Need a bag for that Gappy asked No thanks Malcolm untwisted the cap and pssst the root beer fizzed He flipped the cap over and I don’t believe it Underneath was a jagged red lightning bolt Gappy’s jaw dropped No fair Sure it is Dandy said We paid for it Malcolm pointed to the boy’s Quickie Mart bag of bottle caps Thanks for narrowing it down for us The boy humphed then went back to texting Malcolm and Dandy hurried out 9
The Great Zucchini Since there wasn’t an extra cup the boys plopped down on the sidewalk and took turns drinking out of the Bubbler’s bottle Malcolm twirled the bottle cap between his thumb and forefinger This is amazing he said How much root beer do you think we’ve drank in the last couple of weeks Dandy hitched his thumb back toward the Quickie Mart Not as much as Gappy back there 10
True There was probably a hundred caps in the bag But we don’t have to drink any more When we get home I’ll ask my mom to drive us to Games Aflame We can each get fifty dollars worth of games Dandy took a large swig of root beer then wiped his mouth with his T-shirt Then spend the rest of the summer playing them When the last drop of Bubbler’s was gulped Malcolm tossed the bottle into a recycling bin Let’s go They both dashed off Just as they got to the next corner Malcolm tripped on a crack in the sidewalk and went sprawling to the ground The bottle cap dropped out of his hand and rolled away 11
