Back when Matty and I were trying to get rid of that fake RAFE K page of Zeke and Kenny’s, I told him my password. It didn’t seem like a big deal when I did it. I figured if there was one person at school I could trust, it was Matty.
And that might have been the biggest mistake I made all year.
“Okay, Rafe, let’s see what you have for us,” Mr. Crawley said when my turn came up. “What’s the name of your piece?”
“Kid in Wall,” I said. (What can I say? Titles just aren’t my thing.)
Mr. Crawley punched a couple of keys on his laptop and pulled up my file. But instead of Kid in Wall, this is what came on the screen instead:
The whole computer lab went totally quiet. Nobody laughed. Nobody whispered. I don’t even think anyone breathed.
At least, not for the first ten seconds or so.
After that, I couldn’t tell you, because I’d already walked out of the room.
I’M OUT OF HERE
The next thing that happened was something I’d thought about a million times in sixth grade but never actually did. I walked right out the front door of the school in the middle of the day and just kept walking.
I didn’t care if I got in trouble. I didn’t care if I got kicked out of Cathedral. I didn’t care about any of it anymore. I just wanted one thing.
O-U-T.
“Where are we headed?” Leo asked.
“Home,” I said.
“It’s going to be suspicious if you show up too early,” he said.
“Well, duh,” I said.
Besides, I didn’t mean Killarney Avenue.
I walked past my usual stop for the number 23 bus and kept going. Then I passed another bus stop, and another, and another. Nobody even looked twice at me, even though I was supposed to be in school. I guess that’s one of the good things about living in a city.
It felt good to walk too. It gave me time to think—and to figure out exactly what my plan was going to be.
By the time I finally got all the way to Grandma’s house, it was right around my usual time for getting back from school. That was good. I didn’t want to draw too much attention to myself, in case I got stuck here for a little while.
Because as far as I was concerned, I was just passing through.
JUST PASSING THROUGH
Hey, kiddo,” Grandma said when I came in. “How was your day?”
“Um… unbelievable?” I said.
“That’s nice.”
“Is Mom around?” I asked. I hadn’t seen her car out on the street.
“She went for another job interview,” Grandma said. “But she’ll be back.”
Mom had been to so many interviews, it didn’t really seem like it meant anything anymore. Nobody ever ended up giving her a job.
But it was going to make my next move easier.
As soon as Grandma went into the kitchen, I ran upstairs to Mom and Georgia’s room. Georgia was on her bed, talking on the phone when I came in.
“Get out,” I said.
“You get out,” she said. “It’s my roo—”
I figured Georgia would run straight downstairs and cry to Grandma that I’d yelled at her. Or maybe stop along the way to mess with my stuff somehow. But I didn’t care about any of that. I just needed to keep moving.
As soon as Georgia was gone, I opened Mom’s top dresser drawer and took out this little seashell-covered box she had in there. That’s where she kept her “just in case” money. When I checked, there were three twenty-dollar bills folded up in a big paper clip.
I took two of the twenties and put one of them back in the clip, with a note.
The one other thing I took was Mom’s key for the big storage locker in Hills Village where we still had a lot of our stuff—like my sleeping bag and some extra clothes.
Once that was done, I snuck halfway down the stairs and listened for Georgia’s whining in the kitchen. I couldn’t hear anything, but the coast seemed clear, so I kept going.
Then as soon as I got my hand on the front doorknob—
“What are you doing?”
I turned around and Georgia was right there, looking at me over the top of Grandma’s big recliner. Seriously, she should get a job spying for the CIA. Like, in Mongolia would be nice.
“Nothing,” I said. “But… tell Mom I’ll call her later.”
“Rafe?”
Georgia looked like she could tell something was up, and didn’t want me to go.
“Sorry I yelled at you before,” I told her. Then I opened the door and left before she could say anything else.
As soon as I hit the sidewalk, I started walking fast, back up Killarney Avenue the way I’d come just a few minutes before.
“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Leo said.
“No,” I said. “But I’m going anyway. You coming?”
“Well, duh.”
ON THE ROAD AGAIN
HEY, IF YOU HAD TO RIDE A HOT AND SMELLY BUS ALL THE WAY BACK TO HILLS VILLAGE, YOU’D START MAKING STUFF UP TOO
You okay, honey?” the lady next to me asked. “You seem like you’re a million miles away.”
“I’m okay,” I said.
We were about halfway to Hills Village by now. It was too hot on the bus, and I was getting kind of sleepy.
“What’s your name, sugar?” she said.
“Um… Leo,” I told her.
“That’s a nice name. Where are you headed, anyway?”
“I’m going to see my friend Matty,” I said. “He’s in the hospital with this terrible flesh-eating disease.”
The lady looked at me like she didn’t know whether to believe me or not.
“He still owes me five dollars,” I said. “So I need to get there before—well, you know. Before it’s too late.”
Now she was looking like maybe it was time for her to change seats.
“Just kidding,” I said.
“Listen, Leo… aren’t you a little young to be riding alone?” the lady asked me. She started reaching into her purse. “Is there someone I can call for you?”
“No, it’s okay,” I told her right away. “The truth is, I was just visiting my grandma in the city. My mom’s going to pick me up at the bus station.”
I looked her in the eye this time, but not too much—just right. Anyway, I think she bought it. She didn’t ask any more questions, and the rest of the ride to Hills Village was quiet.
So I guess Matty the Freak taught me a thing or two after all.
Like how to lie.
I’M BAAAAAACK!
It was REEEALLY weird getting off the bus in the middle of Hills Village.
There was the Duper Market, where Mom used to shop. There was the parking meter where I broke my tooth when I was ten. There was… some kid whose name I couldn’t remember.
I felt like that Scrooge guy, who goes back to where he used to live and looks around without anyone knowing he’s there.
“Hey, I’m the invisible one,” Leo said. “If I were you, I wouldn’t stick around downtown too long.”
He was right about that. Hills Village isn’t very big, and it was only a matter of time before I saw someone I didn’t want to see.
I’d spent twenty-nine dollars on my bus ticket, so that left eleven in my pocket. I used part of it for a bag of flaming barbeque chips and a can of Zoom at the FastMart by the bus station. Then I started walking again.
It was only about a mile to Jeanne Galletta’s house, but by the time I got there, it was already dark.
(Yeah, that’s right. Jeanne Galletta’s house. Hey, I never said it was a good plan. It was just a plan.)
For a minute I thought about waiting until morning. But then I thought about everything I’d done to get there.
I wasn’t going to stop now, just because it was night. So I walked right up the Gallettas’ front walk and rang the bell.
Before anyone answered, one of the curtains in the front window was pulled back, and there was Jeanne. She looked like she couldn’t b
elieve what she was seeing.
Then the front door opened, and Mr. Galletta was standing right in front of me.
“Can I help you?” he said.
“Hi,” I said. “Is Jeanne home?”
“Do you know what time it is, young man?” Mr. Galletta said.
I guess I could have been nervous. In fact, I probably should have been nervous. But you know when you see those people playing poker on TV, and they push all their chips into the middle of the table?
That was me right now. I was all in.
“Rafe?” Jeanne said. All of a sudden, she was there behind her dad. “Are you okay?”
“Hey, Jeanne,” I said.
“Jeanne, what’s going on here?” her dad asked.
“I don’t know,” she said. “What’s going on, Rafe?”
“Not too much,” I said. “I just wanted to come over and tell you… thanks for being so nice to me last year.”
Now both of them were looking at me the same way that lady on the bus had—like I was definitely crazy, and maybe dangerous.
But I didn’t care. I’d done what I came to do. At least I could say I finished something that year.
“Anyway, that’s about it. I’ll see you later, Jeanne,” I said, and stepped off their porch.
Mr. Galletta was looking around the street now. “Are you alone?” he said.
“Yeah,” I said. “I mean—not for long. My mom’s just picking up some milk at the Duper Market. I’m supposed to meet her over there on the corner in a minute.”
I could tell Jeanne didn’t believe me, but before she could say anything, her dad was closing the door.
“Okay, then,” he said. “Have a good night, Rafe. And not so late next time, okay?”
“Sure thing,” I said, and started walking away.
I waited until I heard the Gallettas’ door close before I looked back. When I did, Jeanne was at the window again, watching me. For some reason, that made me feel really good. I waved good-bye and then looked away quickly, before she could do it first.
But I didn’t get very far. I was still on Jeanne’s street when I heard Mr. Galletta again.
“Rafe?” he said.
I turned around, and he was coming after me. For a second I thought about running.
“Why don’t you come back inside?” Mr. Galletta asked.
It wasn’t really a question, though. And, besides, I just didn’t feel like running anymore.
SLEEPOVER
Once I was inside the Gallettas’ house, they made me call Mom and let her know I was okay. She was pretty upset, but she didn’t yell at me—not then, anyway.
Then Mrs. Galletta got on the phone and said a bunch of times that I “seemed fine” and that it was totally okay with them if I stayed there. After that, Mom said she was going to come get me first thing in the morning.
Let me tell you something: Of all the things I never, ever expected to happen in my life, I’d say that a sleepover at Jeanne Galletta’s house was somewhere near the top of the list. Staying in their guest room that night was just about the weirdest possible ending to a really weird day.
Not that I slept much. Mostly, I just lay there and thought about Mom, and how stupid I was for doing this. Also, how glad I was that I didn’t have to camp out in a dark, cold storage locker that night. (Seriously—what was I thinking?)
And when Mom said she was coming first thing in the morning, she meant it. By six o’clock, Mrs. Galletta was waking me up and asking Mom if we wanted breakfast before we left.
“We’ll go out and get something,” Mom told her. “I think we need to talk.”
I was pretty sure that meant she needed to kill me in private, but I couldn’t exactly say so. I just thanked Mrs. Galletta (Jeanne was still asleep) and walked out to the car.
As soon as we were alone, I started talking.
“Mom, I—”
But that was as far as I got. Mom leaned right across the seat and gave me this big, Grandma-size bear hug. She held on for a long time too.
“I’m sorry, Mom,” I tried again. It didn’t sound like much, since my face was mashed up against her coat, but I think she got it.
“Rafe, I’m the one who’s sorry,” she said. “Mr. Crawley told me what happened at school yesterday, and I’m so, so sorry about that.”
“You’re not mad about me taking that money? And the bus?” I said.
Mom finally unhugged me and sat back. “Yes, of course I am,” she said. “But there’s something I need to tell you, Rafe. Something I should have already told you. What happened yesterday in your class only confirmed that for me.”
“Mom, what are you talking about?” I said. There was something super serious going on, or I would have been in much bigger trouble by now.
Why wasn’t she acting mad?
“I’m talking about your dad, sweetheart,” she said. “I want to show you something.”
TRUTH
Did you already figure out we were going to a cemetery? Yeah, that’s where my mom took me next.
And I can’t say I was 100 percent surprised either. I just didn’t know how much I already suspected until we were pulling up to the gate and I saw where we were.
Mom reached over and put her hand on top of mine. Not holding it, just more like covering it.
“Your dad was a soldier,” she said. “He enlisted in the army when you were seven and Georgia was five. Then he went to war.”
Mom looked at me, and her eyes were wet. I think maybe mine were too.
She took a box out of the backseat and showed me a picture of Dad in his uniform, and a medal that I guess he got while he was overseas.
“Why didn’t you say anything before?” I asked Mom. I didn’t understand any of this yet.
“I’m sorry, Rafe,” she said. “It’s complicated for me. Your dad was a hero to his country, in the end. But he wasn’t always a hero to our family. Not when he left us. It’s been hard finding the right way to talk to you about this. But I absolutely should have.”
I looked at that picture, and that medal, for a long time. Then I looked outside the car and around the cemetery.
“Where is he?” I said.
My mom pointed over toward some trees. “Over there, Rafe. Do you want to go and see?”
I took a really deep breath.
“Yeah,” I said.
And that’s what we did.
My mom took my hand, and we walked over to see my dad.
TIME OUT
Okay, time out again.
I don’t really know what to say about all this. I can’t blame Mom for not telling me this stuff sooner. She was the one who’d been around all my life, not him.
It was sad and really strange finding out that my dad had died as a soldier, but at the same time, it didn’t change much. Like I said before, I was used to everything the way it was.
In a way, the only thing that really changed was how I thought about my dad. Until then he was someone who’d run away and never come back.
But now he was a hero too.
I’m not saying that I wasn’t sad about it and maybe a little confused. I’m just saying that I’m okay.
Okay?
So that’s pretty much it. And just in case you’re starting to think this book is going to have the world’s saddest ending, let me tell you about everything that happened next.
It’s actually pretty cool.
TALL STACK
After we left the cemetery, Mom asked if I wanted to go get something to eat or if I just wanted to go home.
I know that in movies and stuff, people are always losing their appetites when something sad happens. But to tell you the truth, I was starving.
“Let’s eat out,” I said.
As we were driving back into town, we went by the place where Swifty’s Diner used to be—and something amazing had happened.
Swifty’s was back!
So of course, that’s where we stopped and got breakfast. I ordered a tall stack with
bacon and sausage, and Mom got a piece of Swifty’s apple pie with a cup of coffee and orange juice.
When Swifty saw us, he came right out of the kitchen. I’d never seen him and Mom hug before, but they did then.
“Well, well, look who it is,” Swifty said. “I thought you’d left town.”
Mom looked over at me and smiled. “We’re just back for a little visit,” she said.
“That’s too bad,” he said.
“Too bad?” Mom said.
“I could really use you around here,” Swifty said. “Look—I even managed to save one of your paintings from the fire.”
Sure enough, there it was on the wall behind the counter.
“Anyway,” Swifty said, “you ever decide to move back to Hills Village, you let me know, Jules.”
When he was gone, Mom sat back down in the booth across from me, and we were both looking at each other in this funny kind of way.
“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” Mom said.
“I don’t know,” I said. “But I think I am.”
We didn’t even have to say it out loud. Everything was about to change—again.
Because it always does, doesn’t it?
MY HAPPY(ISH) ENDING
Boy, did things change!
I’m back in school now, finishing out the year at Airbrook Arts, where I was supposed to start seventh grade in the first place. Ms. Donatello went to bat for me—again—and they said I could do fourth quarter there, and then eighth grade after that, if I did some makeup work over the summer.
That’s right. I’m going to be back in summer school, just like last year. Except this time it’s because I want to be there. Crazy, right?
Of course, we’re living back in Hills Village again—me, Georgia, Mom, and Grandma Dotty.
Middle School: Get Me Out of Here! Page 8
