After school was over, I stood in the parking space where I parked my car. I stood exactly where I parked my car eight hours earlier to find an empty space waiting for me.

“Dammit, Mick,” I muttered under my breath and tried to stay calm. He was probably watching me from afar, busting up in a fit of laughter at my expense. He was like a Teflon pan for as much as he was dead to rights guilty over stealing my car, the charges would never stick.
He actually found some goons to move my car to points unknown. I didn’t want to ride the bus, much less walk in the chill of the morning.

I took a deep breath, looked to street beyond the parking lot and took the first step in my three-mile trek to get home. I hadn’t even taken a full step when a strange looking car stopped in front of me. The windows were blacked out and the body was like something from Star Trek. I didn’t hear any noise from the engine. The window rolled down.

“Get in.”

Seeing the driver, I ran in front of the car and opened the passenger side door.

The interior was white and black strange blue lights on the steering wheel and dashboard. I laid my backpack in the backseat, sat down and closed the door.

“Mick took your car,” Andy said as we drove out of the parking lot.

“Do you know where?”

“No, sorry, I only heard about it.”

“What does he have against me?”

“Good question. Sometimes there’s no answer and people are just plain ugly.”

“That describes Mick.”

“I can give you a ride home. Just have to pick up my sister.”

I nodded as Andy accelerated to the point the police would want to talk to us—assuming they could catch up. The town blazed as Andy gracefully navigated past cars and turns.

“You got a pretty nice car.”

“It gets me where I need to go.”

“Can’t say the same for mine. If I can get it back from Mick it will probably be in pieces.”

Andy nodded.

“One day I’m going to get a mustang.”

“My Pa had one, it was a P-51 model. He hated it but it got him where he needed to go.”

It was then my turn to nod. I could only imagine myself behind the wheel of something from the 50’s. The power. The coolness. The literal chick magnet.

Andy pulled over to the sidewalk in front of a school that was almost as large school and an olive-skinned girl walked over to the car.

“Three thing you gotta know.”

“Okay.”

“Her name is Wendy, she’s annoying, and will use anything you say against you…even after an eternity.”

The back door opened, and Wendy stepped in.

“Who’s your friend?” She asked while throwing bag across the seat.

“Maybe he’s an enemy,” Andy replied with a frown.

“Sounds like something you’d do.”

“You wanna walk?” Andy asked.

Wendy shrugged as she closed the door and looked at me.

“Did my brother tell you all about me?”

I shook my head as Andy signaled to get back onto the road.

“Yep. Name’s Wendy Jean Joel and I am annoying.”

“You can say that again,” Andy replied. “So, where to, Greg?”

“We need to get back onto the main road.”

“You got it.”

“Are you in the same classes as Andy?” Wendy asked as she sat up too far for any seatbelt to be effective.

“One of them.”

“Something happen to ya?”

“He’s fine, Wendy. I’m giving him a ride home.”

“Doncha’ have a car?”

“It has a few issues,” I replied.

“It ain’t the only thing that does.”

Andy scowled at Wendy’s reflection in the rearview mirror.

I looked out the window and saw my car.

“Andy! Stop the car. I see my bug.”

Andy slowed down and turned the corner.

I knew it was my car due to the license plate and the overall condition of it as it sat on the dirt to side of a used car lot, but it looked more like a junkyard.

I got out of Andy’s car and to the lot. I looked inside of the car and then fished inside my pocket for my keys.

“Can I help you?” An old, grizzled man with oil-stained hands asked as he sauntered over.

“Yeah, where did you get this car?”

“It was dropped off a few hours ago,” the man replied with a voice of not just annoyed but more on the lines of ‘why are ya bothering me about this piece of junk?’ annoyed.

“Well, um, it was brought it by mistake.”

“Mistake?”

“It was stolen,” Andy replied as he walked up with Wendy in tow.

“Stolen? The guy who brought it by said someone would come by saying that.”

“What did the guy look like?” Andy asked as looked over at me.

“Not sure,” the man said with a shrug. “It was a group of them and, anyway, it’s done and over. Now, unless you can prove to me that it’s your car…”

I walked to the front door and placed my key in the lock, or at least I tried to as the key would not fit. I shook my head and smiled a nervous smile before running to the other side and placing my key in. The key fit but the door wouldn’t open. “The key doesn’t fit.”

“The locks have been tampered with,” Andy said with a glare to the man.

“I think the three of you are just trying to steal this car.”

“Why would we want to take this car if it didn’t belong to my friend? It’s so ugly it would turn sweet milk to clabber. There’s a lot more better rides here.”

Andy was right, so I dismissed what I assumed was a verbal assault on my car.

“That’s it. I just about have the mind to kick your asses out of here!”

Wendy dug a line into the dirt with her feet in front of her. “Please step over this line and we’ll find out,” she challenged.

“Mister, this car belongs to my friend. It was stolen by an incredible oaf and some morons. Can he have it back, please,” Andy said with pleading eyes.

“Look, the key doesn’t fit. Leave or I’ll call the police. I’m busy here.”

Andy’s eyes turned to threatening stare. “Mister, don't piss on my leg and tell me it's rainin'”

“Leave! Now!”

Andy looked at me and I nodded my head in defeat.

“I’m serious, step across the line,” Wendy stood her ground. I kind of wanted to see exactly what she could do against a huge man who dwarfed all of us.

“Let’s go, Wendy!” Andy ordered.

“Fine,” she replied and walked with us.

“What am I gonna do? If I can’t get it back.”

“I can get your car back,” Andy said as he walked to the other side of his car. “My Pa’s good at handling things like this.”

“Against the guy who could pile drive Andre the Giant?"

“He’s good at diplomacy and I’m sure he can get your car back for you.”

“Okay,” I said, with a glimmer of hope in my heart that I wouldn’t have to explain to my parents about happened and wouldn’t have to look at Cheshire Cat grin on Mick’s face until graduation.

“Just let Mama talk with him,” Wendy suggested as we got back into the car.

“That's my plan B,” Andy replied as he started the engine.