Ms. Walters does give us a reading quiz in English, but it doesn’t feel mean. She actually tells us we can select one short answer question to count as a bonus, so if it’s wrong, it won’t count against us, and once the quiz is done, she lets us have free time.
“Have a wonderful break!” she says as the bell rings to dismiss us. “See you next year!”
Jack doesn’t linger in her room today. A quick, excited smile at me and then he has his bag and is zooming into the hall, to Seth’s locker.
I hustle after him, lips tugging up.
Friendmas time is here.
Seth blasts Christmas music all the way to Fred’s house. Jack and I have never been inside Fred’s house. It’s roomy and inviting-looking from the outside, with pretty stonework around the base. “My parents are both at work, but my grandma’s home,” Fred says. “Helen will probably be home in a bit.”
“How come you never drive your sister?” Jack asks.
“I’m always with you hooligans,” Fred says, ruffling Jack’s hair as he walks by and opens his front door. “And Helen has different extracurriculars than I do. Different schedule.”
I rarely see Helen, despite the fact that she’s in my grade. We don’t have any classes together other than gym. “Makes sense.”
Fred chuckles. “She likes riding with her friends, anyway. Thinks that’s cooler than letting her brother drive her, until she gets her license.”
“Oh, any updates on that, Elliot?” Seth asks.
I haven’t taken the permit test yet. “Mrs. Benson said she can teach me with Jack in the spring.”
“God help her,” Seth mutters.
“What about you?” Jack retorts. “You don’t drive.”
Seth pulls his wallet out and flashes his license. “I drive, Padawan. I just need to finish saving up for a car.”
Jack crosses his arms as Seth puts away his wallet.
We greet Fred’s grandma where she sits in the living room, watching a black and white TV show, stop by his kitchen to grab snacks to tide us over until Seth keeps his promise to buy pizza, and head upstairs to Fred’s room.
I decide I like his room immediately. It’s spacious, not huge but definitely not cramped.
Fred’s twin bed is pressed against one beige wall, and a futon is next to it. A large TV is mounted on the wall opposite the futon, a dresser beneath it with a DVD player and—a record player?
A storage cube next to the dresser confirms it, filled with record albums.
“This is awesome,” I say, spinning. Framed pictures are hung neatly on the walls with the bed and futon. The remaining wall in the room has a tall bookcase against it, shelves lined with titles. I sit on the edge of the futon.
“Looks like the futon’s Eli’s spot now, Seth,” Fred says.
Seth scoffs. “What?”
“First come, first serve.”
“I was served years ago.”
Fred crosses his arms. “New seating arrangement since it’s their first time.”
“In that case . . .”
Seth bolts toward Fred’s bed. Fred moves to block him, and they scuffle, punching at each other. Jack sits beside me, and I lean back to watch.
“You gonna give him back his spot?” Jack asks.
“I was. Then I leaned back and found out how comfortable it is.” I watch Fred and Seth for a few more seconds and clap my hands sharply. “Hey, aren’t we supposed to be doing Friendmas right now?”
