AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Then the doorbell rang. I went to the door, thinking it was another one of Hondo’s sloppy friends. But it wasn’t.
It was Brooks.
“Wha… what are you doing here?” I asked, stunned. How did she know where I lived?
She looked down at my cane. Studied it for so long, I thought I might liquefy into the shag carpet. Then her dark eyes found mine and she said, “That’s a supercool cane.”
“I have a…” My mind went into hyper-speed, riffling through all the words that could describe my leg but not define me: freak, bum, broken.
“I know all about you,” she said. Then she leaned closer and said, “I told you we’d talk later. It’s later now.”
4
I did the only thing I could think of.
I slammed the door in her face.
What can I say? She threw me off guard. I mean, who just shows up on your doorstep without warning? And what was I supposed to do, let her into Hondo’s beer, chip, and wrestling cave? No chance. My heart slammed against my chest and my head felt like it might float off my body.
Then came another knock. Okay, so she was persistent. I stepped back.
“Don’t just stand there!” Hondo barked. “Answer it!”
But before I could react, he was on his feet. The TV announcer screamed something about Demento going down. In response, Hondo’s friends hollered a few choice words I can’t repeat even to you gods.
If I could’ve pulled a Houdini disappearing act right then, believe me I would have, but Hondo was fast, and before I knew it, the door was wide open. Hondo blinked, staring at Brooks like he was as shocked as I was that a girl was standing on our doorstep.
“You selling something?” he asked her.
Brooks shook her head. “I’m here to see him.” She gave me a narrow-eyed glare.
Hondo socked me in the arm. “Where are your manners, Zane? Invite her in.” He held the door open until Brooks stepped inside. Then he went back to the match and I went back to melting into the carpet.
“Uh, we were just watching some TV,” I mumbled to her. “Do you like Cheetos?”
Brooks looked around. That’s when I noticed that when her eyes moved, the amber and yellow flecks in their irises did too, like bits of gemstone in a kaleidoscope.
She lowered her voice so only I could hear. “I need to talk to you…alone.”
One of the guys laughed and threw a chip at my head. “Didn’t tell us you have a girlfriend.”
I wanted lava to erupt from the volcano and swallow me whole.
And just when I thought things couldn’t get any worse, I heard the back door slam. Mom was home early. Which was never a good sign, especially when I’d gotten detention and Hondo had turned the living room into a wrestling arena.
The guys scrambled to turn off the TV and retrieve sofa pillows from the floor while Hondo swept crumbs and ashes off the table, as if that would make the place look neater.
I made a move to escape out the front door, but it was too late. Mom was already standing in the threshold of the kitchen with fists on her hips and a scowl on her face. Her eyes looked tired as she took it all in… until they reached Brooks, and then they lit up. “Zane,” she said as she came over to us, kicking an empty beer can out of the way. “Who’s your guest?”
“Uh… er… this is…”
Brooks introduced herself, holding out her hand like she’d gone to some fancy finishing school.
“So nice to meet you,” Mom said, tucking a stray hair behind her ear and flashing a smile that made you feel like nothing in the world could be broken. “I apologize that the house is a mess,” she said. “My broth
er is a caveman and has no manners.”
Hondo didn’t say a single word. He was waiting for Mom to erupt.
