In a trance Danny sat at the edge of the bed, holding the controller with both hands, fingers spastic. A white spaceship moved like a moth over the screen in front of him. It dodged a storm of bullets coming from an armada of swirling alien craft.
“Hey,” I said, “Let’s go somewhere.” I walked around him to get a look at his face. It was a roach’s face, unblinking. “Danny, come on. I’m bored. Let’s go to the mall. I’ll get you something to eat.”
Danny didn’t reply or even move, his body as still as if made of wood.
He had started playing that game Friday, after Dad had gotten him out early from school, and hadn’t stopped since. I didn’t even know if he had paused to go to the bathroom.
I went to the closet, grabbed the tall fuzzy hat with the blue feathers Dad had gotten for us at some concert. I put it on, went back over to him and made faces, danced around like a clown juggling.
“Daaanny!”
He blinked, still didn’t turn away. “Hold on,” he told me. “I’m really far. Can’t stop now.”
“But you’ve been playing it all weekend.”
Dad had picked him up from school because the principal had called. Danny had starting throwing things. After emptying the contents of his backpack he had kicked over desks.
Danny raised his voice. “Leave me alone. I’m going to beat it.”
Danny’s best friend, Joshua Shelby, had killed himself. His mom found him hanging from the ceiling fan in his room. Friday, a little shit from Danny’s class was the first to tell him what happened. “Your boyfriend’s dead,” he mocked.
Since he got home, Danny hadn’t talked about it. He just played that game.
Josh used to come over all the time. It was like he didn’t like being at his own house. He was kind of chubby and always wore the same bright red sneakers. He was also really talkative, but he was a good kid.
He and Danny had gotten addicted to that game a week or two ago. They never quite got to the end, though. They would play it together for hours. When one got shot down, they would trade off the controller. I had to bring Dad’s soggy meatloaf and crispy hamburgers in so they wouldn’t forget to eat.
Josh would make jokes the whole time they played. He’d say goofy stuff like “Come on aliens, eat my fart bullets!” I rarely got his humor, but he always sent Danny into uncontrollable laughing fits. I could never do that to him.
Danny now looked completely different playing the same game with the white ship, alone. He had a death grip on that controller. I thought about offering to take turns with him, but it didn’t feel right, like I would be imposing.
Danny gritted his teeth. The spaceship got hit by one of the enemy bullets, exploded. “No!” Danny threw the controller, almost hitting me with it, and started sobbing. He moved to me from the bed and hugged me. I put a hand on his hair.
