Traplines Read Online Free Page B

wing snicker as I go past. I don’t stop until I get to the gym doors, where the headbangers have taken over. I don’t have any money and I didn’t bring a lunch, so I bum a cigarette off this girl with really tight jeans. To get my mind off my stomach I try to get her to go out with me. She looks at me like I’m crazy. When she walks away, the fringe on her leather jacket swings.
    I flunk my biology test. It’s multiple choice. I stare at the paper and kick myself. I know I could have passed if I’d read the chapter. Mr. Kellerman reads out the scores from lowest to highest. My name is called out third.
    “Mr. Tate,” he says. “Three out of thirty.”
    “All riiight,” Craig says, slapping my back.
    “Mr. Davis,” Mr. Kellerman says to Craig, “three and a half.”
    Craig stands up and bows. The guys in the back clap. The kids in the front laugh. Mr. Kellerman reads out the rest of the scores. Craig turns to me. “Looks like I beat the Brain,” he says.
    “Yeah,” I say. “Pretty soon you’re going to be getting the Nobel Prize.”
    The bell rings for English. I go to my locker and take out my jacket. If she calls home no one’s going to answer anyway.
    I walk downtown. The snow is starting to slack off and it’s even sunning a bit. My stomach growls. I haven’t eaten anything since breakfast. I wish I’d gone to English. Mrs. Smythe would have given me something to eat. She always has something left over from lunch. I hunch down into my jacket.
    Downtown, I go to the Paradise Arcade. All the heads hang out there. Maybe Eric’ll give me some money. More like a belt, but it’s worth a try. I don’t see him anywhere, though. In fact, no one much is there. Just some burnouts by the pinball machines. I see Mitch and go over to him, but he’s soaring, laughing at the ball going around the machine. I walk away, head for the highway, and hitch home. Mom will have passed out by now, and Dad’ll be at work.
    Sure enough, Mom is on the living room floor. I get her a blanket. The stove has gone out and it’s freezing in here. I go into the kitchen and look through the fridge. There’s one jar of pickles, some really pathetic-looking celery, and some milk that’s so old it smells like cheese. There’s no bread left over from Saturday. I find some Rice-A-Roni and cook it. Mom comes to and asks for some water. I bring her a glass and give her a little Rice-A-Roni. She makes a face but slowly eats it.
    At six Dad comes home with Eric. They’ve made up. Eric has bought Dad a six-pack and they watch the hockey game together. I stay in my room. Eric has cleaned his bed by dumping his mattress outside and stealing mine. I haul my mattress back onto my bed frame. I pull out my English book. We have a grammar test this Friday. I know Mrs. Smythe will be unhappy if she has to fail me. I read the chapteron nouns and get through most of the one on verbs before Eric comes in and kicks me off the bed.
    He tries to take the mattress but I punch him in the side. Eric turns and grabs my hair. “This is my bed,” he says. “Understand?”
    “Fuck you,” I say. “You had the party. Your fucked-up friends trashed the room. You sleep on the floor.”
    Dad comes in and sees Eric push me against the wall and smack my face. He yells at Eric, who turns around, his fist frozen in the air. Dad rolls his sleeves up.
    “You always take his side!” Eric yells. “You never take mine!”
    “Pick on someone your own size,” Dad says. “Unless you want to deal with me.”
    Eric gives me a look that says he’ll settle with me later. I pick up my English book and get out. I walk around the village, staying away from the RinkyDink. It’s the first place Eric will look.
    I’m at the village exit. The sky is clear and the stars are popping out. Mr. Smythe will be at his telescope trying to map the Pleiades. Mrs. Smythe will be marking papers while she watches TV.
    “Need a ride?” this guy says. There’s a blue pickup