GEN13 - Version 2.0 Read Online Free Page A

and there’s honest. You’ve got to choose your subject matter a little better. You want to talk about your love of kittens and puppy dogs, that’s cool. But they don’t want to hear about you having the hots for somebody else.”
    Grunge nodded sagely, taking it all in. “Guess that figures.”
    “Guess so.”
    “Guess I should go apologize, huh?”
    “Guess you’re catching on.”
    By the time Bobby finished talking with Grunge, Sarah had already caught up with Roxy. The two of them were standing halfway down the block, having a conversation of their own.
    “... I mean, it’s not like I don’t know how he is. I know how he is. I knew that before we started going out,” Roxy was saying. She paused for a moment while she lit a cigarette and inhaled deeply. She held the smoke in her lungs for a long moment, then released it all at once. The swirling tendrils of smoke mixed with the vapor from her breath in the chill air.
    “It’s just...” Roxy looked around as though searching the buildings around her for the words she needed. “Well, it’s bad enough when it’s some eight-foot-tall supermodel with pneumatic boobs bigger than her head. At least then I know what’s missing about me.”
    “Roxanne, there’s nothing missing about you ...” “Oh, get real. ‘You’ve got a good heart, and that’s all
    that matters, and besides, you’re cute as a button, blah blah blah.’ Look, I know I’m not built like you, and I’m sure not built like Kat. And it’s cool. I accept that.
    “But Michelle Yeoh? Michelle freakin’ Yeoh?! She’s, like, my size! If he starts liking her better than me, then, well, what’s up with that? What am I supposed to do about it?”
    Sarah opened her mouth to answer. But before she could say anything, Grunge came running up to join them. Bobby followed behind. “Hey, Rox! Hey! Hold up!” Grunge came to a stop beside Roxy. She turned away. “C’mon, baby, don’t be like that,” he coaxed. “I’m dirt. I’m pond scum. I’m a horn dog who hasn’t thought with his brain since puberty.”
    “I don’t believe you’re hearing me disagree.”
    “But I’m sorry, okay? I’m really, really sorry. That stuff doesn’t mean anything. My mouth just works faster than my brain sometimes. I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings or anything. Y’know? I just get like that around hot chicks.”
    “Oh, good. It makes me feel soooo much better knowing that you didn’t do it on purpose. You just get like that around hot chicks.”
    “C’mon, I’m trying here, okay? Just cut me a little slack. You mean a lot to me.”
    Roxy didn’t say anything.
    “There’s gotta be a way I can prove I’m serious about this ...” Grunge said.
    He thought for a second, then snapped his fingers. “I know! I know how I can prove it to you!”
    He raised his hand solemnly—or as solemnly as he could. “From now on, I, Percival Edmund Chang, will never talk about another woman, or sex, or anything like that in front of you again!”
    The others stared at him in stunned silence.
    Then they burst into howls of laughter that left them barely able to stand.
    “What?” Grunge asked. “What’s the joke?”
    Roxy wiped the tears of laughter from her eyes. “Oh, Grunge, sweetie, that’s really sweet of you. Really. But..She broke off the sentence as another fit of laughter seized her.
    Grunge looked around at the hysterical trio, a little offended. “What, you don’t think I can do it?”
    Bobby stopped coughing barely long enough to catch his breath. “Shyeah. Dude, no offense, but you couldn’t stop talking about sex long enough to microwave popcorn!”
    “No, huh? Shows what you know! If I put my mind to something, then it’s a done deal! I’m all about will power! I’m the very model of will power! I’m the mack daddy of will power!”
    The only response was a gale of laughter that dwarfed the first one.
    “O ... okay,” Bobby said, struggling to get himself back under control.