“Alan, you’re going to miss the bus. Hurry up, you can’t afford to be late again.”
Alan ran down the creaking stairs grabbing his worn backpack in one hand and trying to wrestle his shoulder-length hair into place with his other. Tony waited for him by the open door with that same look on his face. It was a look Alan hated with every fiber in his being. It was a look that said, “I’m sorry you are like this. I wish you could be better.”
Alan flashed a practiced grin to Tony. A grin empty on Alan’s part but that seemed to satisfy most anyone else, “Thanks, sorry.”
Tony just wore that same look on his face as he nodded, “Up late again last night reading? Those fantasy books again?”
“Yeah, I’m sorry, I know.” Alan rushed past Tony and out into the front yard. The house he lived in with Tony and the two other boys wasn’t the worse to which Alan had been assigned over the years. He didn’t want to cause waves now, or do something that might get him kicked out. Running across the lawn towards the waiting bus, Alan turned around, “I’m sorry, Tony. I really am. I promise it won’t happen again.”
Tony just stood there. An awkward moment passed as Alan thought Tony might say something. Maybe give him some reassurance, or tell him that it was fine. He didn’t. Instead, Tony turned his back and walked into the house, letting the tired screen door close behind him with a sigh.
YOU ARE READING
Alan Price and the Colossus of Rhodes
Teen FictionWhile history was still young, a war for Heaven waged. The defeated were sentenced to a life on earth. They were beaten, not broken. Now using their knowledge of the Ancient Wonders, they have chosen to make their move. The battle for Heaven and ear...
