“I told you, I’m not a kid,” he protested.
“Oh, yeah? How old are you?”
“I’m fifteen.”
Train and I burst out in laughter.
“You’re right,” I said, in between fits. “You’re not a kid. You’re a goddamned infant.”
“Fuck both of you,” Kieran said.
“Hey, kid. I admire your moxy, but have you ever heard the expression about not biting the hand that feeds?”
“Have you ever heard the expression about not biting my dick when you blow me?” Kieran fired back.
Train laughed so hard I thought he was gonna piss his pants and drive us off the road and into a ditch.
“Okay, you little court jester,” I said, turning to Kieran. “Let me ask you a serious question. Why the hell do you want to patch in with theSpiders? You got an older brother in the club or something?”
“Why didyoujoin a club?” he asked. “To meet guys?”
I shook my head. “First of all, don’t be phobic, secondly, I asked you first.”
“I like bikes,” he replied.
“That’sit? You want to join the Gresham Spiders because you like to ride bikes?”
Kieran shook his head. “I likeworkingon bikes. And, like designing and building them and shit. My mom won’t let me ride until I’m eighteen.”
“Your mom sounds smart.”
“She is,” he said.
“If you’re smart enough to listen to your mother, you should be smart enough to stay the hell away from the Spiders.”
“Don’t talk about my mom,” Kieran attempted to growl, his voice cracking in the process.
“I’m not talking about your mom, I’m asking about you,” I said. “The Spiders aren’t exactly kid friendly so I’m curious as to why you’re hooked up with them.”
“My mom’s sick, okay. She has bone cancer. Her treatment is expensive and the only way I can make the kind of money she needs is to work for the Spiders. Plus, they let me work on their bikes with them. They show me stuff, ya know?”
“Look, kid. I’m really sorry to hear about you mom. That’s a heavy load for a guy your age to shoulder.”
“Where’s your pop?” Train asked.
“He’s in the club. It’s how come they let me hang around and shit. But he doesn’t want me to patch in either.”
“I know it’s the last thing in the world you wanna hear, but I’d strongly suggest listening to both of your parents,” I said.
“Yeah, well it’s not like life has given me many choices, you know.”
I gave him a nod. “I know what you mean.”
“Alright, it’s chow time,” Train announced from the front seat as we pulled into the Derby’s drive-thru line.
As soon as we queued up, our young court jester began craning his neck in the direction of the order pick up window.
“Who you lookin’ for, Jester?” I asked.
