The Underdog Parade by Michael Mihaley

Author:Michael Mihaley
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: ebook, book
Publisher: Akashic Books
Published: 2018-11-12T16:00:00+00:00

Day Camp

Peter was fifteen minutes early to pick up CJ from camp. He’d taken the fastest route, Slocin Road straight into town, because he wanted to stop at the supermarket and buy a small bag of marshmallows for CJ—a peace offering. A short, chain-link fence enclosed the playground where all the campers were running around fueled on sugar cookies and fruit juice. Peter lingered outside of the fence. The elementary school already looked smaller to him. In a couple of weeks, he’d be bussing down the road to the middle school and seventh grade.

He scanned the playground’s climbing towers, slides, and swings for CJ. Kids ran together in clumps, changing direction on whim, and stopping only to laugh or shout over one another at the top of their lungs. He leaned over the fence, as though the extra inches would help. How hard could it be to find CJ? She would be the one wearing a sparkling outfit and gripping a lasso. He finally spotted her in the back corner of the playground, a fair distance away from the swarms of kids. She was standing alone, using a jump rope to tie a complex series of knots along the fence.

The image bothered Peter. He’d wanted to find her playing with the other kids, maybe even acting as a group leader. This was like staring at a reflection of himself in school. He hoped that CJ had chosen to stay on the perimeter, a decision she made on her own, because for some reason having the choice made a huge difference. At school, Peter felt relegated to outside the circles, as if this invisible and collective force from all the other kids pushed him to the back like a body fighting sickness. Once he found his customary place in the shadows, away from the moment, the world regained its balance.

Peter felt anger and envy as he watched the other children bounce around without a care or an unhappy thought in their heads. Then a boy shouted “Cricket!” from his knees in the tall grass along the fence, and the games of chase and hide-and-seek paused. There was a mad rush to circle the boy and get a closer look at the cricket. With cupped hands, the boy fought off aggressive grabbing as he shielded his body and elbowed his way through the crowd. The kids followed him, begging for a better look or a chance to hold the cricket. Peter watched with a curious detachment, until he saw the boy was making his way toward CJ. He stopped in front of her and opened his hands slightly for CJ to peek inside.

“Do you want it?” the boy asked CJ.

CJ looked away. “No,” she said, softly.

Several of the boys and girls shrieked from behind the boy, placing dibs on the cricket, but the boy kept his hands in front of CJ, giving her ample time to change her mind. When she didn’t, the boy barely glanced back before cocking his arm and throwing the cricket as far as he could over the playground’s fence.

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