Page 43 of Eighteen (18)

Mateo.

Hey, how did his name get into my phone? Sneaky motherfucker.

Mateo: The last thing I said to you was stay away from Danny Alexander and who are you walking onto campus with this morning?

Shannon: Creep. He came up to me and we had a laugh. Get over it.

Mateo: Shannon, I’m not jealous. I’m worried. He’s bad news. So stay away from him.

I sigh and stuff my phone into my pocket. Sunday doesn’t seem that bad to me. Of course, I met him a few days ago, so what do I know.

Just then I see Mary and Josie waiting for me at the picnic table. They get up to start our mandatory three laps and I fall in next to them. “Hey,” I say. “Do you guys know Danny Alexander?”

They erupt into a fit of laughter.

“What?” I ask. “What’s so funny?”

“Everyone knows Danny Alexander,” Mary says.

“Mary wants to jump his—”

“Stop!” Mary squeals.

“Oh, my God,” I say. “Sorry.”

“Why do you want to know?” Josie asks.

“Oh, well, he’s…”

“He is not!” Mary squeals again. “He likes you?”

“Maybe?” I shrug. “But I have a boyfriend so I’m not interested.”

“Yes, you are,” Josie says. “Otherwise you wouldn’t be asking us about him.”

“True.” I laugh. “But I’ve been hearing some things about him. Is he bad news?”

“Definite bad boy,” Josie says.

“But oh, my God. I’d still do him,” Mary says.

“Like what kind of bad boy?” I ask. “Wears a leather jacket and has tattoos kind of bad boy? Rides a motorcycle kind of bad boy?” Jesus, I just described Mateo.

“Bad boy like his cousin, Phil Alexander, is the biggest drug dealer in Anaheim.”

“Phil?”

“You know him?” Mary asks.

“Yeah, he lives down the street from me. Gets me high every once in a while. He’s some old friend of my brother-in-law’s.”

“I rest my case,” Josie says.

“Yeah, but smoking a joint and biggest drug dealer in Anaheim are not the same thing,” I say. Phil? I just don’t see it. He’s so cool to me.

“He does a lot more than smoke a few joints, Shannon. I’d stay away from that place.”

“But Danny lives in the garage apartment behind the house.”