Suzie’s House 129: Caught Empty Handed

Suzie's House

“I don’t have to go!” Lisa stood on the front porch a beamed. “I don’t have to leave town after all. So, um… about the tickets…”

Ben just about swallowed his tongue. He even choked a little. “Tickets?” he said in a tight voice, thinking about how happy Miranda looked when he gave them to her.

“You don’t have to give them back,” Lisa said real quick. She held her hands up and waved them like to say she wouldn’t take them even if he tried to give them to her. “But if I could see them again I’ll know what seat to buy so I can sit next to you.”

“Tickets?” Gene came up behind Ben so the two of them were standing in the front door, one behind the other. “What tickets.”

Ben stepped out of the way, going onto the porch. He wondered if he could crawl off somewhere without them noticing. Not likely. Gene gave him this hard look, kind of the way Drew sometimes looked when he was thinking about being fatherly. Lisa looked at him more like she suspected something was wrong, but couldn’t tell what, all big eyed and frowny. Ben groaned. He supposed this was what he deserved for doing what he’d done, but he didn’t have to like it.

“I gave the tickets to Miranda and Vin.”

“You gave them away?” Lisa her jaw dropped.

“What tickets?” Gene asked again.

“Lisa gave me two tickets to ShapeShifter for next Friday,” Ben confessed.

“I thought the two of you were going to use them together. Don’t you both like ShapeShifter?” Lisa looked from one boy to the other.

Ben couldn’t stand to look at either. Gene answered for him.

“We do.”

“But then…” Lisa started to say only to have Gene interrupt.

“Why didn’t you give me one of the tickets?”

“I don’t know!” Ben shouted the lie. “I don’t know, all right?”

It wasn’t like he could confess that he had given the tickets away because he didn’t want Gene to have anything Lisa had given him, and couldn’t justify keeping the other if he gave one away.

“I just thought Miranda and Vin would like them. And they do! You should have seen how happy it made them.”

“Yeah, but now WE can’t go,” Gene huffed.

“So we’ll all buy more tickets,” Lisa said as if it were no big deal, though she scowled a little.

“We can’t,” Gene snapped. “They’re sold out.”

Lisa stood where she was, looking at her skate shoes. Gene crossed his arms and leaned into the door jam. He looked pissed, but not like he was going to start swinging or anything. Ben stood half way between them trying not to look at either. He put his hands on his hips, and leaned forward a little, thinking hard.

It really wasn’t all right that none of them got to go. And all of them really wanted to. If only…. But maybe. If it was the same guy as Ben had met last time ShapeShifter was in town….

“I think I know a way.”

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