~~~~
When I was bombarded by a small person jumping on me, I open my eyes to see my little brother grinning down at me.
“What are you doing, monster?” I grab him, hugging him tightly.
“Nothing,” Morgan replied wiggling. “Let me go!”
When he starts jumping again, I groan. “Go away, Morgan.”
“No!” he shouted, collapsing on me; his head missing mine by inches. “I’m hungry.”
Stumbling into the kitchen, Mom’s perfume lingered in the air, signalling that she had already left for work.
“Why does Momma have to work on the weekend?” Morgan asked, sitting on the couch.
“Because she’s good at what she does,” I tell him, collecting his breakfast. “I’m going to have a shower.” Morgan nodded, his attention locked on the cartoons.
After dropping Morgan at our neighbors, I head down the street towards my favourite comic book store: Komiks. Ambling along the sidewalk, I take in the action figurines, superhero T-shirts and sci-fi posters displayed in the windows.
Stepping inside, I spot the owner, Jerry, arranging a stand of collector cards on the end of his glass counter. “Hi, Mindy, how are you?”
“I’m good, Jerry. You?”
“Good,” he said. “What can I do for you?”
“I’m here to buy a gift for Morgan.”
Snaking my way towards the back of the store, I stop at a large wooden display box hidden in the corner with shelves of Hello Kitty figurines. Standing at one end of the box, I finger-walk across the different titles. I was halfway through the first row when I heard someone approach. Moving onto the second row, I spot the comic I was searching for.
Reaching out to grab it, I see fingers reaching across at the same time, claiming it before I did. As the Spiderman comic exits the box, I look up to see who the fingers belonged to.
“Hey, I...” I trail off as a familiar face entered my line of sight. “Oh, hi.”
Cuthbert’s cheeks are crimson as he holds the comic. “H-Hello,” he murmured, eyes darting around.
“I’m Mindy.”
“I k-know your name,” he stuttered.
I raised my eyebrows.
“Are you a Spiderman fan?” he asked, glancing at the comic in his hand.
“No, my brother is. I’m into Green Lantern.”
Cuthbert’s amber eyes lit up. “Me too! I have the whole collection” he held out the comic. “Your brother should have this. I’ve already read it.”
“Thank you.” I took the comic, smiling.
He gave a small smile in return. “I h-have some Spiderman comic’s t-that your brother can have.”
“He’d love that,” I say as Cuthbert met my eyes.
“Y-You should bring him over.”
“I will. Morgan’ll love it. Thank you.”
Cuthbert glanced at the comics then turned, walking away.
After purchasing the Spiderman comic, I was about to walk home when I saw Tierra, Caycee, AshLee, and Scarlett coming towards me. “Hi. What are you girls doing here?” I asked.
“We’re going to Patsy’s. Wanna come?” Cayee said.
“Sure,” I reply, joining my friends.
Patsy’s Diner looked like a 1960’s hangout: table jukeboxes, red-and-white booths, retro menus, and waitresses with beehives. It was a popular place for Ravenswood students and local families.
As the waitress left with our orders, AshLee sighed heavily. “I wish I could eat Chilli Fries like you two,” she said, frowning at Caycee and me. “But I have to hit the gym four times a week to fit into my Prom dress.”
Caycee and I grin in response.
“What’s the theme for Prom?” Tierra asked as our drinks were delivered.
“I heard it’s going to be Fairytales,” Caycee replied, stirring her chocolate shake with the straw.
“Are you sure you can’t come with us?” AshLee asked.
“I have to baby sit,” I fibbed, keeping the truth to myself: I couldn’t afford a dress.
“We’re going dress shopping tonight,” Scarlett piped up. “I’m sure we’ll take lots of photos for you to look at.” She smirked as out meals were brought over.
I ate my Chilli Fries as the others looked from me to Scarlett. No one spoke as we ate.
Wiping my mouth on the napkin, I say, “I’m looking forward to seeing the photos.” I hold Scarlett’s gaze for a minute making her frown. “I better get going.” I ate a few more fries, and then shuffled out of the booth. “I’ll see you later.”
Changing Morgan’s T-shirt, I ruffle his hair making him giggle. “Why ‘em I putting on a clean shirt for?”
“Because we’re visiting a friend,” I told him. “He wants to show you his comic collection.”
“Is it Josh?”
“No, but I know him from school. His name’s Cuthbert.” As we leave the house, I say, “You have to be on your best behavior.” I glance down to see him nodding.
“Do you think Cuthbert will let me read his comics?” Morgan asked as we approached a one-story brick house with a welcome sign on the door.
“You’ll have to ask him.” I knocked, and heard a woman call out.
“Hello? Can I help you?” she opened the door, wiping her hands on a tea towel.
“Um, hi, I’m Mindy…I live across the street.” I pointed at my house. “This is Morgan. Cuthbert asked us over.” the woman looked surprised.
“My Cuthbert?” she sounded dumbfounded. “Cuthbert, you have visitors,” she called out. “Please, come in.”
Entering the house, I saw a living room to my right and a hall to my left. At the end of the hallway a door opened and Cuthbert stepped out, freezing, before taking a deep breath and coming toward us.
“Cuthbert, Mindy and Morgan came to see you.” she looked at her son then glanced at me. “I’ll let you kids’ hangout.”
When his mom walked away, Cuthbert rolled his eyes making me smile. “My room’s down here,” he said. “Sorry about my mom. She doesn’t think I have friends…normal friends.” He stepped into the end room.
“What about Jed and Zachariah?”
Cuthbert gave a deep chuckle, surprising me. “They’re nerds, like me,” he answered, joining Morgan at a bookcase full of comics and action hero figurines.
“You aren’t stuttering,” I said. Cuthbert looked at me, stunned.
He took a moment to mull it over. “I guess it’s because you’re on my turf now.” He smiled, but I saw the shy Cuthbert slightly surface.
“Wow!” I scanned hundreds of neatly stacked comics. Several glass cases held mint-condition comic books. “You have the very first Superman comic.”
“I’ve been c-collecting for y-years.” I peeked at Cuthbert to see him blushing.
“I love Spidy,” Morgan piped up. Looking around, I saw him kneeling beside a box full of comic books.
Cuthbert went and sat beside him. “These are for you, Morgan.” He placed a hand on the edge of the box.
My brother’s face lit up. “Really?”
Cuthbert looked up at me so I mouthed, ‘Thank you’, then smiled.
Wandering down the hall, I found Cuthbert’s mother standing in a wood-and-marble kitchen, flicking through a cookbook. As I approach, she looks up, smiling. “Would you like a drink?”
“No, thank you.” I slid onto a stool.
“You’re a friend of Cuthbert’s?”
I nod. “Yes, Ma’am.”
She smiled. “Please, call me Wendy.” She closed the cookbook. “The Prom’s coming up, isn’t it?”
I nodded.
“Are you excited?” Wendy asked.
I shrugged.
“Have you got a dress? A date?”
I smiled at her directness. “No on the dress. Yes on the date.”
Wendy nodded. “Sadly, Cuthbert isn’t going.”
“Why?” I asked, surprised.
“He’s a…geek. No one has asked
him,” she said. “Would you and Morgan like to stay for dinner?”
“We’d love too,” I say. “Can I help with anything?”
“Nope, you sit there and tell me why you haven’t got a dress.” She gathered ingredients for dinner, placing them on the bench in front of me.
“I can’t afford a Prom dress,” I tell her truthfully, looking at my hands. I was grateful when Wendy didn’t ask questions.
After dinner, I went to help Wendy with the washing up, but saw Morgan dozing at the table. “You should take him home,” Wendy said.
“Yeah, I will.” I went over and picked Morgan up. “Thank you for dinner, Wendy.” I looked at Cuthbert. “Thank you for the comics. Morgan’ll have fun with those.”
He gave a short nod. “I’ll d-drop them off t-tomorrow.”
I carried Morgan to the front door and saw Cuthbert reach out to open it for me. Glancing over my shoulder, I met amber eyes for a second before stepping into the night.
Mom was sitting on the couch, talking on her cell, when I entered. She kept her eyes on her microwave dinner, so I put Morgan to bed, and left a note before going to the football game.
The sky was haloed with fluorescent lights, and the crowds’ cheers could be heard a block away as I made my way to Ravenswood high. Settling on the grassy hill overlooking the field, my heart swelled as I watched the Black Ravens run onto the field, cheering:
Let’s get physical
Get down, get hard, get mean
Let’s get physical
And beat that other team!
When the cheerleading ended, the girls ran off the field, stopping at the sidelines, while padded-up Ravens jogged into the spotlight, enjoying the home-side support.
Scanning the Ravens team, I spot Josh giving a pep talk; hands waving through the air, body tensed for a battle against the enemy. The atmosphere was electrified as the game started, and soared higher when the Ravens scored a touchdown in the first five minutes. I watched as Josh was slapped on the back before he jogged to the sidelines. My heart sank when he grabbed Scarlett, kissing her openly.
My Life Would Suck Without You Page 39
