yet,” Doug chuckles silently under his breath as they walk into the house.
Chapter 2
Part 1
The rays from the morning sun pierced through the window. The clock on the nightstand sounded its alarm. A hand reached out from beneath the blanket to search out and silence the instrument responsible for disturbing his slumber, but he soon realized that the effort was in vain, for the misty clouds of sleep were now gone.
Charles folded down the blanket to expose his eyes to the morning sunlight. Cupping his hands behind his head, he continued to rest on the soft pillow. It was Friday morning, but not just any morning to him. This had been the day he had waited for in great anticipation—the day that his father, Charles Gill Sr.—would leave on a three-week business trip to Japan. Except for the maid, he would have the house to himself. Charles smiled as he thought about his father’s car. With dad gone, now I’ll finally have the ability to go wherever and whenever I want, he thought to himself. Doug was right. This is the boring city of Atherton. Nothing ever happens here.
His mind flashed back to the previous conversation between him and his friend, Doug. He began to laugh as he tried to imagine old Shirley Temple in a fisticuff over a crumpet at one of her little social gatherings. It had been a week since the Cassandra/Kenneth episode in East Palo Alto; and as far as he was concerned, he never wanted to see Cassandra ever again.
Now it was a matter of deciding what strategy to use to try and get the keys to his father’s Ferrari. Dad is no simpleton, he thought. He would definitely spot one of my schemes coming from a mile away.
Just at that moment, he heard three long beeps from a horn of a car. Looking out from his bedroom window, he could see a black limousine parked in front of the house, and he knew that it had come to take his father to the airport.
“That’s it!” He exclaimed. “The old rush-him-out-the-door-before-he-knows-what’s-going-on technique. I’ll run downstairs and rush my father into the limo. Just before I close the limo door, I’ll slightly mention that I’ll be using the car to go to school. I won’t mention the Ferrari directly, so he won’t know which of the three cars I am talking about and will not say no. When he comes back from his trip and finds out that I have been driving the Ferrari every day without putting one scratch on it, then maybe he will start trusting me to drive it more often.”
Charles jumped out of bed and hurried to put on his clothes, eager to put his plan into action.
Part 2
Hearing the last sound of the horn from the limousine, Maria Lopez, who had been a maid for the Gill family for the past three years, placed her employer’s last suitcase on the foyer.
“Señor Gill,” she said loudly, “your car has arrived.” She reached to open the door for the limousine driver.
Charles Gill Sr., a six-foot-tall athletically built black man, stepped onto the foyer, wearing an expensive tailored suit, which had been custom-made for him by an Italian designer from Milan. “Maria,” he asked, “have you seen my son?”
“Here I am, Dad,” Charles Jr. shouted as he jumped from the staircase down to the foyer. “The limo’s here. I heard the horn, Dad. I know that you have to leave.” Charles Jr. reached down and grabbed a suitcase with one hand and his father’s arm with the other hand. He attempted to rush them both out of the house as fast as he could.
To his surprise and disappointment his father would not budge. He refused to allow himself to be coerced out the door.
“Look, son,” said Charles Sr., “I am not in a hurry, and I am not running late. So you can forget this attempt of yours to try and rush me out of this house. I am going to be out of the country for at least three weeks. You might as well slow down because I’m going to set a few rules to make sure that you understand what I expect from you while I’m gone.
“First of all, I want it perfectly understood that Maria is in charge while I’m gone.”
“The maid?” Charles asked, the surprise evident in his voice.
“That’s right,” responded his father. “Maria is fully capable of taking care of things while I’m gone.”
“But, Dad, I’m old enough to take care of myself,” Charles protested. “It’s not like it’s the first time that you’ve gone out of town before.”
“It’s different this time, son,” replied Charles Senior. “I am not just going on an overnight business trip. I will be out of the country for at least three weeks. There is no way that I am going to leave a sixteen-year-old kid here to fend for himself without adult supervision.
“Besides, I’m really giving you the benefit of the doubt by trusting you to be here under Maria’s supervision alone. I could call your mother and have you stay with her while I am gone.”
“No!” The words blurted out of Charles’s mouth. “No, Dad, that won’t be necessary. I love Mom, but, whew, she’s too strict.”
“Well, see that you don’t make me regret that decision,” said his father.”
“I won’t dad,” he said. “Oh, Dad, what about—”
“Money?” replied Charles Sr. “I have arranged for my bank to transfer three hundred dollars into your savings account every Friday until I return. That should cover any recreational needs that may come up.
“Secondly, I don’t want you in my room going through any of my drawers trying to find and use my credit cards. I paid off the balance on your student Visa card. You should have approximately five hundred dollars available on it.”
“Thanks, Dad!”
“Not so fast, son. The Visa card is only to be used in the case of an emergency. Is that understood?”
“Yeah, I get you, Dad,” Charles said, “but what do you constitute as an emergency?”
“Nothing that involves you purchasing any ridiculous electronic equipment,” replied Charles Senior. “And last but not least, under no circumstances are you to drive nor touch my Ferrari.”
“But, Dad!” Charles said pleadingly. “What am I supposed to drive?”
“The Ford.”
“That old thing?” responded Charles. “I’ll look like an old man driving that old car. Why can’t you trust me enough to let me drive the Ferrari?”
“Because not only are you sixteen years old, you are a new driver as well,” said Charles Sr. “Adding you onto the Ford’s insurance policy was the only way that I could keep my insurance premium down to an acceptable rate.”
“But I won’t be able to pick up any girls in that old car.”
“My heart goes out to you, son, but it’s either the Ford or the bus,” he said sternly. “I’d advise you to decide quickly before I make the decision for you.”
“I guess I have no choice,” Charles said reluctantly. “I’ll have to drive the Ford.”
“One more thing, son. I don’t want you hanging around East Palo
