn’t look at my scrapbook today ’cause she’s working. And maybe by then, other people will call, too.” My shirtsleeve becomes a rag to wipe sweat off my face.
    â€œDidn’t you bring water?” Yee stares at the empty bottle holder on my bike. “In this heat, you need to keep hydrated.”
    Duh
.
    â€œWouldn’t hurt to carry some for the dogs, too. I carry a jar lid for Midnight to drink out of.” Anise’s black poodle jingles happily.
    Now,
that’s
a good idea.
    Yee and Anise grow quiet, staring at me like an expectation hasn’t been met. I get it. I’m supposed to say something. But what? Girls are hard to figure out.
    â€œUm . . .” I clear my throat. “How was the first day at cheerleading camp?” I wait, hoping I guessed right.
    â€œAwesome—”
    â€œIncredible—”
    â€œHumongous—”
    â€œInspiring!”
    I sigh with relief. Expectation met.
    They tell me about their coach and the cheers they learned.
    I listen. Nod. Remember Bailey practicing in her front yard. Alone.
    â€œSo how come you don’t call Bailey to come out and practice making pyramids with you? I mean, she’d be perfect. She lives close, and she’s on the cheerleading team, too.”
    They exchange looks, then stare at their shoes. Adidas, grass stains on the toes. Then Yee gives me a sideways look.
    â€œI think we made her mad. She wouldn’t even speak