Run

by David Skuy

  A folded piece of paper landed in front of him. His chest pain roared back. Someone had noticed his shoes. Stupid to think he was safe because Nick wasn’t here.

  This was only the start. Someone would snap a picture and Tweet it. He wanted to kill Gwen and Rajeev — and his mom.

  He knew the entire class was waiting for him to read the note, waiting for him to get upset, tear up, look around in fear with that begging look bullied kids have, the look that said, “Just leave me alone — pick on someone else.” That wasn’t going to happen, though. He knew what to do.

  Still as a rock, his eyes deadened and soft, he slowed his breathing and let his shoulders slump, quieting his thoughts until his brain was still, empty, smooth. He’d disappear. He’d done it so many times it was like second nature.

  No reaction.

  Keep calm.

  Feel nothing.

  He opened the note.

  Lionel,

  Heard that you got Brit to walk for a whole hour yesterday! And so nice of you to carry that brat all the way back to the café. You’re sweet. See you after school for the big cleanup.

  Kia

  He met her eyes before he could stop himself. She smiled and flicked her eyebrows a couple of times. He nodded and turned away quickly.

  “So, who can see the mistake in this sentence?” Whellan said, jabbing the board with his chalk.

  Rashmi, Angelina, and Kiana raised their hands. Whellan pointed to his left. “Stephane, what do you think?”

  “The pronoun doesn’t agree with the verb,” Stephane said.

  “Right you are,” Whellan said. “Good work. That’s a tricky one. Who else saw that?”

  A few kids put up their hands.

  Lionel looked down at the note.

  See you after school.

  He couldn’t actually go. He didn’t know those boys. On the other hand, any excuse he came up with now would be lame. Kiana could see he wasn’t sick — and she knew he wasn’t sick yesterday. He was trapped. She’d know he’d chickened out if he didn’t show, and she’d tell Nick.

  He got an idea. He’d show up, stay for ten minutes, and then fake a phone call from his mom and tell them he had to go. They’d buy that.

  His idea calmed him down, but his chest and stomach still hurt. This was going to be the longest day ever.

  Monday: 3:39 p.m.

  Lionel crossed the street to the bus shelter. The bus must’ve just left — there was no one waiting. He’d run as fast as he could. Probably missed it by ten seconds. No telling when the next would come. Gwen would say don’t worry, but he knew she’d be mad he was late the first day.

  He leaned against the glass of the bus shelter. He tried to close his eyes and calm down. Kiana didn’t want him there. She was just being nice with that note. He should be happy today was over and he could go home. It had been a miracle day: an insult-free day with clown shoes on. Funny that no one had said a word to him, like he really was invisible.

  He’d find stuff at home to tone the green down. Hopefully, by tomorrow, kids wouldn’t even know they were green — and he’d be able to breathe again.

  For ten minutes he watched the traffic whizzing past. A truck rumbled by, and behind it — the bus! Lionel hopped up the stairs.

  “Hey, it’s the Sorry Dude,” the driver said.

  “You’re early today,” Lionel said.

  The doors closed and the bus set off.

  “Not really, young man.” The driver looked at his watch. “I’m maybe a minute ahead.”

  How’d he get here so quickly? Sure he ran — but that fast?

  “I may look powerful, but I don’t control time, bud. It marches on — too quick if you ask me. I used to be beautiful.” He glanced at Lionel. “That was a joke, by the way.”

  “Sorry,” Lionel said. “I ran from school and … I’m a bit tired.”

  “So, tell me. What’s your name again?” the driver said.

  “Lionel.”

  “Hi, Lionel. Bit better than the Sorry Dude, don’t ya agree?”

  “I guess.”

  “So, Lionel, those are some sick runners. What’s your distance?”

  “Um, I run, yeah.”

  “Must be a distance runner with those puppies.”

  “I’m a …” The driver wouldn’t believe a fat kid like him ran for real. “I jog a bit, once in a while.”

  “Don’t laugh,” the driver said, “and I know you’d never believe a slob like me ran once, but I did tons of track in high school. Pretty good, too.”

  “What event?”

  A few passengers filed by.

  “The four hundred mostly, and a bit of eight hundred, and long jump.” He sighed. “I blame Father Time. You blink and the next thing you know you’re sitting on your butt ten hours a day and you’re fat and outta shape.” He patted his stomach and laughed, but this time he didn’t sound happy.

  “You could always start again. Running, I mean,” Lionel said. “I just started running, to be honest. That’s why I got these.” He kicked a foot up.

  “Run again? Do I look like a runner?”

  “Not sure — I guess so. What does a runner look like, anyway?”

  He laughed again. “I like you, Lionel. You’re a cool kid, I can tell. And dammit, why not? I’m gonna get me a pair of fancy runners like you and hit the streets, and I’m gonna stop eating so much garbage. My wife’s on me about it all the time. I don’t need to eat a dozen donuts every morning, do I?”

  “That might be a few too many.”

  They burst out laughing together.

  “What do you have going on after school?” the driver asked.

  “Not much.”

  “I bet you’re meeting some buddies, right? I know kids hate telling adults what they’re doing.” The driver grinned and nodded a few times.

  Lionel didn’t want to sound like a total loser. “I’m sorta going off to work. I’m helping a friend … Well, I’m helping to organize some stuff … cleaning the second floor of a café.”

  The driver pulled over. It was Lionel’s stop. The doors opened.

  “Then you’d best get going, Lionel. Don’t wanna be late for work — and when you see me next, we’ll be fellow runners.” He held out a thumbs-up.

  Lionel flashed one back and left; just like that he decided to go to the café and work — and earn that money for the new controller. He didn’t need to talk to anyone. Just work.

  His newfound courage faded quickly as he got closer. He stood out front for a minute, his heart racing a million beats a second. He thought about that controller — he couldn’t keep using it. He had to kill those stupid skeletons already, and he hated that ogre. He also didn’t want to lie to the driver. If he saw him tomorrow he’d ask how work went. Lionel was lying too much lately.

  He went inside. His heart was still pounding, but his chest had stopped hurting and his stomach didn’t feel its usual sick self. Georgina was behind the counter. She’d gone hardcore Goth: all black, fierce, ears covered in piercings, and the nose and tongue too. The bangles and bracelets, which covered both wrists and went halfway up her forearms, clinked as she came over.

  “Are you Lionel, by any chance?” Georgina said. It was the first time she’d ever spoken to him.

  Flustered, he managed a nod. She had a pretty smile.

  “Go right on up. Gwen’s waiting for you,” she said.

  “And Binny?”

  “Don’t think so,” she shrugged.

  On a whim, Lionel took the stairs two at a time. He pushed a heavy wood door open and stepped into a large room. The right wall was lined with four tall windows looking out over the street. They reached practically to the ceiling. The other wall, which faced the back alleyway, had smaller windows. The ceiling had wood beams running the entire length of the room, and t
he floor had the widest wood planks he’d ever seen. Close by the door, Britney lay on a thick area rug with a bowl of water at her side.

  Overcome by dust, Lionel sneezed.

  Gwen whirled around, startled. Kiana stepped out from behind a pile of boxes. Britney opened her eyes, let out a whimper, and closed them again.

  “You’re right on time — even early,” said Gwen. “Thanks. The other boys should be here soon. Now that you’ve seen it, do you still want to do it?”

  Gwen looked sad. Only then did Lionel notice the mess: the broken furniture, the boxes, lamps, equipment, signs, and bits and pieces of metal parts and tools.

  He’d cleaned his room. He could help fix this.

  “It won’t be that bad once we get into it,” he told Gwen.

  “There’s a garbage bin in the lane behind the building, where we park,” Gwen said. “You can toss the stuff that’s broken or can’t be used in there.”

  “Dad didn’t want stuff thrown out, just organized,” Kiana said.

  “We won’t throw out the good stuff,” Gwen said, her voice strained. “But your father wants to rent this space out as a party room. When he gets back from visiting Grandma, he can figure out what we can use downstairs.” She looked out the big windows overlooking the street.

  “There are lots of nice things,” Kiana said. “We should just organize it first.”

  Gwen ran her hand over a chair. The seat was missing. “It wasn’t supposed to be like this …” She broke off and gave her head a shake. “Well, I’m not helping, am I? I’ve been thinking you could make two piles: stuff you think has value and stuff you’re not sure about. If something is absolutely broken and can’t be used … we can dump that into the bin. Make sense?”

  The sound of feet stomping up the stairs interrupted her. Deepak and Afonso came in. Deepak rubbed his hands together and looked around, his head nodding.

  “We’ll have this place in shape in no time,” Deepak said. “I have it all figured out, and I brought my computer so we could check the value of things online. He screwed up his eyes and put his computer down. “We’ll put the good stuff in the far corner so it won’t get wrecked. The maybe pile could be there against that wall. The junk … the broken junk … we can put it …”

  “My mom has a bin in the laneway,” Kiana said.

  “Excellent,” Deepak said, rubbing his hands together. “Don’t worry about anything, Gwen. By tomorrow, you won’t recognize the place. I promise.”

  “Where’s Binny?” Afonso said.

  “He’s visiting my grandmother,” Kiana said.

  “Binny’s mom got ill, and he went to see her,” Gwen said.

  Gwen was usually so fun and full of energy, but every once in a while, when he wasn’t expecting it, Lionel caught a glimpse of a sad face, like she was disappointed with something important, like she wanted to give up. He knew that face. It’s how he felt most times — wanting to give up because there’s no point and nothing is going to get better, and nothing is going to make guys like Nick less scary or take the chest tightness away, other than pills.

  “You sure you want to pay us for this?” Afonso said. “This will take a long time.”

  “I absolutely do,” Gwen said. “If you need anything, just come down.”

  She left.

  “There’s a ridiculous amount of stuff here,” Afonso said. He pulled a chair off a pile of furniture. “I think there are like ten more chairs here, all broken. Is everything here junk?”

  “No,” Kiana said quickly. “Like Deepak said, we should make three piles …”

  “It’s going to be a lot of work to carry this broken stuff down the stairs to the bin in the back,” Afonso said.

  “That’s why she’s paying us,” Deepak said.

  Afonso sniffed the air. “It’s hard to breathe up here.”

  “It’s just a little dusty,” Kiana said.

  “Should we start with the broken and useless stuff?” Afonso said.

  “It’s not useless,” Kiana snapped. “Some of it got broken — from being up here so long.”

  Britney lay on the floor on her side and spread out her legs.

  Deepak laughed. “You’re not going to get any money if you act like that, Britney,” he said.

  Deepak rubbed her tummy. Britney grunted and closed her eyes.

  Lionel wandered over to the window. Afonso was right. It was dusty. The back of his throat tickled. He looked down. The bin was directly below.

  “Should we start at the back and work our way to the front?” Afonso said.

  “Let’s just start,” Kiana said.

  Kiana seemed irritated. Lionel felt the phone in his pocket. Maybe he should fake a call and get home.

  “I was probably a little optimistic about finishing tomorrow,” Deepak said.

  “Or this month,” Afonso said.

  “Don’t say that,” Kiana said.

  She sounded desperate. Lionel wondered why she cared so much. Afonso was right. Most of it was junk. He opened the window halfway to let in a breeze.

  “Think of this as training,” Deepak said to Kiana. “Don’t you guys run up and down hills to build your muscles? We’ll go up and down the stairs a few hundred times and soon we’ll be ripped.”

  Afonso picked up two chairs. “If we’re going to do this, then let’s get to work.”

  Lionel pushed the window open completely. The opening was fairly big. He leaned out and looked at the empty bin below.

  Afonso headed to the stairs, Deepak behind him. Kiana sighed and pulled two chairs from the pile. She looked over.

  “Afonso is right. This stuff is broken and useless — and it’ll take longer than a month,” she said.

  Lionel swallowed heavily. “There could be some good things,” he managed.

  She picked up the chairs. “Maybe. Take a couple chairs and let’s go.”

  He looked down at the bin.

  “I think we can throw stuff out this window.”

  Kiana blinked a few times, unmoving.

  “The bin. It’s right below us,” Lionel said, barely louder than a whisper.

  Kiana put the chairs down. “Let me see.” She came over and looked out. Her eyes came alive and she laughed. “You deserve a gold star for this,” she said. “Wait a sec.”

  She ran back to the chairs. Lionel wasn’t sure exactly where she expected him to go. He looked out the window. Deepak and Afonso were beside the bin.

  “One, two, three,” Deepak sang out, and he threw a chair into the bin.

  Afonso tossed his in next. The chairs rattled around noisily.

  Kiana leaned her head out again. “Hey boys, how’s the training going?”

  They looked up.

  “Better than yours,” Deepak responded. “What’s up?”

  “Watch and learn,” Kiana said.

  She picked up a chair. The seat fell off. She laughed and then threw the frame out the window. Lionel watched it bounce around in the bin.

  Deepak was ginning like mad. “So you’ve proven that you’re smarter than us. So what? We’re idiots.”

  He held out his fist and Afonso punched it. Kiana flung the chair seat Frisbee-style.

  “Lionel thought of it,” Kiana said. “Now get your lazy butts up here and let’s get tossing.”

  Lionel got the last two chairs.

  “Your idea. Toss away,” Kiana said.

  Lionel put them down. “You should do the tossing. I’ll grab some more stuff for you.”

  It seemed like a boy thing to say, which was dumb because she was probably stronger than him. He scooped up a few chair parts that had broken off. This was firewood, not furniture. Binny would feel better when it was gone, for sure, like he had after he’d cleaned his room. He dumped the chair pieces by the window and went back.

 
; Crash! Clang! Smash!

  Kiana kept tossing things out. Lionel heard Deepak and Afonso tromp up the stairs.

  “Let the mayhem begin,” Deepak said.

  Afonso looked into a big cardboard box. “This is full of old newspapers. What’s your dad saving this for? Everything’s online anyway.”

  Kiana threw the last of the furniture bits out the window. “Not sure. Maybe we should save it.”

  “Save it for what?” Afonso said.

  Kiana shrugged helplessly.

  Deepak looked in. “No one needs this, and the newspaper is all yellowed. He obviously isn’t going to use it. It’s been here for a long time.” He put his arms around the box. It didn’t budge. “This weighs a thousand pounds. How can paper weigh so much?”

  “I’ll help,” Lionel said. He put his hands under the bottom and lifted it up. It wasn’t that heavy, he thought.

  Deepak began laughing. Lionel felt his face grow hot. He’d taken the box from Deepak.

  “I think you can handle it,” Deepak said. “I’ll look for any boxes of feathers.” He looked into the next box. “More newspapers. Afonso, come help. I’m too weak.”

  Lionel carried the box to the window, confused and not a little scared. Deepak didn’t sound angry about it, but he couldn’t be sure. This whole thing was becoming a huge stress.

  “Toss it straight out,” Kiana said.

  Lionel rested the box on the window sill, closed the top so the papers wouldn’t fly out, and tossed it out.

  Thump.

  A chair exploded as the box thudded on top.

  “Cool!” Deepak said. He and Afonso were carrying another box together. “Let’s keep crushing.”