Josh stared out the window of the white Lexus as
they wove through a confusion of cars and trucks. Exeter seemed
very small and far away.
"That one there, Josh. What's it got?"
"That's, um. Fifty-two wheels?"
"Not quite. Thirteen axles, but the front axle has only
two tires, so its twelve times four plus the two tires on the front.
Fifty. And it needs all fifty wheels because that band of metal on the
back weighs tons. And it's wound like a watch spring. One of
those suckers got loose out here once and killed seven people. It
just unwound and unwound, and its edge is like a knife blade.
Sliced those people into bits!"
"Don't you get lost, all these roads, how do you
know where to go?"
"I've been here for a while. It is confusing, but remember,
I drive from my office to the school a couple of times a day,
probably twenty times a week. I may look like a slow learner, but I've got
it figured out."
"No. I didn't mean you. I meant me. How would I
ever learn my way around? It's so big."
"It's about time we got you off the farm, boy. There's a
big world out here, and it's yours for the taking. If you're brave
enough to give it a try."
"I don't know. It's exciting. That plane ride was. . . . I
must sound like a hick to you. I'm sorry. It's just that it's all so new
and so. . . ."
"Big. I know. But I think you'll get used to it. Don't
judge us for a while. Just relax. Here's our exit." Mr. Maloney
swerved across two lanes of traffic and down a ramp. The area looked
more industrial. A lot of low buildings lined the streets. The car
stopped in front of one of them.
"Right through here, Josh." Mr. Maloney held open a
door that was in the middle of a large garage door. Behind it was a
huge open area and a confusion of cars.
"This is one of our classrooms. Everyone in the blue
coveralls is a student. There are about twenty in this class. The people
in white are the instructors. There are two of them here. That's
about our ratio, one instructor for every ten students."
"What are they doing?"
"These are cars that came off the Ford assembly lines
and didn't pass inspection. Something's wrong with them, and so
they send them to us. We fix them and send them back. Some of them
go out as new cars, some are discounted to brokers. Depends on
what we find, and how easy it is to fix. But it's a good deal for us.
Come over here."
Three students had their heads under the hood of a
blue Taurus wagon. The car was running, pumping exhaust into a
long hose that snaked across the floor. But it wasn't smooth.
Something made the engine sputter and clang.
"Well, what do you think?" One of the white suits stuck
his head under the hood.
"It's got to be something broken. That clanging is
coming from a cylinder. Maybe a rod?" A tall girl with a short `fro
seemed to be the group leader.
"What do you think of Kristen's diagnosis, Rodney?"
"Well, maybe. But that noise could telegraph from
anywhere."
"Right. Like it's a flat tire, and the noise shows up here?
I tell you, it's a loose rod. Or a spun rod." Kristen stood her ground.
"It's a bad spark plug." Josh had suddenly found
something that he knew about, the first thing since the plane had landed
in Detroit this morning.
"Who the hell are you? Stay out of this." The flash of
anger coming from Kristen pushed Josh back a step. "That's a spun
rod makin' that rappin' noise or I don't know jack."
"Now it's just an opinion, Kristen. How could we test
this out?" The instructor turned the focus back to the engine.
"Ned, kids, this is Josh Allenson." Maloney looked
surprised, as if he'd been caught off guard. "He may sign on with
us for next year. He's just looking around."
"I hope you like what you see of us." The instructor
looked at Josh. "What makes you think that the plug is bad?"
"I just worked on a car like this last week. Same
sound. And it was the number three plug gone bad. Of course, that was
a ninety-four. This could be a bad rod. I don't know much
about cars."
"Pull the plugs. Start with number three, Susie. Let's
see what we've got."
Josh watched as Susie put a socket on the spark plug.
But his left ear was burning and he had to turn his head. Kristen
was staring at him, and when she caught his glance, she began
mouthing words that Josh. . . . He couldn't make them out. He turned back
to the engine as Susie pulled the plug out and handed it to Rodney.
"Check that baby out, Rod. My money's on the new kid."
"Hey, he's the winner, `cause this plug don't even have
a gap to check. It is defectiveisimo. Hey, slap me five, man."
Rodney held up the spark plug so that everyone could see that it was
only half a plug, and held his hand out to Josh.
"That's good work, Josh. You picked that out fast, like
you know something about cars." Maloney was pleased.
"You come here, new boy, and I will make your life
hell. You hear me?" Kristen threw down her wrench and walked away.
"Don't worry about her, Josh." Rodney shrugged his
shoulders. She likes to be right. All the time. But she'll get over it.
And, oh, by the way. Another thing she likes is smart boys. So if
you hook up with us, then maybe you better worry about her."
Rodney laughed. And then he was so pleased with himself that he
laughed again.
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