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.They admired the older teenage boys who drove mustangs and brought girls who wore bikinis and hugged their boyfriends tightly in the water.Ezra and his friends imagined what it would be like to hold those slick, barely clothed bodies against their chests.During evenings and sometimes until well after dark they played heated football games on someone's lawn or street and soaked themselves with sweat and the magic of dusk in the summer.Ezra had been cutting the grass and trimming the weeds at Gord's trucking terminal for fifty dollars a week, so he had plenty of pocket money.On Thursday's the three of them went to a church on the highway that had a drive-in movie screen and showed Christian movies.Instead of watching the films they walked round and tried to talk to girls that Alex and Nick knew from other churches.The Bird Man eyed them suspiciously and thought them to be slipping away from the church's yoke and the fiery heart of Christ.TIMINGIt began with petty thefts.The three of them, Ezra, Nick Carraway and Alex were out in Alex's Chevette.There was a church service they were expected at that night that they decided they would not attend.Instead they would go to Adam Nayeve's house, where his parents would allow them to drink and watch dirty movies on their satellite dish.Only Alex and Adam had any real experience with intoxication.Ezra had been permitted wine by his aunts since he had been a young boy, and because alcohol had never been forbidden, it did not hold the same allure for him that it did for most adolescent boys, so he never drank to the point of drunkenness.The problem the boys faced was that, even if they combined their resources, they had very little money.Adam's father would no doubt have bottles of Serbian plum brandy in the basement, but none of the boys, except Adam, had the fortitude to ingest anything with that kind of bite.Instead, they decided to steal something from the liquor store.The plan was for Alex DaLivre and Nick Carraway to go in first.They would wait for an adult who was going in alone.It would have to be someone old enough to play the part of their mother or father.They would follow this so-called parental figure at such a distance that it would appear to the store clerk that they were together.At the same time Alex and Nick would follow this person at a distance, and of course in a manner that would not make him uncomfortable enough to notice.Adam and Ezra would follow them into the store a couple of minutes later.They would walk in, trying to appear as if they belonged there, immediately select something from the shelf, and try to purchase it.Alex said it was best for Adam to try to do this because he was the only one who looked nineteen.They would ask Adam for I.D., he would say he didn't have any, and when he was refused service he would make a fuss, as if it were ridiculous that he had even been asked for proof of age.The commotion would distract the clerk and then Alex and Nick would have a chance to make their move."The key is to act like you're really upset," Alex, who had come up with the whole plan, instructed Adam."Why?""Think about it.If someone refuses you and you act like they've caught you and give up, you're letting them know that they were right in the first place.Sometimes the people in these places decide whether or not to serve you just by your reaction to them saying no to you.""My reaction?""Yeah, your reaction Adam.If you get upset, they'll think you're upset for a good reason.They'll think you're upset because you're telling the truth."Adam thought hard for a moment, trying to grasp what he had been told.Frustrated with the effort, he tensed up and ran his hand through his hair."I don't get it."Ezra and Nick Carraway laughed out loud in the cramped back seat.Alex looked at Adam in astonishment and then laughed too."Adam, when they say no to you, just act like you're more upset than you actually are," Alex said matter-of-factly."Don't worry about the reason why.Just trust me.""Alright," Nayeve said, still a little unsure.The four friends waited outside in Alex's car and watched for the right customer.They had decided that it would be better to follow a man inside—men were less suspicious.But for ten minutes only women entered the store.Finally, a man on an old Cheetah motorcycle pulled onto the sidewalk beside the front doors.He had long curly hair, a pointed beard, and was old enough to be their father.With the nimbleness of a much younger man he hopped off the motorcycle and then took a moment to wipe some dust off the Cheetah that was painted on the gas tank.From out of one of the saddlebags he pulled a collapsible cane and snapped it straight.Something about it was familiar, and Ezra leaned closer to the window to get a better look.The handle of the cane was carved into the shape of a pinecone.Right away the image of Olyvia stirring the must with her long staff flashed through his mind.He had grown up seeing her use it religiously at every vintage, and the pinecone on the end of her straff, and the one on the end of the bearded man's cane, were identical."There's our man," Alex said quickly opening the driver's side door.The man turned his back to them to walk through the door.There was writing on the back of his leather jacket."Eriphos?" Ezra said out loud."What is that, a gang or something?""Who cares?" Alex said.Then his face relaxed and he looked calmly at Ezra."Back us up, okay?""Okay."Alex and Nick Carraway got out of the car and followed the man inside.Ezra and Adam got out a minute later, as had been planned, to go inside after them.As they approached the door, an old woman carrying a mesh shopping bag stopped to adjust the things she was carrying.Ezra and Adam waited for her to get out of the way, but the bottom of her bag ripped open and a glass bottle of spring water smashed all over the sidewalk."Jesus Christ!" the old woman yelled, "Jesus Christ!" She bent over and picked up her things as the two of them waited, hoping it was not too late.Finally she moved on, leaving the broken glass all over the sidewalk.They stepped over the pieces into the liquor store.Alex eyed them impatiently while he and Nick hovered behind the man with the beard.Without pausing to see what he was taking, Ezra snatched a bottle of liquor off the nearest shelf and handed it to Adam.They walked up to the cashier, and Adam boldly placed the bottle onto the counter.The cashier looked up from her register."Will this be all?""Yeah, that's it," Adam answered."Can I see some ID please?""Sorry?" he asked, as if he hadn't understood her."Identification.Do you have it?"Adam ran his hands over his pockets as if he were looking for his wallet."Sorry, I must have left it at home."She looked at him as if he were boring her."Then I'm not going to be able to serve you, sir.""You're joking, right?" Adam raised his voice a little.Ezra's stomach turned anxiously and he felt his pores open in a nervous sweat.Adam's voice trailed off as he looked toward Alex and Nick.The man they had followed inside the store was looking directly at him.The chosen father figure was smiling at him.He was on to them and seemed amused at what they were up to.Ezra saw Alex make a quick movement behind the stranger's back
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