A Gathering of Crows Read Online Free PDF

waited for Marsha to reach him, and repeated the Pacino line under his breath.
    “Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in.”
    And that was when the dogs began to howl.
    ***
    “Yo, turn this shit up,” Sam said, reaching for the computer mouse. On the monitor, iTunes had just segued from Redman to Kanye West. The bass line thumped softly from two speakers and a subwoofer hooked into the back of the computer.
    “Leave it alone,” Randy warned, smacking his friend’s hand away. “My parents are still awake. We don’t need them coming up here. And besides, Kanye West is a bag of fuck.”
    “If you don’t like him,” Stephanie asked after sipping her beer, “then why is he on your iPod?”
    “Because I used to like him. I just don’t anymore. Dude be tripping all the time. Too much ego and not enough talent. And besides, his shit’s outdated.”
    “Well,” Stephanie persisted, “so are Redman and Ice-T, but you’ve got them on here. Hell, Ice-T was around when our parents were our age.”
    “Yeah, but that’s classic shit. There’s a difference between being a classic and just being outdated. Ice-T was an original gangster. Kanye ain’t all that. He’s a squirrel looking for a nut.”
    Randy turned his attention back to the video gamhe was playing with Sam. The two sat on the edge of his bed, controllers in hand, staring at the television. Stephanie sat in the chair in front of Randy’s desk. Her gaze went from the television to the boys to the computer, and then back to the television again.
    She sighed.
    “What’s wrong?” Randy asked her, his tone impatient.
    “I’m bored. I mean, I didn’t come over here to watch you two play video games all night.”
    Randy’s attention didn’t leave the television. “Then what the hell did you come over here for?”
    “To spend time with you guys, asshole.”
    “I reckon we are spending time together.”
    “No, we’re not. We’re just hanging out in your bedroom.”
    Her cell phone beeped. Stephanie picked it up and smiled.
    “It’s Linda. Hang on, let me text her back.”
    She grew quiet for a few moments as she typed, and Randy tried to focus on the game. Then Stephanie’s phone beeped again as Linda replied, and Stephanie squealed with laughter. Grunting, Randy dropped his game controller in frustration. On the screen, his character died a bloody death at the hands of Sam, who sat back and grinned.
    “Now look what you did,” Randy said to Stephanie. “You fucked with my concentration and I lost.”
    “It’s not my fault!”
    “Sure it is. You and Linda text like twenty-four/ seven. Ya’ll are lesbians or something.”
    “Asshole.”
    “Don’t you get sick of each other?”
    “Sounds to me like you’re jealous.”
    Ignoring her, Randy turned to Sam. “I’m done, yo. This game sucks, anyway.”
    “Come on, Steph.” Sam fished the controller out of Randy’s lap and held it up. “Why don’t you give it a try?”
    “Okay.”
    She hopped out of the chair and took a seat between them on the bed. Smiling, she accepted the controller from Sam, whose hairless cheeks suddenly flushed red. He glanced away from her, shifting back and forth nervously when she giggled. The bed springs squeaked.
    “Promise to be gentle?” Stephanie grinned. “I reckon so,” Sam murmured.
    Randy stood up and crossed the room. Like Sam, his ears and cheeks were red, too, but unlike Sam, it wasn’t from embarrassment. Sam was supposed to be his best friend. They’d known each other all their lives. They’d known Stephanie all their lives, too, and it wasn’t until this year, when it suddenly became apparent that Stephanie wasn’t just the little girl they’d always known anymore, that the relationship between the three of them had grown so complicated. Randy hated it when Stephanie tried to play him and Sam against each other. Worse, it bothered him even more that Sam was sucker enough to fall for it every time. Sometimes, she genuinely