Impavid

The New Kid

     "Read it again,"

     "Sophie, I've read it three times already! I even read it to you last night when I first found out!" I shifted the phone to my other ear, picking up the letter I had laid down on the bed before.

     "Read it again!" She squealed.

     "Dear Carson Blackwell," I started, "It is my pleasure to inform you that you have been selected to attend the summer camp at..."

     "Carson?" My mom's voice sounded panicked, "Carson, honey? Can you help me with this?" There was a crash and a barely audible string of curse words.

     "Soph, I gotta go," I glanced at the door, folding the letter neatly before tucking it back in the envelope Melanie had oh-so-carefully opened. The letter barely fit, the edge of the envelope dangling over the side, rips scattered across the edges. I tossed it on the table beside my bed, still listening to Sophie freaking out in excitement. "Sophie, really, I have to go." I couldn't help but laugh. For as long as I could remember, Sophie got way too excited over silly things. Now, in her defense, this was a pretty big deal. However, it was the usual Carson/Sophie relationship. She panicked or squealed or giggled, while I focused on stating the facts and remaining calm, cool, and collected. Usually.

     "But this is huge, Carson!" She retorted. It was my turn to have a minor panic attack.

      "I know! I'm so excited!" I beamed. Another crash. "Soph, I can't go if my mom dies trying to get this cake in her car. I have to go," I rolled my eyes. 

      We exchanged our goodbyes, complete with one last in-unison squeal before I tugged my phone into my back pocket and hurried down the stairs.

     "Carson," My mother grunted when I came into view. She was holding the container the cake was in, with a cupcake container on top of it. I moved around the railing, crossing the foyer, sliding into the kitchen to take the cupcake container into my own hands. She audibly sighed in relief. "I've dropped way too much stuff this morning," She groaned, "This place is a mess."

     "I'll take care of it, Mom." I glanced at the clock, "But you're late, let's get this in the car." My eyes darted around the room, taking in the spilled milk on the counter, the open refrigerator door, complete with a beeping door-ajar alarm, and cereal crumbs covering the floor beneath the counter.

     As we loaded the last of the bake-sale items into the car, my mom pressed her lips against my forehead. "Thank you," She finally smiled, "I owe you."

      I nodded. I knew it would be hard for her to let me go away to that camp, I was the baby of the family, and she was already losing Melanie in the fall. This was my in. "I really want to go to that camp," I said quietly. 

     Her eyes met mine sharply. "Carse," She sighed, "Six weeks is a long time."

     I nodded, "It's a big deal, though, Mom. Sophie didn't even get invited, and she's a genius!" Mom looked up, raising an eyebrow, "We'll talk later, okay?" I nodded.

     I closed the back door, watching her climb in the driver seat and readjust her mirrors. She hated when Melanie drove her car. Everything was always different: the mirrors, the seat, the radio stations. She didn't stop to spin the dial, searching for her favorite daily talk show, however. She was late, and she knew it. Instead, the seat slid up slightly, and the car was going in reverse, wheels turning as it moved from the driveway to the street. They straightened, and my mom's foot hit the accelerator, sending her down the road toward the bake sale.

     I stood there for a few minutes, taking in the neighboring houses as I usually did each morning before school. It was always fascinating to me that others were living their own lives right inside those walls. I looked back toward my own house, noticing my light in my room, which centered above the front door, was on. I tried to remember if I had turned it off. When I looked back across the street for one last glance of the morning, I noticed a guy around my age standing across the street. He was shirtless, carrying a lamp from the U-haul toward the front door. His family had only just closed on the house, one that belonged to Fran Thomas before her recent move to the local nursing home. I didn't understand why the family would move in March. There wasn't too much time left in school, but it was enough that it was weird to move in and force a kid to get situated.

     "Hey," I was talking before I realized it. I moved to the end of the driveway, opening the mailbox to check for the mail that I knew hadn't come. It was too early. I just needed to be doing something. The guy looked up at me, startled. He nodded in my direction, using his arm to wipe the sweat off his forehead. I closed the mailbox and moved back up the driveway, taking one last look over my shoulder to see him approaching the front door where he was met by a guy who looked similar to him, maybe a couple years older. I hurried inside before they could catch me looking.

     I heard when Melanie returned home a couple hours later from her weekly Sunday brunch with her boyfriend, the front door closing loudly behind her. It startled me, even though I was all the way up in my room reading the latest novel assigned for my literature class. We've got to get that thing fixed. 

      "Hey," She called out, as I heard footsteps coming up the stairs. 

       "In here," I answered.

     She nudged my partially open door, entering the room as it widened. She settled on my bed, sitting cross-legged, watching me read. I set the book down on my desk, turning to face her. The desk chair spun as she reached across the distance to the nightstand to gather the envelope in her hand. She waved it toward me. "This is a huge deal, Carson!" I nodded. "I'm reading, is that all you need?"

     She scoffed a no, and I folded my arms, waiting for more. "I just met the new guys across the street!" She sat up taller, dropping the envelope beside her. I stood, moving to grab it and slide it safely back on my nightstand before looking out the window across the room. Two shirtless guys, the same I saw earlier, were dribbling a basketball around each other. I wondered how long it would be until a hoop was set up. I wondered how many nights I'd be woken up to the sound of them dribbling the ball on the blacktop.

     I looked back toward her, waiting for me. "Luke's your age, and Max is going to be a sophomore in college," She explained, "He's just home for Spring Break to help them move in. We probably won't see him much." She kept her eyes on me. "But Luke is way cute, and you should..." 

      I interrupted her, "I'll meet him eventually, I'm sure."

     "Let's go say hi now, Carson!" She suggested. "No," I grunted, "I'm reading."

     Obviously that didn't stick, because she was on her feet, grabbing my arm and tugging me out the door within seconds. "I told them I'd bring you right out!" I rolled my eyes. Of course, my sister was playing match-maker.

     After a quick introduction, where I introduced myself and stated I had to get back to reading, I reentered the house, an angry Melanie stomping in behind me. "You could have been more polite!" She growled, but I just ignored her, moving back up the stairs. "This is why you don't have a boyfriend!" She shouted, as I closed my bedroom door behind me. I glanced out the window from across the room before settling back at my desk and flipping open the book that needed to be finished my class tomorrow.