Reese's Complex

Punishment

Reese soared toward the drop-off, wind blasting his hair into a shapeless mess. It took all his strength to force those handlebars into a spin, a strong shift in balance causing the bike to flail toward the right. Suddenly, all the houses before him were upside down.

His body had left the bicycle seat and taken to the air. The shiny metal frame launched into the dead grass of the front yard, seemingly hundreds of feet below. His eyes clenched shut, body curling inward as he braced for his own upcoming impact. An embarrassing shout tore out of his throat.

But the blow never came.

His lungs refused to take a breath as his vision twitched around, taking in the surroundings. The world was still on its head, but it had come to a full stop. Gritty roof tiles dug into his lower back. Blood rushed to his head, forced forward by his spasming heart.

Something was gripping the front of his shirt, keeping the startled boy from tipping over the edge. His mother’s hand.

He gulped.

The squeak of the van door flinging open broke his flashback. It was followed by a pack of rabid fingers biting the front of his shirt and dragging him out of the car. His mother’s other hand gripped his ear and pulled it toward their vine-covered, single-story house. He had little choice but to follow after it while a lame string of “ow ow ows” left his mouth.

At that moment, he felt a lot like his old class hamster. The way it was torn from its hiding spot by a snake he had brought in for show-and-tell, thrashing about in a desperate attempt to avoid being eaten.

That hamster was lucky. All it had to deal with was a lousy snake. Reese was in the jaws of a much scarier animal.

Lois and her idiot son stepped through the living room and its random piles of magazines, toys, and abandoned socks. It was surprisingly neat, at least when compared to the way the four boys of the family usually kept it. Clearly, she had been in the middle of a cleaning session before Reese got there.

“Sit!” She helpfully shoved him into one of the chairs that surrounded the kitchen table, the sudden weight almost causing it to fall over. A violent, upward huff flicked her bangs out of her eyes while she placed her hands on her hips. “What in the world is wrong with you, Reese? A fight?! You just got back from your last suspension!”

Despite being taller and stronger than her, Reese still stiffened any time she leaned closer.

“How do you expect to graduate at the end of the year when you’re not even in class half the time?” Lois was pacing from side to side as if physically looking for the answer.

“Mom, it’s not my fault! I was just minding my business when he came up to me, looking for trouble.”

“And I suppose Bobby Kim was also just ‘looking for trouble’ when you broke his arm with that bowling ball? Or how about Mrs. Porter when you keyed the word ‘saggy’ into her car door? Little Mikey and his turtle?” She raised an eyebrow.