Ugly Dog

Decoding Crazy

"So, how'd the printer break? I didn't even know they could spit out ink like that, did you? What happened when you went in there, anyway?" Julia spouted her list of questions to me, walking backwards down Central Ave as she spoke. Cars whizzed past us, and the cloudy sky above looked ready to burst with moisture. We passed the clean cut lawn of a dentists office, neatly bricked with a white pole fence.
"I just asked Marcus for my pictures, that's all." I answered her. She was the only person I knew who could ask so many questions, and frankly this was one of her minimums. I've counted, and sometimes they could reach up to fifteen in a row. Her high score is twenty three, but she doesn't know I count.
"The guy at the register, Reg? Creepiest person ever." She ran a hand through her long orange hair, creating waves of golden hues in the light. "As soon as he thought I was into him, he went full on sleez. I think his hair grease is seeping into his brain." Julia skipped back to my side, swinging an arm around my shoulders. She smelled like lilacs and baking soda, with the hint of strawberries on her breath. I could also detect small bits of the dirty air freshener that was in CVS.
Too much, I thought, don't look that deep.
My sense of smell, (sniffing powers, as Novice liked to call them) had grown since two days ago. I could smell pungent odors from two houses away, and don't even get me started on talking to other people. It's hard to concentrate on a conversation when all you can smell is garlic or taco meat. I was just happy that Julia was obsessed with flavored breath wafers. She leaned her head closer to mine, her sculpted nose nearly touching my cheek. My heart stopped.
"So, what'd you take?" She asked.
"How do you know I took something?"
She backed away, splaying her hands to me. "Because you always do the same thing, I remember it from when we were kids. Whenever you're keeping something, you pick at your fingers with your thumb." She demonstrated for me, scratching off a piece of long skin from her forefinger with her thumb. I looked dumbly to my own hands, which had red marks down the center three. I must've done that while peeping on Marcus, and then again when the printer broke and we left. I really have to check my tells.
I uttered a silent curse, and Julia chuckled.
"It's alright." She told me. "I don't think other people see it. Just me and Novice."
"You and Novice?" I hadn't known that they had kept in touch. They got along well when we were younger, so I suppose it wasn't much of a surprise. He probably considered her as another sister.
"Yeah, sorry that sounded weird. I see him when I walk Jacob and Jamie home from daycare. He's always so polite." Answered Julia, as she kicked a stone off the sidewalk. Julia's twin siblings were just barely four, and currently enrolled in the Wendell Youth Center day camp, which took up a small corner of the building. They had a large indoor play set there that I remember climbing on when I was younger.
As Julia and I approached my house, I tried to remember the last time she had been inside. The beginning of eighth grade, possibly, when we tried to sew our Halloween costumes. Or maybe that was seventh grade. I caught sight of the flickering porch light and cursed. I had to remember to turn it off next time I left. That lights going to cause a small car collision one day.
"Umm..... Val? Why is your brother digging in your front yard?" Julia asked. I was so distracted by the flickering porch light that I hadn't even noticed Novice out here.
My little brother stood to the side of the porch, our old wooden shovel in hand. He stood about knee deep in ground, with piles of dirt and snow around him. He wore thick pants and his usual coat, but his face was left uncovered. I jogged ahead of Julia, and coming closer realized he wasn't wearing any gloves either.
"Why, why, why?" I asked, trying to pull the shovel from his hands. He held it firm, but provided no explanation. He seemed shocked to see me.
"Please tell me you have a normal reason for digging up our front yard and having the neighbors think we're complete freaks." Novice looked around as if this was the first time he had been distracted from his task. His cheeks and nose were rosy red, I wondered how long he had been out here for. I put my gloved hands on his face and massaged his cheekbones. He grimaced, but didn't pull away as he usually would. The snow crinkled behind us, and Julia appeared at my side.
"Hey, Nov. Doing some winter gardening?" She asked. Novice managed a small smile at her, although it was an awkward one considering I was still massaging his face.
"Let's head inside." I said. "I'll make us some coffee."