Michael Malone - Weebly

Luke dragged over a chair, bumping it along the
floor. (Miss Lattice winced.) Ray Ransom was shooting
off as usual. "So I said, 'Who, me shoplift? You think I
need to steal a stupid tube of airplane glue from this
dump?' Then I charged a new amplifier to my mom;
man, that shut him right up. That jerk Barnum."
"That's right." The nerd nodded. "Then he walked
right out with a whole box of the glue right there under
his raincoat!"
"Oh, everybody does it," modestly admitted Ray.
No one had a comment. Ray Ransom was the only
local boy to board at Alexander Hamilton. The
academy had obliged Ernest Ransom, chairman of their
board of trustees, by making an exception for his son,
and for the same reason Walter Saar restrained himself
from expelling the young man who had absolutely
nothing to offer but looks, wealth, and a quick tongue.
It was enough to get by on, though not enough to get
Joy Strummer.
Luke poked Polly too hard in the arm. "Whatcha
reading, dope?"
"A book."