Waterways Read Online Free PDF Page B

left the theater, laughing, “would be frightened of little chipmunks?”
    “They did have bright red eyes,” Kory reminded him.
    “And claws of… what was it?”
    “Diamondine,” Kory giggled. “The hardest substance in the universe.”
    “Still…” Samaki cocked his fingers into a gun and aimed at imaginary chipmunks on the sidewalk. “Pow! Pow! Pow! Problem solved.”
    Kory chuckled. “No kidding. Man. That was awful.”
    The fox stretched. “I don’t feel like going home yet. You have time to grab a shake? I know a great place.”
    Kory checked. “Yeah, as long as I get on the 10:15 bus I’m cool.”
    “Forty minutes? Plenty of time. Come on!” Samaki dragged him down the street into a small shopping center, walking fast along the sidewalk to a small shop with a red and white-striped awning. He held the door and bowed. “After you.”
    Cool air ruffled Kory’s fur. He swung his tail in to make sure it didn’t catch in the door and breathed in the rich, sweet fragrance. Samaki led him through the small round tables to the ice cream counter, where a young goat raised a hand to wave. “Hey, Sammy,” he said, looking over Kory’s shoulder.
    “Hi, Chuck,” Samaki said. “This is Kory. First time here.”
    “Great!” The goat smiled. “You on the swim team?”
    Kory shook his head. Samaki chuckled. “No, he can have the full milkshake.”
    “Usual for you?” the goat said, already starting to scoop some ice cream into a silver milkshake cup.
    “Yeah.” Samaki turned to Kory and grinned. “What flavor you want?”
    “What’s a ‘full milkshake’ mean?”
    “Oh, when I ran track they made me these frozen yogurt shakes. Almost as good and half the calories.” Samaki patted his stomach. “It’s hard to break the habit.”
    “ Almost as good.” The goat grinned at Kory. “You get the real thing.” He shoved the cup under the old-style milkshake machine, and the whirr of the mixer filled the room.
    When it subsided, he poured the shake into a cup and set it on the counter. “So, what flavor?” he asked Kory.
    “Just vanilla.”
    “Malt?” Kory hesitated. “If you’ve never had it, I recommend trying it,” the goat said.
    “Okay, sure.” He returned Samaki’s encouraging grin.
    “My treat,” the fox said when the goat slid Kory’s shake next to his.
    “I can get mine,” Kory said, but Samaki waved a paw.
    “I dragged you here, I insist. You take me to one of your favorite places and you can treat.”
    Kory had his wallet out, but the fox was handing a ten to the goat, saying, “Don’t take his money, Chuck,” and when the goat took the ten, Kory thought he saw a brief wink back at the fox.
    They sat down, slurping the first cold mouthfuls as they went. “Wow,” Kory said. “Nice.”
    “I haven’t had a malted in a while.” Samaki sucked another mouthful and then clutched his head dramatically. “Ow! Brain freeze.”
    “Don’t gulp it,” Kory said. “That’s what my mom says.”
    “I know, I know.”
    Kory didn’t know what made him do it, but he slid his shake across the table. “Want a taste?”
    Violet eyes regarded him under one raised eyebrow. “I thought you didn’t want to share your drink with me.”
    “Not when it was a Diet Coke. That stuffs nasty.”
    “All right,” Samaki said, and lifted his straw from his shake, tapped it reasonably dry, and opened the top of Kory’s shake to slide it inside. He took a gulp and lifted the straw out, closing his eyes. “Mmmm. That is heaven. Thanks.”
    He pushed the shake back across, and then said, “Want to try mine?”
    “Sure.” Kory took a taste in the same fashion. He let the frozen yogurt roll down his tongue, as sweet as the ice cream, but with an acrid flavor behind it. “You’re right,” he said.
    “About what?”
    “It’s almost as good.” Kory grinned.
    He felt relaxed and loose, sitting across from the black fox in the ice cream parlor. They talked about school and friends, and