The Surly Bonds

Chapter 2

The hot summer sun shines aggressively over the uniform suburban sprawl of Southern California. Annie and Phoebe frolic on their lush, springy, green lawn as a sprinkler douses them with cool, refreshing water. Annie giggles as droplets hit her skin. Phoebe screams as she runs through the artificial downpour. Richard sits in a plastic folding chair, sipping cold tea in the shade, provided by a gaudy green plastic awning. Their neighbor, Sharon Toland, strolls by with a pug named Petey gently tugging at its leash. The girls rush to Petey at first glance, reaching their hands out towards him. Petey recoils and pants heavily, inching its way to the crisp grass. Richard calls out to Sharon, "Hi, Sharon. Girls, don't frighten the poor dog!"

Richard waves and smiles at Sharon. Phoebe and Annie aggressively pet the puppy. The pug growls, its eyes darting back and forth. Sharon strides forward, tugging the pug's leash. "Petey is a little overwhelmed, isn't that right?" Sharon explains, coddling the little pug.

Sharon and Petey walk down the blistering sidewalk. Annie and Phoebe jump onto the grass after the soles of their feet singe on the concrete. Phoebe plops down on the grass, holding her knees. Annie stands above her and interrogates, "How was Magic Mountain, loser?"

"Better than that kiddie park you went to, you little crybaby," Phoebe snaps back.

Annie grins wide and splashes water onto Phoebe. Phoebe jumps to her feet, screaming, "Cut it out!" Phoebe chases Annie, laughing and screaming as the water hits her skin. Phoebe stops abruptly and turns to Annie. She boasts, "Kelly got this cool bouncy ball, and a yo-yo that lights up. I'm gonna go over later and play with it."

"How come you never invite me to hang out with Kelly? She's my friend, too," Annie proclaims.

"Because you always dork it up by being there."

"I do not!"

Phoebe runs off the grass and up the driveway to the porch. Richard reclines in his folding chair and calls out to Phoebe as she places her hand on the screen door handle, "Don't even think about going inside without drying off."

Phoebe runs to the sidewalk and snatches up her towel. Annie quickly dries herself off in the driveway and taunts Phoebe, "See you there."

Phoebe scrambles to wipe herself off with a towel, scrubbing the fabric on her skin and bathing suit. Richard calls out, "And don't forget to turn off the water! I'm not made of money."

Phoebe expels a painfully loud sigh from her mouth and approaches the faucet. She twists the faucet knob, and the sprinkler slowly stops ejecting water. Phoebe runs into the house, wiping her bare feet on the door mat. She yanks open the screen door and bolts inside. Annie passes her in the hall, fully clothed and dried. She delivers an arrogant sneer to Phoebe.

Annie enters the neatly organized garage and flips a switch on the wall. The ceiling lights flicker, quickly illuminating the garage with artificial light. Annie presses a big red button, and the loud whirring of the garage motor echoes throughout the house. Slowly, intense sunlight fills the garage, rendering the manufactured garage lights useless. Annie squints her eyes as she retrieves her helmet from a box neatly resting on a shelf and grabs her bike with both hands, wheeling it toward the still slowly rising garage door. Suddenly the garage door stops; light partially covers the first few feet of the garage. Annie turns her head sharply. Richard stands at the door leading into the kitchen, arms crossed. He asks, "Where do you think you're going?"

Annie stands still. Slowly, words come stammering out of her mouth, "I was just gonna go over to Kelly's."

"Who said you could go?"

"Phoebe's going. Why can't I go? She's my friend, too!"

"Phoebe isn't failing math. It's only going to get harder, and you need to get caught up before you fall even further behind."