The envelope looked official. Its plastic window cast a sheen over Henry’s name and address, printed in a mechanical, matter-of-fact font. He opened the envelope with delicate pinches, unwilling to take any chances with its precious contents. The material the check was printed on felt sturdier than the paper of classroom handouts, so flimsy and frivolous by comparison. He unfolded it and on the other side of a perforated seam were charts tabulating all the hours and wages and deductions.

Al flicked the Kool. Spat. “Don’t look at what Uncle Sam’s took.”

It didn’t matter. Henry had never held so much money in his hands. He was no math wizard, but all it took was a single shift of a decimal point to see this paycheck held more than ten times the spending power of what he’d typically been armed with for the weekend’s entertainment. With this small fortune, he wasn’t limited to his weekly twenty-dollar allowance, which went straight to chipping in on the night’s poisons, only to peel himself off a basement floor with a mean case of comedown shakes, a skull full of wet cement, and an empty wallet. This felt like he was getting away with something. His name printed next to such a sum shot an asteroid through him, a comet tail of possibilities crackling through his thoughts. The punch clock said there were still another four hours left of his shift. Four hours of tugging pallets and stocking shelves were also four hours to devise a plan.

There were purchases to be made. He was going to deck his room out with posters and black lights, stock up his CD collection, and get a louder stereo. He would buy himself new jeans, fresh sneakers, a haircut. Then, cleaned up and cash in hand, he would be ready for the most important purchase now possible: a proper date with Michelle.

To make it happen, Papa had to spot him the truck. The old man was a permanent fixture at the dining table on the weekends. Except for his near-closing-time errands, he never left the house, so how could he refuse? Henry had done as he’d been told. He’d gotten a job, taken the bus every day after school, and never once asked for help. Even though this had all been done to keep Papa if not pleased then at least pacified, after a month of good behavior, of obedience, Henry was owed.