Paranoid With a Polaroid

Casey, Are You Okay?

Casey froze in pure terror and just watched his dad stand up.

He didn't know why he didn't run or at least apologize. I take that  back - he knew why he didn't apologize.

As Casey's dad started pulling himself off the ground, Casey noticed that some of Len's vomit had somehow gotten on his dad's face. He let out a small whimper, trying not to laugh.

It was amusing but he wasn't in the mood for getting thrown around. Oh, wait, he never was.

Casey's dad had said something to him and was awaiting a response, but Casey had - as usual - been too into his vomit-ridden thoughts. "W-what?"

"What's so funny, kid? Why are you laughing?"

"I-I'm not... who's laughing, heh?" Dang it. Casey was really dead now.

His awkwardness in situations where awkwardness was really not wanted was never a good thing for him.

"Casey - that... friend... of yours..."

"He isn't my friend. He's just in my class and he looked like he needed some help."

"Why in hell would you help some drunk kid on the streets if they weren't your friend?"

"I don't have friends, dad! How many times do I have to tell you this for you to get the idea?"

"What are you trying to say? Everyone has friends!!"

"No-"

"-You didn't answer my question. Why the hell would you help some random kid you hardly know?"

"Because I'm actually a nice person."

"Excuse you, kid. Are you-"

"Sassing you? Yeah, Dad, I've had enough. I'm so done with your shit, okay? Leave me alone."

Casey's dad went silent, and for a millisecond his face changed in a way Casey had never seen it.

Casey looked down at his feet, then ran past his dad and out the door before his dad could do anything else.

Casey just needed to find Len and talk to him. God, why were all his relationships with people so awkward?

He ran down the road, his feet crunching through the snow, looking around him. So far there were no signs that Len even existed. Casey slowed down and turned off behind some bushes, thinking that Len had possibly taken a shortcut. As he neared Len's house, Casey realized that Len had probably gone elsewhere. Casey just wished he'd paid more attention to which direction Len had taken when he'd ran off.

If all Casey's efforts failed, he'd have to go to Len's house. There was no way he was waiting until Monday to tell Len off. On the other hand, however, it might be better to wait until he had gotten all of the alcohol out of his system.

After a while Casey sort of gave up (which is really no surprise) and decided to head over to the creek. He needed to calm down; he'd had a pretty straining 12 hours. He listened to the grass crackling under his feet and the snowy crunch. Oddly enough, this is what spring felt like for him. Casey sort of wondered what spring had been like for Len, since he lived much further south and it would have been much warmer.

Sometimes Casey hated Nome, but sometimes he was glad he lived there because he didn't like overwhelming heat. Honestly, that's about 60° for Nome kids.

For Len, it had probably gotten up to 120°. This was the first time Casey realized that Len might actually be suffering from the overwhelming cold.

It was weird to think of things from Len's point of view. Casey hadn't had much experience with it, especially considering the fact that he really didn't have friends.