Page 45 of 10 Things I Hate About Zombies

‘You really don’t think I can fix this by myself, do you?’ Zoey folded her arms, scowling. Tow truck indeed! When it came to car-related things she was quite competent. In college she’d replaced the light bulbs on her ancient Toyota Corolla, guided only by a YouTube video! When she’d moved to Portland she’d pumped her own gas, to the chagrin of the attendant, who’d still demanded a tip. She’d even changed a tyre on the 405N on-ramp – a truly high-stakes situation.

She relayed all this to Nick, who seemed quite impressed.

‘It’s not that I don’t believe in you. I’m absolutely certain that with the power of YouTube behind you, you could change a timing belt or put a racing kit on your car. Assuming you can get signal out here. It’s just that some things are a job for a tow truck.’

‘Not this job,’ said Zoey.

Nick sighed. ‘All right. So, we need to get some traction happening. Let’s see if we can find something to pop under the wheels.’

Hopping down from the truck – it was a bit squelchy out here, truth be told – Zoey hunted about the field for anything sturdy enough to go under the truck’s back wheels. She wished she’d worn a cheaper pair of thrifted boots. She liked these, and now they were going to sport mud stains.

Ugh. Well, this was her fault.

‘What about this?’ she suggested, dragging a large, mossy branch out from a muddy divot heavily populated by ferns and worms.

‘Sure, we can give it a shot.’

Did he sound amused?

Nick helped her haul the branch over to the truck then jam it under the wheels.

Zoey jumped back into the truck, cringing at the globs of mud attached to her shoes. She’d have to pay for a wash and detail at that bikini carwash place with the neon elephant down by SE Grand. She revved the engine again, grumbling as the wheels spun without purchase.

‘All right, all right.’ She drummed the wheel. ‘Maybe you’re right. But … can we even get a tow truck this time of night?’

‘Sure, if you’re willing to pay.’ Nick scrolled through his phone, dialling the number of Tow Truck Guy.

‘You’ve done this before, I see,’ said Zoey. This made her feel a tad better.

‘Uh-huh. That’s how I knew you could get bogged on your own property. And also locked out of your own truck, although that one you can remedy with a coat hanger and some patience.’

The tow-truck guy picked up, and he and Nick had a quick back and forth.

‘He’ll be here in half an hour,’ said Nick. ‘And for five hundred bucks.’

‘Five hundred bucks?’ Zoey just about passed out. She nibbled her nails, which Ainsley had carefully painted during a recent John Hughes movie marathon night. The temporary tattoo on her wrist was all but gone, she saw. ‘Wow, and all this time I thought I was a cheap date. I promise I pay my own way.’

Nick shrugged. ‘Everything’s a learning experience. Although …’

Zoey cringed. ‘Don’t say it.’

Nick grinned. ‘Any other guy right now would say I told you so.’

A five-hundred-dollar tow-truck call-out. There was another one to add to the list of things she hated.

12

Nick

Nick sat with Zoey on the hood of the truck, waiting for the tow- truck guy to show up, but mostly waiting for the look on Zoey’s face when he did so in a tiny truck not much bigger than Nick’s. Nick had been through this before: he’d cheerfully got himself bogged, then paid the exorbitant fee for the diminutive tow truck to pull him back out.

Tow Truck Guy, a thin guy whose gums were stained from chewing tobacco, lived approximately a five-minute drive away – Nick could see his property from his own hill. Tow Truck Guy did have a large tow truck with the traditional massive cross-like winch. But he also had a teeny-tiny two-door Jeep-type vehicle bearing an anchor-type thing that was used for de-bogging people in their own backyards. (This was a lucrative pastime in this neck of the woods, especially during the wet months, which was most of them.)

‘Where is he?’ muttered Nick. ‘He’s usually pretty timely.’

‘Usually?’ Zoey turned those sharp hazel eyes on him. ‘Just how many times have you called the tow-truck guy?’

Busted. ‘This would be the third.’