Max and I

Chapter Six

When Max's fever had gotten better, he called me on his phone and he told me Beca was accepted at a college on the other side of the US.

"Why would she do that?" I asked.

"Little one, you know Beca. She doesn't like when parents control. When she's in a city one thousand miles away, no one controls her except her boyfriend."

"So you mean that she only cares about that dude?"

"Pretty much."

"Is he disgusting?"

"Kind of. He's nasty. He plays jokes on me and his parents...you better not wanna know - they are weird. Like, in what sense? I mean they probably have something wrong with their brain."

Max! Shut up!" I exclaimed.

"I usually don't say stuff like that, Meg. But I really dislike the boy she likes. She kisses him all the time. Not like a light smooch; much more."

"And that's why you don't like her?"

"No. I told you how bad she is – how selfish, and rude," Max said.

"OK, Max, back to Beca and college. Is your mother going against this thing?"

"Dad convinced her; he said that she needs to learn to be without parental guidance. You know..."

"Yeah."

I hung up and I went outside. I just walked into the backyard. Elli was climbing a tree. He was using a rope to get up to a high branch. I had to say he was too adventurous; once he climbed up a rock wall about 200 feet high and fell 50 feet. He broke his leg, sure, but soon, he was running around again.

"Elli, how do you manage to do that?" I asked him.

"I just do so," he said.

"You remember when you fell off the rock wall? When was that?" I asked.

"I was in fourth grade, sissy," he said. "I was at gymnastics for boys. I fell off. I quit gymnastics. Can't you remember?" he teased.

"I was so small," I replied. "I don't know what happened."

"Well, this is what happened: My friend was telling me to climb, so I did. I climbed a little. I began to go down. I was 150 feet down. Then I fell. Then I was picked up. I went to the hospital. I did physical therapy. I got better. I stayed for a long time. I think it was 4 months."

I knew that when Elli spoke in short, choppy sentences, it meant he was annoyed.

I looked up. He was already on a branch I couldn't keep track of. I stared blankly.

"Hey, Meg, how about you try?" he offered.

It was hard to refuse, so I said I wanted to.

I climbed up the first few feet like a loser. I was climbing very slowly. I was afraid of heights. We did climbing units in gym, but I didn't go up the wall at all.

That was when Brunetta was still my friend.

She cheered me on, but I got down after about 5 feet.

"I feel dizzy," I said. "Can I go to the nurse?"

The gym teacher looked at me. "Are you sure, Meg? Look, everyone's climbing. Give your legs a try."

I refused, and soon I was picked from school, but I didn't ever throw up or feel nauseous. At all.

"Loser," I muttered, as I climbed on, not thinking. Now I was about 10 feet above ground.