Lost Boys Read Online Free Page B

businesses build when they have only so much money and they need walls and a roof. That was actually a good sign, because it suggested that the owner of the company had no delusions of being in the "big time," spending all the company's cash from the first hit programs on gewgaws that would mean nothing at all when slack times came. If only we'd been so careful, thought DeAnne, when the money from Hacker Snack started flowing in. Not that we spent it on nothing. A Ph.D. in history, that was something. And helping out family here and there. And a beta- format VCR for which they could not find rental tapes in Steuben, North Carolina.
    "Bye, Fish Lady" said Step.
    "Good luck, Junk Man," said DeAnne.
    She watched him go into the building. He was striding boldly, almost jauntily. She liked the look of him, always had. He exuded confidence without ever looking as if he wanted to make sure everyone else knew how confident he was, like a salesman who had memorized a book on power walking. But this time she knew that, for once, his confidence was a lie. Just walking into this building spoke of failure in Step's heart, despite the fact that the top people at Eight Bits had been so impressed that Step Fletcher himself had actually applied for a job with them. The very fact that they were so impressed was really a symbol to Step of how far he had fallen- he was now working for the kind of company that would never have imagined they could get someone as accomplished in the field as he was.
    "Am I going to be late, Mom?" asked Stevie.
    Step was inside the building now, and there was no reason to wait. DeAnne put the car in gear and pulled off the shoulder, onto Palladium Road. "You were going to be late getting into class no matter what," she said.
    "We have to go by the principal's office and sign you in."
    "So I've got to walk in right in front of everybody," he said.
    "Maybe the door will be in the back of the room," said DeAnne. "Then you'll be behind everybody."
    "I'm not joking, Mom."
    "It's scary, I know," she said. "But the principal is really nice, and I'm sure she's picked out a wonderful teacher for you."
    "Can't I just meet the principal today and then come to school tomorrow at the regular time?"
    .Stevie, the other kids are going to notice that you're new, no matter what. And if you just showed up tomorrow, how would you know where to sit? You'd end up standing there feeling like an idiot. By going in today, you'll get a seat assigned to you right away and people will explain to you the things you need to know."
    "Still."
    "Stevie, there's a law that says we have to have you in school."
    "Wow," said Robbie. "You could go to jail for letting Stevie stay home?"
    "Not really. But we abide by the law in our family."
    "Daddy doesn't," said Robbie. "He drives too fast all the time."
    "Your father thinks the speed limits all mean 'give or take ten miles per hour."'
    "Will they put Daddy in jail?" asked Robbie.
    "No. But they might take his license away."
    "They almost did once before, didn't they?" asked Stevie.
    "Your father had a year of probation once," said DeAnne. "But it was before any of you kids were born. He really is an excellent driver, and he always drives safely." Not for the first time, DeAnne wondered whether Step would change his driving habits if he could actually hear how the kids noticed his speeding. It was hard enough teaching children right from wrong without having to include ambiguities, like laws that Daddy felt he didn't have to obey because he didn't speed fast enough to get tickets. She could see herself explaining to her kids when they got to be teenagers and started dating, Now, you're supposed to be chaste, which means that you can do whatever you want as long as you don't do anything that will get somebody pregnant. But Step couldn't-or wouldn't-see the rela tionship between traffic laws and the commandments. "Laws of men and laws of God are two different things," Step always said, "and our kids are