Some of his friends were going to walk to the late night diner and get some food; he made an excuse and headed home instead.
He was moving fast now, more anxious than ever to investigate the prize on the curb. He reached the bend in the road just up from his neighbor’s house; he could see the trashcans ahead and paused in the darkness between street lights to look for signs of life. The street was empty, he could see the lights of houses, and TV’s turned on, numbing their viewers on a late summer evening. He caught movement on the new neighbor’s front porch. It was the girl.