“Ian’s bum was on fire,” Duncan announces at supper.
Oh, great.
Mom drops her fork and looks back and forth between the two of us.
“Max, what is Duncan talking about?”
“It was nothing.” I smirk, remembering how funny it was.
“I put his bum fire out,” Duncan says, after pushing his plate away.
“Will someone tell me what’s going on?”
“It was no big deal, Mom. Ian came over today, and we were fooling around in my room. He was showing me how to do blue darts.”
“What in heaven’s name are blue darts?”
“Bums blow out fire,” Duncan says, as he gets up to leave the table.
I glare at Duncan’s back.
“Let me get this straight, you were playing with matches?”
“Sort of, but we were really careful.”
“Good lord, Max! What has got into you? You could have started a fire. This isn’t like you at all.” Her voice quivers. “It’s Ian—isn’t it? He’s not to be here when I’m not home.”
“Mom! That’s not fair. I’m not stupid. I wasn’t going to burn down the house by lighting a few dumb farts.”
I stand up and shove my chair into the table. “This sucks. I’m always looking after Duncan! I never get to play hockey. Ever since Dad died, I have to do everything!”
There.
I’d said it.
My whole body is clenched tight, waiting for her to say something.
“What do you expect me to do?” she finally says. “Do you think I like leaving you alone all the time with Duncan?” Her voice cracks. She scrunches up the napkins and gathers the rest of the dishes. “I’m still trying to figure things out, Max. We all have to do our bit.”
“I am doing my bit!”
She stands at the kitchen sink with her back toward me, bracing her hands on the counter. “Max, please…”
“No, Mom, I’m not finished. I’m always late for school because of Duncan. I can’t play hockey like I used to, because I have to look after him. He blabs off at the mouth to my friends and Mr. Cooper. He acts so retarded. I hate it.” Just as the words blast out of my mouth, Duncan comes into the kitchen with his hands covering his ears.
“You’re hurting my ears,” he says.
“I…”
“It’s okay, Duncan. He didn’t mean it. Did you, Max?”
The trouble was, I did mean it.
I just didn’t mean for Duncan to hear me.
“Max! Say you’re sorry,” Mom says.
I look at Duncan. “Sorry,” I mutter.
I flop down on my bed and dial Ian’s number.
“Hey, what’s wrong? You sound bummed out,” Ian asks.
“Mom and I got in a big fight.”
“Not again—what was it this time?”
“Take a wild guess,” I say.
“Not the blue darts?”
“Yup. Duncan flapped his lips about it at supper.”
“Oh, man—that’s a bummer. Hey, get it? Bummer?” Ian laughs.
“Yeah, well, Mom’s so mad at me right now, I don’t think I’m going to be able to skate on Friday.”
“You have to play,” Ian says.
I stare at my big toe poking out of a hole in my sock. “Believe me, I want to!”
Braaap. Ian lets out a big loud burp. “Okay, so we know bringing Duncan to the pond won’t work.”
“Duh!” I say as I take off my socks.
“Couldn’t you just set him up with a long movie? He’d never even know you were gone.”
I bunch my socks in a ball and pitch them to the other end of the room. “Don’t think I haven’t thought about that. But if anything happened, Mom would lose it.”
I stand up and look out my window. Snow swirls around outside. Every once in a while it makes a pinging sound on the window.
“Hey! I’ve got it,” Ian says.
“What?”
“Why don’t you ask Lilly? She’s Duncan’s school buddy this month. She’s always telling my mom that she really likes him. I bet if we paid her five bucks, she’d do it. You could put a movie on before you leave. You’d be back before your mom gets home. No one would ever know.”
“You’re forgetting about Duncan’s big mouth!”
“What if we get Lilly to come after you get his movie on?”
“Hmmm. That might work. Will you call her?”
“Sure.”
“I better go.” Just as I’m about to hang up, I say, “Hey, Ian?”
“Yeah?”
“Thanks.”
“Forget about it.” He lets out another burp and then hangs up.
At bedtime I can’t sleep. The day’s events play over and over in my head. I turn my light on and head downstairs for a snack. When I slip past Duncan’s room, I notice the tv is still on. He looks fast asleep. I tiptoe in and turn it off.
“I’m still watching,” comes a voice from underneath the blankets.
“Jeez, you scared me!” I whirl around. “Don’t do that to me!” I turn the tv back on and close the door.
I sit down at the kitchen table with a bowl of cereal. The hum of the fridge and the tick-tock of the kitchen clock keep me company. Everything is fine until I think of Mom and what she was saying earlier. I can’t do this anymore… My stomach tightens, and I’ve lost my appetite. What did she mean by that? And then I remember all the stuff I said to her. I’m just like Duncan—blurting out things I should keep inside.