@Robertopancake: A Story About a Boy

Chapter Ten

Robertopancake Loud noises in the morning ruin my day.

6:10 AM - 13 Jan 2015

The actual fact is that morning itself can pretty much ruin my day, but I'll be spending this glorious day with Nadine Hobbs, away from the crush of monotony and mediocrity that threatens to suffocate us at Ridley Hills High. In honor of the fact that we successfully survived the first week back from winter break, Deenie and I decided that we deserve to leave the stimulating world of education behind for a day and treat ourselves to some adventure. And because I'm in an uncharacteristically good mood this morning, I choose to ignore the brain-hammering sound of Danica throwing books down the stairs in protest to my mother's repeated requests for her to come down and eat her breakfast.

As soon as my maternal unit spirits her uncooperative young spawn away from the premises (early Mommy and Me Yoga at the gym on Tuesdays), I'll roll out of bed and start jamming. Pat is on a business trip to San Francisco, so this whole plan is coming together like peanut butter and jelly. Deenie will meet me at the bus stop that's about halfway between our two houses, at which point our trek to freedom begins. We'll bus it to the train station, then hop a southbound locomotive to the lovely seaside paradise of Santa Barbara. The weather is going to be sunny and chilly down there, but nothing short of a major catastrophic illness will stop me from going on this trip.

* * *

7:02. I'm at the bus stop, buried deep inside my hoodie. Even though most of the world thinks that California is the land of sun and surfing and warm beaches all year round, it can be downright nippy in the winter. A bus comes and goes. I don't make eye contact with any other humans as I stand on the curb like a loser. Finally, at about 7:20, I see Deenie coming my way. She's wearing a puffy green jacket that's buttoned up to the chin, her hands shoved into the pockets.

Things with Deenie have been business as usual, which is a huge relief. She didn't force me to talk about my trip to Florida, and she didn't ask what happened with my dad, so to return the favor, I haven't mentioned Skylar even once. Neither has she. This has not hurt my feelings one bit.

"Hey, sorry I'm late," she says. I immediately sense a weird, off-kilter vibe coming from her.

"No problem. I've only been here freezing my balls off for the last twenty minutes."

She gives me a half-hearted smile. "We miss the bus?"

"One. But you know what they say: when you're chasing after a bus, it runs twice as fast as it does when you're on it."

"Who said that?" She frowns up at me.

"I don't actually know."

"So what does that have to do with us missing one?"

"I don't really know that either." We stare up the street, waiting for another one to crest the hill.

"I've never been to Santa Barbara," Deenie admits.

"Seriously? Weren't you born and raised here?"

"Yeah, in Ridley Hills, but we've never been to Santa Barbara. I hear it's cool."

"It is. You're going to love it."

"Why? What are we going to do there?" She wiggles her nose around, sniffing and wiping at it with the back of her hand. A cloud of her breath puffs out in the cold morning air.

"Everything. We're going to the beach, and we're going to get tattoos in private places and piercings on every bit of dangling skin we can find. You know, typical Tuesday stuff." I shrug like I've just rattled off a few casual sightseeing opportunities.