"Dude, are you serious!?" I looked back in the direction Grover went.
As soon as we stepped out of the bus, Grover made us promise to stay and wait for him. But not even a few seconds after he leaves our line of sight, Percy starts walking away. My eyes widened in disbelief as I ran next to him.
"Percy, are you hard of hearing? Grover asked us to wait here. Are you just going to ditch him?"
Percy's sea-green eyes flashed with guilt, but he stood his ground. "Yeah, I know it's a jerk thing to do, but he's been freaking me out ever since we saw those three old ladies."
I'll admit Percy was kind of right. Grover's uneasiness is causing us to be frightened. And unfortunately, he's not exactly giving us many details and is now obviously lying to our face.
"But, Percy..."
"I know, but it's okay, I'll give him a call later now that I have his business card. Now are you coming or what?"
Percy didn't even give me time to say anything and started to go to the edge of the street, waiting for a taxi to pull up. I bit my lip. I didn't want to ditch Grover, but I'll admit I'm getting worried about him and he's starting to freak me out. Gone was the down-to-earth chill Grover, now replaced with a version of him where he's freaking out constantly, like an Italian mob boss putting out a hit for him. Percy managed to call a cab, bringing his suitcase inside.
I made my decision. Sorry Grover.
As I jogged to the taxi and sat next to Percy.
"East One-hundred-and-fourth First," Percy tells the driver.
He turns to me, expecting me to call out my destination next.
"Hey, is it okay if I can stay with you and Sally for a little bit. I really don't want to be in an orphanage for a little while."
Percy seems unsure. "That's fine with me, I guess. But, you know...my stepfather will be there."
"It's fine, he's not that smelly, right?
And that was the most incorrect answer in the world. Because as soon as we stepped into Percy's tiny apartment, my nose got assaulted by the smell of pizza and other scents that caused me to stumble a little. Percy rolled his eyes and went to the living room, and there, sitting on the couch, was some random homeless white dude. He was wearing a tank top with a grease stain on the chest area. I nearly burst out laughing in the middle of his tank top, a terrible PNG of a muscle car was on it.
He honestly looks like a big toddler. He had a rough-looking beard and looked like he was only a couple of steps away from being Mr. Clean's homeless cousin. This guy is Gabe Ugliano, and while I haven't met the guy until this moment, Percy would sometimes complain about him. Clearly, his stories didn't do justice, cause the guy in front of me is even worse. His eyes drifted lazily to us.
"Oh, it's you," Ugliano said in an annoyed tone. "I see you brought another brat with you."
He looks at me with disinterest before returning his half-attention to Percy. I noticed around him were tons of empty alcoholic cans on the floor and crumbs of chips on the floor, and even a couple of dollar bills were lying around. Holy crackers, this guy really is a man-child. I looked down at my shoes before I dropped down to pretend to tie them.
"Where's my mom?"
"Working. Got some cash?" He said without shame.
"No."
Ugliano gave Percy a suspicious brow, "What about you, boy?" He pointed a lazy finger at me.
I pointed at myself in a look of disbelief.
"Yes, I'm talking about you, what are you stupid?" Said Ugliano, "You have cash? If so, pay up since the guest should always pay respects to the master of the house."
Percy growled and was about to say something reckless, but I grabbed his shoulder and shook my head. I walked up to him and fished three, one-dollar American bills out of my pocket and gave them to him. He smirks, viewing the money.
"Is that all you have?"
I looked down. "S-Sorry, sir, I don't have much money, for you see I'm just an orphan boy and mentally a dummy, so I don't have much money."
Ugliano shrugs. "Well, whatever. Get your butts out of here, I'm trying to watch some TV, shoo."
I nodded, dragging a Percy who was literally shaking in rage. We went to his room, which was just plain, just a simple bed and desk. Nothing really tells me about him. He dropped his suitcase and sat on his bed, sighing, and I sat next to him.
"Sorry about that, I promise, I'll pay you back-"
"You don't have to." I shake my head before I give Percy a devious grin. "After all, why would you pay me back when I just gave Smelly Gabe his own money?"
"You, what-?"
"You see, my dear friend. When he wasn't paying attention, I managed to grab the dollar bills on the ground when I was 'Tying' my shoes."
I released a fake sad sigh. "It's a shame I didn't get to keep it, though it's probably full of disease because he touched it or something."
I gave Percy a grin. Who could barely contain his giggling. We laughed quietly, suppressing the noise so Uglino doesn't decide to barge in and demand an explanation or something dumb. Percy and I talked for a couple more minutes until a knock on the door made us straighten up instantly.
"Percy?" A gentle voice came from outside the door.
It opened to reveal an incredibly beautiful woman. She had long brown hair with a couple of streaks of grey. But despite that, she doesn't look old; she seems to have an aura of someone in their mid-twenties. Percy jogged and hugged her, which made her giggle warmly.
"Look how much you've grown!" Her bright eyes looked at me, and they lit up even more if that's at all possible. "Clay, welcome!"
Sally, with Percy, walks up to me and gives me a hug, and I quickly return the hug. She was incredibly warm. And she smelled faintly of chocolate. She broke the hug and ruffled both of our hair.
"You both have grown since last Christmas, though it seems Percy is still just a bit taller than you." She teased.
I rolled my eyes, but I was also smiling. "Just you wait, I'll be dwarfing this dude in about a couple of years!"
Percy snorts. "Yeah, you wish."
We sat on the edge of the bed just talking about school and other stuff. Meanwhile, Percy and I were enjoying blueberry sour strings. Sally Jackson was really something. I met her at Christmas when parents visited Yancy Academy or went back to their homes to celebrate Christmas. Percy wanted to go home, but Sally visited him instead, and I can see why, with the whole Ugliano situation. It was barely five minutes since she entered our dorm before she started treating me and Grover like her own children.
She truly was a sweet woman. So it confuses me, how did she end up with a guy whose last name is Ugliano and looks the very definition of a bum? Like, either Ugliano has actually had a serious game, or she pitted him. There is no real way that a guy like that would end up on eleven out of ten women, such as Sally Jackson.
"Hey Sally-how about some bean dip, huh?" Gabe from the other room called out.
I released a sigh while I could hear Percy grit teeth. I looked at Percy, he seemed really stressed out. I honestly don't blame him, after everything that's happened to him. And Ugliano isn't making it feel better. Sally notices Percy's troubled expression and puts on a worried frown.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing." Percy turned away. "Nothing at all."
It got awkward for the three of us for several moments before Sally's smile returned. "I have a surprise for you. We're going to the beach."
As soon as those words left her lips, Percy's troubled look vanished, replaced with wonder and excitement, "Montauk?"
"Three nights, same cabin."
"When?"
Sally giggles. "As soon as I change." She turns to me, "Do you want to come, Clay?"
"Me? I don't want to impose-"
"No way, dude. The beach we're going to is fantastic and awesome."
"Yeah, come on, Clay."
I couldn't help but crack a grin. "I suppose if I'm not imposing, I'll have to let the orphanage know, but I should be able to-"
My words were cut off when Ugliano stood in the doorway looking incredibly annoyed. I, on the other hand, was surprised that he managed to get here without collapsing.
"Bean dip, Sally? Didn't you hear me?" He growled out, which sounded like a baby whining to me.
I frowned, and for the first time in my life, I actually wanted to hit someone very hard. And I could probably win, too, yeah, skinny Clay Brandon would win. Because, unlike Ugliano, I don't get a cardiac arrest as soon as I throw the first punch. I'll say it again, I'm kind of impressed he walked all the way here with that unhealthy body of his. I only met this guy for a total of less than five minutes, and I'm already praying for his downfall.
"I was on my way, honey." She told Ugliano. "We were talking about the trip."
Ugliano narrowed his eyes. "You were serious about that?"
I pretty much zoned out their conversation, mainly because I was just staring at Ugliano with a neutral blank expression, but inside my ADHD filled brain was screaming all kinds of slurs and insults. I'm not going to describe them, because if I even divulge just a little bit, I might be sent to a mental asylum by such thoughts. Let's just say they are a lot more colourful and hurtful than Eminem's diss tracks. By the time I stopped zoning out, Smelly Ugliano Piggy Boy finally left.
"Alright," Sally starts winking at us. "Let's pack up, shall we?"
It didn't take long for us to pack up. I already have my stuff ready, so it didn't take more than an hour for us to get ready. I already called the orphanage and told them what's happening. Usually, there is a lot of work that needs to be done for cases like this, including a large amount of paperwork and other tasks. But like I said, the staff from the orphanage barely care; in fact, I bet they wouldn't holler a hoot if I didn't call.
Only doing so for Sally's sake. Ugliano's car, which Sally would be using to take us to the beach, is a '78 Camaro. Huh, for a trash human being, Ugliano has decent taste. Then again, knowing what little I know of him, he probably is unfamiliar with the description 'Bad Taste'. He crossed his arms and glared at us as we put our bags in the trunk, pretending to be the big man, in the metaphorical sense anyway.
"Not one sc-"
I zoned out, not paying attention to his words and pretending to check the bags. As that fast food ad plays in my head again. I guess ADHD has some uses. But finally, Ugliano leaves, and somehow the ground is supporting him. I sat in the backseat as we drove away.