Where the Neighborhood Ends
High School: Grades 9–12
Story
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As he approached, he heard a threatening voice. A red-bearded stranger wearing a business suit stood on the front porch. "Didn't I tell you never let a city inspector on my property?" he demanded.
A tall, gray-haired woman in the doorway moved her hands as if to protest. Esau, knotting his fists, pressed close behind her. Lane glanced around for Cobie and spotted him leaning against the corner of the house but watching and alert.
"I don't care about the inspector from City Hall! I don't care what papers he has!" the stranger raged. "Don't let anyone inside this building! Tell the housing inspectors they have to call the landlord. And tell them you don't know who that is!" The man swiveled, bumped down the steps, then swiveled to face the woman again. "Thanks to you, I got an inspection notice. Now I have to repair the plumbing. You'll be getting the bill." He rocked down the sidewalk, squeezed into the Lincoln, and drove away.
When the car disappeared, the woman closed the door and the twins gathered on the front steps. "Hey man!" Lane called as he came up the sidewalk. "Who was that guy?"
"Landlord," Cobie replied. Esau merely nodded. Lane didn't question them further. Although he'd known the twins for only a short time, he could read fury and frustration in their faces.
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The young men headed for an abandoned garage and sat on wooden crates. A fourth crate served as a table. Lane opened bottles of root beer while Esau divided up the peanuts, which substituted for poker chips. Cobie dealt the first hand. Within four games, Lane lost all his peanuts. Esau shared his takings with Lane, and the three friends snapped shells and munched nuts noisily.
"What's your secret, Esau?" Lane asked. "You always win at cards." Esau shrugged.
"He just lucky," Cobie answered.
"I don't know," Lane dropped a hollow shell into his empty bottle. "There has to be a secret—some kind of skill—for playing the cards right. If you know how, you can make your hand a winner."
"Nah, cards all about luck," Cobie insisted. "You git what you git. Life that way too. We live on Prairie Avenue. City come and wreck our building. That just bad luck. We come here. Soon the city wreck this place, too. More bad luck."
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