68.
“Have you picked someone yet?” Mink asked.
“Huh?”
“Who are you going to conjure?”
I stared at the crowd of people at their tables. More than I’d expected. A lot more.
“Huh?” I repeated. I had to concentrate just to swallow. This was going to be harder than I thought.
Mink shook her head and went to the registration table to sign me up. She used my phony drivers license proving I was eighteen. I stood in the shadows so the woman looking at my ID and then at me wouldn’t question my appearance. She didn’t.
Mink came back with the paperwork and a song list. “You can choose from any of these songs. Which one do you like?”
“None.”
Mink frowned. “Stop being a baby. This is our best—and safest—shot at getting the money.”
“Karaoke?” I said. “That’s our best shot?”
“First prize is $500. Second is $300. Third is $100. You win first or second place and we can at least afford our plane tickets. We can figure out the rest when we’re in L.A.”
“Yeah, they probably have karaoke contests there every night. We’ll be rich.”
Mink ripped the song list from my hands and backed me up against the wall. “Look, Max, sorry this doesn’t involve you getting to act super cool by punching someone or outplaying them on some playground. But this isn’t about fulfilling your macho fantasies or paying back all the jocks that ever made fun of you. It’s about—”
“Jocks didn’t make fun of me. It’s just that I don’t sing. Not even in the shower.”
She looked surprised. “That’s crazy? Why not?”
“Because I suck! Okay? I mean, really suck. It’s embarrassing when even I can’t recognize the song I’m singing.”
She rolled her eyes. “Whatever. Anyway, it’s not about how you feel, it’s about getting money and getting you well. Wearing that cuff is keeping you physically healthy, but it’s obviously doing a number on your mind. You’re way more aggressive and you seem to want to take stupid risks. I’m not sure if you aren’t better taking the damn thing off.”