The SVE Club

37. Boxcar

As it turned out, not all would be skipping. Nearly an hour later, only Midas, Rachel, Taro and Nate stepped off a bus in the neighborhood where Overdrive lived.

After a long (and somewhat heated) discussion in B3, it was decided that only part of the SVE club would skip school to attempt to negotiate with Overdrive. Evan and Sam had opted to stay and keep an eye out for White Flame. Willow was absent again because of her brother, but had had the sense to send the team a text so they didn't go searching for her again.

Now, Nate led the way. It was a bit of a rough town, but Nate knew it like the back of his hand; it was his home.

Probably a good thing we kept the group small. Seven students would draw a lot of unwanted attention, Midas thought as he observed the neighborhood. The houses were quite small, some in better repair than others. Chain-link fences lined some of the sidewalk and an occasional smattering of litter was pushed against the fences.

"One of us needs to learn how to drive," Rachel said, stretching her back out after exiting the bus. "I think that driver went over every pothole in the district- And made a few new ones on the way."

"Why don't you learn to drive then," Nate challenged as he led the group to the location Midas had asked him about.

"I'd love to. But my Dad never has time to take me to the DMV," Rachel replied. "I don't even have my learner's permit. What's your excuse?"

Nate frowned. "Insurance. Too expensive for teen drivers. So I'm waiting until I'm eighteen to get my license. Just one more year."

"I only have my temps," Taro chipped in. "I can get the full thing when I turn sixteen next month."

"What about you, Midas?" Rachel asked, absently kicking a pebble along the sidewalk.

"Oh, I have a license," Midas answered, deciding to leave out the fact that it probably wasn't valid (or legal). "No car, though. Not yet."

"Well, aren't we a fine group," Nate muttered. "Looks like we'll all be taking the bus for a while."

They walked along in silence, contemplating their relative immobility until coming upon a large apartment complex. The buildings looked as though they had seen better days.

"Hey, this is Evan's place," Nate said, pointing up at one of the buildings. "We're getting close."

The others glanced over at the complex.

"He lives with his Mom, right?" Rachel said, always eager to talk about others. "I wonder what happened to his dad."

"He's never talked about it," Nate replied.

"Evan's always been pretty quiet," Rachel mused. "Nobody ever really knew him very well. Still, SVE has really gotten him to come out of his shell more."

"You can't go five minute without getting into someone's business, can you?" Midas complained.

    "What? I like to know what's up," Rachel said, refusing to be embarrassed. She elbowed Midas in the ribs. "You could stand to take more of an interest in others too. Get some social skills into that thick skull of yours."

    Taro snickered quietly and Nate hid a smile behind his sleeve.

    "We're coming up on it," Nate said as they reached a railroad track. He turned and led them along the tracks. Rachel followed somewhat hesitantly.

    "Not that I'm worried," Rachel said, walking along the metal rail with her arms outstretched, "But if a train happens to comes along here we'll have enough time to ditch, right?"