“I mean, you can turn yourself right around, go back upstairs, and peel off your fancy duds,” she said. “And feel free to wash off that half-gallon of cologne you’re swimming in, too.”

“I don’t have time for this,” I said, as patiently as humanly possible.

“Really?” said Mom. “My impression is that you have all the time in the world, what with being seriously grounded and all.”

“What?”

“You heard me.”

“Where’s Dad?”

“Not here,” she answered, and walked away as if the conversation was over.

“Hey, man!” I yelled. “I’ve got to go to Ruby’s sister’s engagement party. They’re all expecting me! And I told them weeks ago that I’d be there for sure.”

Mom didn’t even turn around. “You should have thought of that before you cheated on your midterm,” she said over her shoulder.

I stood dumbfounded in the doorway. Could she do that? Even though my dad had clearly lifted all that punishment off me?

Now I didn’t know what to do. Go to the party anyway and deal with Mom later? She’d probably doubly ground me for ignoring her, and I didn’t even have a guarantee that Ruby would let me in if I went over there. But if I didn’t show up, that would for sure be the end with Ruby. She’d never get over it.

Jeez! Can you believe this whole mess? Remind me, in the future, not to let girls push me around.

Rob

Reach for a blanket. Hand fishing in empty darkness wakes me. Weird to find myself here, crunched in a doorway like an old wino. Hadn’t noticed the cigarette butts and broken glass last night.

Get up and shake like a dog.

Have to whiz. No one’s around, but still, even animals don’t mess their nest. Go to the alley, take a leak on a Dumpster swarming with flies.

HUNGER!

Tough. No money. When’d I eat last? Must’ve been the cafeteria at lunch. Years ago. Can’t remember what I had.

Rack my brain. Suddenly hugely important for me to remember my last meal. Like that would mean nothing has snapped. I haven’t gone over the edge. It’s perfectly all right to find myself here, having spent the night in a doorway.

Wring my brain like a sponge. Finally squeeze out a drop of memory: Had been too freaked about flunking the midterm to eat lunch. So last meal musta been breakfast before school yesterday. Too hungry now to do the work it would take to remember what that breakfast was.

Occurs to me there could be some semi-all right stuff in the trash. Not in this reeking Dumpster—but in some nicer garbage. Thought cracks me up: nice garbage.

Stand scratching, watching the sky get lighter at the edge. Ask myself, Now what?

Only answer: Keep walking.