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Love it Wormie. Hehehehe, good job. Hope to get one here myself. Thanks for starting us off with a bang!

Another Summer Day

Sara leaned against the shady, paint pealed wall of the building and tried to look cool. It was really hot, the new jeans were sticking to her like glue but they were the coolest clothes she had, unless she borrowed something from Maria. Her best friend was much more glamorous; her father let her buy whatever clothes she wanted. Not that he actually paid attention to what Maria did, she could pretty much get away with murder as long as her grandmother didn’t catch her.

“Got ‘um,” Maria said coming out of the Bodega with a couple of cokes and a pack of matches. She had one of her mini skirts with a couple of belts and heels and sleeveless shirt with ruffles, the kind of thing that Sara’s dad would never let her wear. But then Maria was really into boys, and flirting.

“How did you do it?” she asked as Maria pulled a crumpled pack of Kools out of her little purse and grabbed one of the sodas.

“Dad, he’s always loosing partial packs, he forgets that he has one open, opens another one, then finds the first one. No biggie, plus Nana throws away the ones he doesn’t finish, she thinks she can make him quit.” Maria tossed back her hair, the hair that Sara had helped her streak last Saturday in their little bathroom. Maria’s grandmother had been really pissed but she looked cool. “Ok, here, here’s the matches, you light mine and then I’ll do you. Hurry up, you know Marco’s gonna be coming back soon. Maybe he’ll have a friend with him. If he doesn’t come, we can walk over to the park.”

Sara shook her head at her best friend. “I don’t get why you like that guy, he’s a jerk.”

“Yeah, well I didn’t say anything when you liked David last year, besides, he is cool, and he has his own car, what about his friend Luke?” she said, taking a drag off the crumpled cigarette.

“Luke’s ok,” Sara said, hiding a cough and throwing away the match.

“Oh, you think he’s hot. Now if you would just dress up a little…” she said, practiced eye going over her friend’s new jeans and crop top critically. “You should get rid of those sneaks. We can go down the discount shoe place and get you some heels and some ankle socks with the fancy lace cuffs, those are cool, get you some more make up too.”

“You know my pop doesn’t like me to wear make up,” she said. Not that I do either, she thought but better to blame it on her father than look uncool in front of her best friend. Maria was cool, but sometimes she was just too boy crazy. Sara wondered if she could convince her to go back and get some suits and head for the public pool before she sweated right through her jeans.

“It’s not so bad, once you get used to it,” Maria said, batting a practiced eye, and taking a drag off the cigarette.

A long black car pulled up beside them between the bodega and the restaurant next door that hadn’t yet opened. The man that got out of the front of the car and came around to open the door was big, really big, wearing a black suit that was probably baking his brains in the heat. The two girls leaned back against the building and tried to look cool and casual even while studying the fancy car and its passenger. The man who got out was not very tall, with black hair and a suit that obviously didn’t come from Vinnie’s discount down on Amsterdam. The big guy stepped back and closed the door behind him as he crossed in front of them, smiling at the two girls and walking passed to the closed restaurant.

“You know who that is?” Maria whispered as the door closed behind them.

“Do I care,” Sara shrugged, giving the car a more than causal perusal.

“That’s Tommy Gallo, my Dad says he’s the toughest guy in the neighborhood, lots of money and even the gangs don’t mess with him.”

“He’s just some old guy,” Sara said dismissively, flicking the but into the street and opening the coke, her throat burning.

“He’s pretty cool, for an old guy,” Maria said, smiling as the men came out again.

“Maria, what…” she said, grabbing her friends arm as Maria pulled away from the wall and smiled at the man coming towards her.

“Hey ya’ Mr. Gallo,” Maria said with her biggest smile.

“Hey yourself, you girls keeping yourselves cool?” He said, smiling. There was something about him that Sara didn’t really like, something kind of oily. She put her hand on Maria’s arm but she shook it off.

“Trying, but it’s so hot,” she said, brushing her hair back. Sara looked at her friend in disgust. The man had to be ancient, like almost her father’s age, but then Maria liked guys, high school guys, even college guys.

“What are you doing?” Sara whispered to her friend.

“Nothing, just follow my lead and maybe he will give us a ride in the A/C.” Maria hissed, stepping away from her. “Be better if I didn’t have to walk home in the heat.”

“What’s your names?” he asked waving back the big guy who was walking behind him. He looked like a thug to her, and Sara reminded herself to ask her father if he was like a mobster or something.

“Maria, Maria Busanis, my friend is Sara Pezzini,” she said, dodging the elbow that Sara aimed at her.

“You James Pezzini’s girl,” he asked, giving her a good look for the first time.

“Yeah.”

“Well, is that so. You ladies want a ride home?” he said, motioning for the big guy to open the door.

“Sure, come on Sara,” she said, jumping into the car looking proud as she slid into the big black car.

“I….” she said, trying to figure out how to get out of it.

“Sara!’ She heard a voice calling her. “Sara, come over here now!” She turned and saw the blue and white sitting on the corner, her father’s voice coming from the passenger said.

“I gotta go,” she said in one breath hurrying to the car as Mr. Gallo stepped into the car and the door close.

“What are you doing talking to that man?” he said before she even got close to the car. It was humiliating.

“Nothing, Pops, just talking, he said he knew you.” She looked into the window, catching the eye of Joe Siri, her dad’s partner, looking for a clue to why he was so pissed at her.

“Yeah, I know him, for a long time, since we were both in school. Sara, he’s a bad guy, a pro working for the mob. He’s got a rap sheet as long as my arm, and no matter what he says, he’s trouble. I want you to stay as far away from him as you can.” She nodded, not sure what to say, thinking about her friend riding away in the back of a fancy car. Obviously he hadn’t seen Maria get in or hadn’t noticed, and she didn’t want to get her friend in trouble, still it seemed like a lot of nothing for some guy who just offered her a ride. “Hop in the back, we’ll ride you home on our way back.” Sara nodded and climbed in the car, trying not to worry about her friend as she settled behind the bullet proof partition and watched the neighborhood roll by.