روفس

RUFUS

5:01 p.m.

The line for Clint’s Graveyard isn’t as long as it was last night when I was headed back to Pluto. Not even gonna start speculating if this means everyone is inside or if they’ve gone and died already. It’s gotta be the greatest club, hands down, for Mateo. They better let me in even though I don’t turn eighteen for another few weeks.

“Weird coming to a club at five,” Lidia says.

My phone goes off and I’m banking on it being Aimee when I see Malcolm’s dead-ass ugly profile pic. “The Plutos! Oh shit.” “Plutos?” Lidia asks.

“His best friends!” Mateo says, which doesn’t really scratch the surface on who they are to me, but I let it slide because this is so wild even Mateo is tearing up for me. I bet I’d be the same way if his dad called him right now.

I answer FaceTime, walking away from the line. Malcolm and Tagoe are together, legit surprised I answered. They’re smiling at me like they wanna tag-team bang me.

“ROOF!”

“Holy shit,” I say.

“You’re alive!” Malcolm says.

“You’re not locked up!”

“They can’t hold us,” Tagoe says, fighting for space so he can be seen too. “You see us?” “Screw all of this. Roof, where you at?” Malcolm is squinting, looking beyond my head. I have no idea where they’re at either.

“I’m at Clint’s.” I can give them a better goodbye. I can hug them. “Can you guys get here? Soon?” Making it past five has been a fucking miracle, but time is running out, no doubt. Mateo is holding Lidia’s hand, and I want my best friends here too. All of them. “Can you grab Aimee too? Not that asshole Peck. I’ll beat his ass again.” If there was a lesson I was supposed to learn here, I didn’t. Dude ruined my funeral and got my friends locked up, I get to deck him again and don’t try to tell me I’m wrong.

“He’s lucky you’re still alive,” Malcolm says. “We’d be spending our night hunting him down if you weren’t.” “Don’t leave Clint’s,” Tagoe says. “We’ll be there in twenty minutes. Smelling like prison.” Funny how Tagoe swears he’s a hardened criminal now.

“I’m not going anywhere. I’m here with a friend. Just get here, all right?’ “You better be there, Roof,” Malcolm says.

I know what he’s really saying. I better be alive.

I take a photo of the sign for Clint’s Graveyard and upload it to Instagram in full color.