Sunset Park Read Online Free PDF

sure I knew he was disappointed.
    My refusal to fess up was more damning than coming up with a bogus excuse, but I wouldn’t give it all away. I’d screwed up, and it was done. No need to make myself look like a complete asshole in the process.
    “They stopped calling me in,” I said. “So it’s time to find something else. End of story.”
    The vein in Michael’s head looked dangerously close to exploding. Nunzio stood behind him, hands on Michael’s shoulders.
    “We just started working on his résumé,” David said. More lies. “That’s why I came over.” Damn, he was on a roll. “He’ll find something.”
    You had to love David’s yuppie optimism. He functioned on the belief that everything would work itself out in the end without factoring in the reality that it didn’t happen that way for everyone. If you’re white, chances are you’ll be all right, but if you’re like me… well, the deck wasn’t quite so stacked. Or it was stacked in the wrong direction.
    “Where is he looking?” Michael seemed to accept that I wasn’t going to participate fully in this inquisition, and he directed his questions to David. “I haven’t seen him go to any interviews.”
    “Because we’re working on his résumé today… like I already said.” All David needed was a duh to max the sass factor, but he just sat there looking prim and cute, daring anyone to argue. “He seems to think he has no transferrable skills, and I beg to differ. He was one of the best on the gang because he has good people skills—”
    Michael raised an eyebrow.
    “— and ,” David went on, unperturbed, “he was handling sensitive material, operating heavy machinery, organizing shipments, working under time constraints, providing flexibility….”
    “Wow, you’re good at bullshitting,” Nunzio said. “No wonder you got hired as grade-team leader.”
    “Shut up, Nunzio,” I said.
    He grinned at me again. I was starting to think he was picking on David just to see how frequently I would defend him. Either way, David’s transferrable skills fairy tale was simmering Michael down. He’d started nodding in agreement and was rubbing his chin, having fantasies about me getting some great job with those amazing credentials. I was sure that working at Subway or bagging groceries at Key Food was the only fairy tale in my future.
    “He could apply for some entry-level office jobs,” Michael said. “Some kind of clerk position, maybe? Or data entry—didn’t you do that too?”
    I shrugged. David nodded.
    “I’ll take you shopping,” Nunzio said, “for interview gear.”
    “And cut that fucking hair off.”
    David glared at Michael. “How dare you! I love his hair.” He ran his fingers through the damp strands for emphasis.
    I did nothing to stop him, and Michael gave me another of those suspicious stank-eyed glares. Nunzio just kept smiling his smarmy smile.
    “Well, this has been a real special journey into the world of make-believe,” I drawled. “But what has that got to do with you kicking me out of my house? I can cover rent somewhere for a couple of months with the rest of Mom’s money, but I’m getting the feeling you assholes want to make this happen before school starts again in September, which means I’ll have no time to find a place I can afford so you can be gay, happy, and in love. Half of my friends live with their girlfriends and the other half still live with their parents.”
    “I’ll help you find a place,” Nunzio repeated. “And I’ll cosign for you.”
    “And, um….” David picked up a napkin and fiddled with it.
    I nudged him. “Um, what?”
    He folded the napkin, smoothing the corners. “I was going to say that my lease is up, so….” He cleared his throat and said in a rush, “If you want to be roommates, that would be okay with me. I’ve been struggling to pay the rent for my overpriced apartment ever since my ex moved out. I mean, I can’t move in here because it’s so far, but