Trent Reedy - Stealing Air

Red and David took seats across from him. Red looked at Brian for a moment and then opened his mouth and let out a long rippling belch. Brian and David laughed.

“That’s how he says hello,” said David.

Alex slid onto the bench next to Brian. “I heard that burp, dude,” he said to Red. “That was a long one.” Timmy Hale and Kevin Stein from the other sixth grade class joined them. Dakota Smith and Travis Jacobs were next.

The table was full, and no Frankie.

“Yeah? You think that’s a long belch?” Red pointed at Alex with one of his chicken nuggets. “When my dad was in the Air Force—”

“Was that before he worked for the CIA?” David asked.

“And before he worked for the county like he does now?” said Kevin.

If Red picked up on the disbelief, he didn’t act like it. “Yeah, before he worked for the county. Anyway, when he was a fighter pilot in the Air Force, he used to get this special soda that they only give to pilots. You know, scientific stuff that helps keep them awake on long flights. Well, I drank, like, a whole can of it in about thirty seconds, even though the warning label said not to drink it that fast. I let out this one burp and it lasted over two minutes straight.” Red looked around the table. “I’m serious. I almost passed out.”

“Red said!” David shouted. Everybody burst out laughing. Some milk shot out of Timmy’s nose.

“Red said!” Alex yelled.

“Reeeeeed said!” Travis joined them.

Brian couldn’t resist. “Red said!”

Red finally put the chicken nugget in his mouth. He talked while chewing. “Why don you guysh ever belee me?”

“Better question,” a voice said right behind Brian. “What is this loser doing in my seat?”

Brian sat up straight. How did this guy always manage to sneak up and ruin everybody’s good time?

Frankie tapped him on the shoulder. “Hey. You’re in my seat.”

Everybody at the table went quiet. Brian looked around for any adults. Mrs. Valentine had been on lunch-monitor duty, but she must have stepped out, and the lunch ladies were busy.

“So are you gonna get up and go sit with that dork Mad Max,” Frankie said, “or am I going to have to force you to move?”

“What difference does it make?” Brian couldn’t make himself face Frankie, but he could still talk to him. “It’s just a seat.”

Frankie didn’t say anything for a minute. Alex, Red, David, and the others kept their eyes locked on their trays. “Come on, guys. I been sitting here all year. You can’t just let this freak take my place,” Frankie said. Nobody said a word. “Come on, Red. Tell him to move.”

“Well, I don’t know…” Red said.

“Alex,” said Frankie. “Buddy. We go way back. We used to build snow forts together on the playground during kindergarten recess. Now you’re letting this guy sit in my seat? You’re not actually friends with this idiot, are you?”

“What?” Alex said. “I, uh…”

Brian felt something cold and wet on the back of his neck. He reached back and touched it, then looked at his fingers. They were dark red and dripping.

“What difference does it make?” Frankie said. “It’s just barbecue sauce. Alex, check it out, the dork looks like he was shot in the back of the head. He’s got barbecue-sauce blood oozing down his neck.”

Alex actually made a little half laugh sound, but a couple of the other guys at the table shook their heads.

“See you around, Brian.” Frankie stormed off. When Brian dared to look, he spotted Frankie sitting at a table with B.A. Pineeda, Chris Miller, and Jason Cooper.

Brian felt the barbecue sauce running down inside his shirt. He looked at Alex. Frankie had put him on the spot, and he had just stammered around, as helpless as Brian had been all the times before. Brian had thought Alex was so cool, that he always knew how to handle any situation. But how could a guy be even close to cool when he just abandoned a friend like that? What kind of guy let his friend get picked on?

Brian froze. Max sat alone, facing away from him at the other end of the cafeteria.

Yeah, what kind of guy?

He wanted to go to the bathroom to clean up, but then it would look like he was just running away. While the guys started a halfhearted discussion about football, he finished his chicken nuggets and took a bite out of his dried-out cookie. Then he got up from the table with his tray.

After school, Brian spotted Frankie in the crowd heading for the back door, maybe going to see if Brian was taking the old secret way. No problem. He hopped on Spitfire and rolled away from the front of the school.

He went home to drop off his books. A note on the fridge said he was supposed to be home by six for supper. He was about to head out again, but stopped just short of the front door. Wendy said to meet her at four thirty. It was just three thirty now, and it wouldn’t do any good to be at the skate park too early.

More important, what if Wendy was thinking this whole skating thing was a date? How did anyone know they were on a date? Mom sometimes watched these terrible movies where a guy would ask a girl to dinner and then the girl would say yes. Then the guy would say “Great. It’s a date.” Brian had just said something like, “Do you want to go to the skate park?”

Maybe he should have said it was a date. Unless she didn’t think this meeting was a big deal and would have laughed at him for thinking a girl like her would ever go out with someone like him. Brian sighed, pressed his hands to the sides of his head, and paced the kitchen.

He went to his room. The first thing he knew he had to do was get a clean shirt. He looked in his closet and pulled out his two best shirts, a white button-up and his cool Beatles T-shirt with the Magical Mystery Tour album cover printed on the front. How was he supposed to know what to wear?

The phone rang. It was probably Wendy calling to tell him she didn’t want to meet with him, or Frankie saying he wasn’t allowed to see her. Brian ran to the nearest handset. “Hello?”

“Brian?” It was Alex.

“Oh, hey.” He wasn’t at the top of the list of people Brian wanted to talk to.

“I’m sorry for what happened at lunch today. That was just stupid. I don’t even know why I hang around with Frankie at all. I mean, I don’t outside of school anymore, but in school… it’s like I don’t even choose who I get to hang around with.”

Brian appreciated the apology, but he didn’t really have time for what Alex was saying. “Yeah, well, I don’t care about that right now.”

“Well, what do you want me to do? I said I was sorry. I don’t—”

“No, no. That’s all fine.” Brian leaned against the wall in the hallway. As much as he needed help, part of him also felt like he needed to keep this whole skating event or date thing a secret. On the other hand, Alex had been so smooth with Kendra…. Maybe he could help Brian out here.

“Then what, man?” Alex said. Brian didn’t answer. “I was just about to head out to the Eagle’s Nest. See you there?” Brian should just tell him. It was probably no big deal anyway. Nobody said anything for a moment. “Hello? You there?”

“No,” Brian said.

“Wait. You’re not there, or you’re not going to the Eagle’s Nest?”

“I need some advice.” He told Alex about the skating plans with Wendy.

“Whoa… You’re a legend. I wondered what you two were talking about this morning before school. And I’ve heard that Wendy might kind of like you.”

“Might kind of like”? What did that mean? Still, Brian was happy to hear it. “So what should I do?”

“First,” Alex said. “You don’t have to say ‘It’s a date’ for it to actually be a date.”