CHAPTER 21

Do you like your sister? Maybe not. Maybe she’s a pain. Maybe she hits you or takes your stuff. Maybe she sucks up family attention because she’s smarter than you, or more athletic, or cuter. Or maybe she’s sick or sad or needy and she just whines and whines until the adults give in. Lots of reasons to resent your sis.

I don’t resent Ruby. Not at all. Even though she’s cuter and more athletic and smarter than me. I don’t care about any of that.

I told you about her reading to me. Here’s another memory.

Lunch hour in grade one. So, like, seven years ago. Fall. A grey, cloudy day, and I was passing the time by counting the fence posts.

That’s one of my things, counting. You probably already know that. I feel calmer when I know how many of something there are.

So I was walking the playground. Down Pendrell Street side there are twenty-two fence posts. Along Cardero, there are thirteen. I walked across a big kids’ soccer game. One of them, Noah, yelled at me to get out of the way. He ran over to me. He was a couple years older than me and way, way bigger. A boy mountain.

“What are you doing?” he asked.

“Counting fence posts.”

“What?”

“Counting fence posts.”

He pushed me so hard I fell over. When I got up, he pushed me down again.

“Weirdo!” he shouted. “What a weirdo!”

The soccer players gathered round, staring down at me, going, Oooooh. Pushing and calling names was more fun than kicking a ball.

I didn’t know what Noah meant. Why was counting weird? I got up again and he pushed me down again. I had no idea what was going on.

And then Ruby showed up.

She was older and even bigger than Noah. She could have pushed him down, or dragged me away. But she didn’t. Instead, she asked Noah his name and his favourite TV show. Cool, she said. Then she told him I was her little brother.

“He’s a weirdo,” said Noah.

“He sure is,” she said. “Gus is absolutely the weirdest guy I know.”

I was on my feet by then.

When I heard Ruby’s comment, I turned sideways and spoke to an invisible camera, like I do when something hits me. Like I still do now: That’s my sister, folks. She’s on my side. You can tell. She says nice things about me.

Ruby laughed. “See how crazy Gus is? See? Right now? He’s talking to an audience that isn’t there.”

The soccer crowd went Oooooh.

“Weirdos are the best people to hang around with,” said Ruby. “I want to be a weirdo too. Gus here is my inspiration. Don’t you want to be a weirdo, Noah? It’s better than being a bully.”

Noah took a step back.

“Ohhhhhh,” I said. “So Noah is bullying me. I wondered what was going on. This is very cool. I’ll have something to talk about at dinner. Guess what, Mom and Dad, I will say. I was bullied today. Thanks, Noah. Do you want to give me a wedgie before the bell rings? TV bullies are always talking about wedgies. I don’t know what they are, but they sound bad.”

By now everyone was laughing. Even Noah.

“See?” said Ruby. “That’s my little brother.”

Noah never bullied me again. Neither did anyone else.

You can tell why I really miss Ruby. I’m going to see her soon! Can’t wait.

Jamie leads me down two blocks and over one and then up three more. I count the poles we go past. There are twelve to a block. Except for the block with thirteen.

My stretcher rolls okay. We get to a big street. Island Highway it’s called.

The water is down below, and on my right side. When I ran away from the ferry, the water was on my left. I am trying to work out where I am and having no luck. It doesn’t help that we’re on an island, so there’s water on my left, too, and behind me and ahead of me.

The water sparkles in the sunshine. Like all water does. Even a puddle sparkles when the sun hits it. That’s probably a life lesson.

“You okay, Gus?” Jamie asks, turning on his board to check on me. “You look a little lost.”

“Just thinking about life lessons.”

“Oh.”

He pushes off again.

His left leg works like part of a machine, up, down and around, up, down and around. Like Charlie Chaplin in that movie.

I stop counting the poles that go by and start counting Jamie’s leg pushes. After a hundred and seventeen of them we get to Fifth Street.

There’s a bus roundabout thing. Across the street is an open area with gates to walk through and a circular pond and — oh lele! — a pond with a statue of a whale.

We’re here! Saanich College!

Ruby’s dorm is down the narrow street there.

I made it!

“Hi, Kenes!” I call out.

Jamie looks back at me.

“You know the whale’s name, do you?”

“Ruby told me.”

We head to the dorm.

I don’t need Jamie to show me the way. I remember. Second building down the street, third floor, fourth door on the left. Two, three, four, right?

I park the stretcher in the lobby of her dorm and head up the stairs.

Even number of stairs in each flight, so I start on the second stair to finish on a double.

I’m wheezing when I get to the top. But I’m at Ruby’s place!

I knock.

A stranger opens the door.