Elsewhere, California

Author:Dana Johnson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Counterpoint Press
Published: 2012-05-21T16:00:00+00:00

ALL HE HAS when he comes is one bag of clothes and a skateboard. Him and Dad come through the front door and Keith’s face looks totally bummed, like he had to drive the whole hour and a half from Victorville listening to a lecture, which he did, I’m sure. Keith’s standing there looking like he’d kill to have something to do. Dad takes off his cap and goes into the living room to watch TV, so that’s out. What else are we supposed to do? I don’t even know what to do with him.

I point at the skateboard. Since when?

He pulls it away from his body to look at it. John gave me this. He just got a new one.

Oh.

I look at him and he looks at me.

Where you going to put that thing?

He shrugs. You can put it in my room, I say. There’s nothing in there anyway. We go to my room and stand around after we put the skateboard against the wall. Now what?

There are two games on my floor. Connect Four that Brenna brought over and Monopoly. I hate Monopoly because I have to count money and think about money, and I can never count up fast enough and I just hate dealing with it. I swear, everybody I’ve ever played with gets all crazy too. Mean and stingy and have to own like every single property. And Keith. Oh my God. He used to be the worst.

I sit on the floor and pull the game over to me. Then I put a cassette tape in. Keith watches me. What’s that? he says. Please don’t let it be no Sound of Music.

Shut up. It’s The Who. Keith likes them, I can tell by the way he nods his head. His mouth is moving to the words.

I take the lid off the Connect Four box. It’s been taped around the corners a hundred times. Want to play Connect Four?

I guess, Keith says. He’s still standing.

Sit down doofus. Why are you still standing around like you’re going to go to jail or something? He’s acting so weird.

You start, I say. He puts a black checker in. I put a red. He puts another one. I do mine. He puts his in and wins.

Anh! Lucky break dude, I tell him, let’s do it again. Let me go first this time.

I don’t care, Keith tells me. He looks around my room. What’s up with them Raggedy Ann curtains?

Quit bagging on my curtains, I say. They’re like four years old.

Damn, he says. He shakes his head.

Shut up. Let me concentrate. My legs are stuck out in front of me in a V, so I kick him. I think about where to start. If you start right, you can win. I start with red this time. Keith goes. I go again. You lose, he tells me, and drops his last checker in.

One more game, I say.

Okay, but this is really boring Ave.

Shut up, I say. Start.

He starts and then he wins. We play four more games and I can’t beat him.

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