Dead Boys

6

Tobias

I stand in front of my mirror with a frown, only in my boxers. I pull at the skin around my stomach. I was a chubby kid, from what I remember, but now I look almost sickly thin. I can clearly see the outline of my ribs, I could even count them if I wanted to.

I wonder what Billy's friends look like. I wonder if they're tall and tanned like him, if they have the same casual nature. I pick out a blue shirt from my closet. I wonder how they dress. Like Billy, maybe? With his tye dye shirts and ripped jeans and scruffed sneakers.

I pull the shirt over my head, then begin to search for a pair of pants. Suddenly I understand what people mean when they say they have nothing to wear despite having a full closet.

Eventually, though, I find a pair of baggy jeans and pull them on, using a shoelace to keep them up. My phone vibrates from my nightstand and I snatch it up.

Billy: im omw back from the airport rn

Billy: meet me @ our pizza spot?

Billy: they r so hyped to meet you lol

Our spot. I smile to myself and text back.

Me: I'll be there in about 20 min

He sends me a thumbs up and pocket my phone along with my wallet before tying on my shoes.

I shut my door lightly behind me, shuffling down to the living room on my tiptoes. Dad's watching TV on his old armchair with a beer in his hand when I get downstairs.

When I was younger, that was our armchair. He used to pick me up and set me down in his lap while we watched Saturday cartoons and shared a bowl of Lucky Charms, then we would go out to the park with Mom and play baseball until the sun went down.

Now, he's hardly ever home from the oil rig he had to take a job from after Mom died, today being a rare exception, and I've hardly touched that chair in past ten years.

Quietly, I lift my key off of the nail next to the door and notice that it rained last night, the cardboard covering our broken window is soaked through. I make a mental note to replace it when I get home.

Maybe my pause causes it, but Dad swings his head around to me. "Where you going?" There's a slight tilt to his words and I can see from the bottles lined up on the floor that it's hardly his first drink of the day.

"I have study group with the Roberts twins today." I lie, probably too quickly but he doesn't notice.

"Make sure you're home to make dinner." He says, turning back to the TV.

Disappointment floods me and I don't know why, it's not like I wanted him to keep asking questions. "Sloppy Joes?" I say instead of the truth and he grunts. The conversation is officially over.

I unlock the door with one hand and in a single motion, I'm out of the door, bounding down the steps and to the bus stop.

On the bus, it's uncomfortably warm and I start to regret my choice of a long sleeve shirt, it'll be embarrassing to meet Billy's cool Californian friends smelling like sweat and that indistinguishable bus smell. However, there's only two modes of transportation available to me, Dad's driving and one of the two busses that run from City Hall to the train station.

Thankfully, the ride is shorter than usual and I am dropped off at the Pizza Parlor with minutes to spare. Back into the wet chill of outside air, I puff out my shirt a few times. I can still smell only my deodorant, and I consider that a win.