So, when you go over the edge, this is what the bottom of the magical floating arena looks like?
The bottom looks a lot like Kieran's driveway. My head tilts up to the sky, but I can't see the arena through the sun or clouds. We must be a long way down from the platform. I don't see Pikachu either, unless he's hiding in the backyard. I'll try my luck in the tall grass because that's where the three of us shuffle toward against our will.
Kieran's backyard is...somewhat like how I remembered it looking. That pine tree, tucked into the corner by the house, really fluffed out. There must be remodeling going on near the back fence. There's a rift in the ground and a pile of dirt next to the fence that's seen better days. That belongs to the neighbors, who haven't fixed it in...well, not to beat a dead horse, but since the last time that I was here.
Max asks the obvious question. "So, what do you want to do?"
Poor Kieran shrugs and sighs. He's still reeling from being forced out into the shun...
Lovely.
...Shunned into the sun.
There's no use in seeing what's in the garage. They could use a new one because I don't remember it looking weary. The door might need a crowbar. They keep the car in the driveway, so it's not like they'd have a use for a new garage. I wish that the apartments had garages, so I wouldn't have to wait for the frost to...defrost.
"Could always beg your mom to let us back in," Max says.
"I don't know," Kieran says, and I sense a glance toward me.
Don't ask me. I don't have any ideas. That's supposed to be the host's job, not mine. The host wanted to play games and have fun in his room, but the host's mom hijacked our time.
"All you've been doing is screen time, screen time, screen time."
What's wrong with her? Why does she do that?
"Don't pout in front of your friends."
Did I mention that Kieran isn't a fan of his parents' groundbreaking friend-building ideas? At least, I don't think so, but he wears a good face. It's in his quiet whine, the seconds of frazzled blinking, in the sigh that can't push back. I could also be wrong.
We break into a game of Follow the Leader, shadowing Kieran under the pine tree. You can smell that sappy aroma, sweet and holiday-like. My hands in my hoodie pockets, my feet sway around in anxious circles (not because I'm cold), brushing dead pine needles off to the sides. Kieran and Max chat about something that happened during school. Max picks a needle up, a double, splitting it in two.
It had a family!
"Right, Chase?"
YOU ARE READING
Castling: A Novel (NaNoWriMo21)
Teen FictionIt's a slice-of-life centered around "Chase the Ace," who finds himself changing schools against his will mid-year to help make the most of that brain of his. It'll be good for him, they say. He won't be so bored. He'll get to be with an old friend...
