He's Just a Kid

Concert-in-a-Can

I waited patiently for Adam, Chase, and Marcus to set up in the school gym for their miniature concert. I'm not even sure how the heck that works, considering there is literally no stage in the gym at school, but whatever I guess.

If you couldn't guess, it's Monday afternoon now. I don't want to talk about what happened on Sunday because it was more of the usual: Arguing with Mom and having to comfort Landon after he heard us screaming at each other. My favorite activities on the weekend. 

I caught something off to my right. It sounded like Bree and Mr. Davenport arguing.

". . . where were you?" That was Bree.

"I'm putting something awesome together for you! Doesn't that sound fun?" And that was Mr. Davenport.

"I've been sitting here for hours and you didn't even bring the robodog with you?"

"No, I've got something better!"

"Wh--"

"Give me a second."

Hurried footsteps. I took that as my cue to go check on Bree, so I waltzed across the hardwood gym floor. Bree was sitting behind a fold-out table with a hand-made sign that read "World's First Robodog!" and an empty chair beside Bree. My heart sank. Today was the day that kids and their parents would come together and show people what their parents did for a living, and it looked like Mr. davenport completely abandoned Bree and did his own thing. Again.

"Hey, Bree," I said. "How you doing?"

She had her face in her hands. "If you're here to tell me everything's going to be fine, then I don't want to hear it, Abby," she groaned.

I sighed. "Mr. Davenport make it all about him again?"

"Yes!" she cried, jerking upright and looking at me with a fire in her eyes that told me she was about to dump all of her trauma on my shoulders. "It's always 'me, me, me' with him and it's so annoying! I just wanted to spend time with him today."

"He'll come around, Bree," I assured her. "They always do."

"I hope you're right."

"Hey, Abby."

I jumped at the voice from behind me, whirling around and coming face-to-face with Marcus. He was wearing a grayish hoodie, and I won't lie. He looked very hot.

It was something about the way the color went with his deep brown eyes, the way the bounce light seemed to make his little tan freckles glow. He had his right brow arched slightly in an amused way. His hair was just so perfect, and my eyes couldn't help but trace where his sleeves were pushed up to his elbows, showing off his forearms.

Gosh, what is wrong with me?

"Are you excited for the concert?" Marcus asked me.

I blinked rapidly to refocus. "Uh, yeah! What songs are you going to do?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. We're just going to wing it, I guess."

I peered over Marcus's shoulder and saw Leo glaring at him. My insides boiled at the sight. Leo and his stupid imagination! Who was he to think that Marcus was an evil person? This kid was definitely pushing all of my buttons just by giving Marcus that look.

I forced a grin. "Give me a second, please."

I walked quickly over to Leo, who was still glaring at the back of Marcus's head. He noticed me and snapped out of it, putting on a smile of his own. "Hey, Abby!" he said cheerfully, though I caught the fakeness behind it. "So, uh, you and Eyebrows are getting pretty close, huh? So, when are you going to realize that Marcus is an evil scumbag?"