When Dad came home from school on Friday, the first thing he did was throw his bag on the kitchen table. Hard. It got Sam’s attention all the way upstairs.
“Hey, Spaz! Stop knocking down the house,” he called.
“It wasn’t me!” I yelled at the ceiling. “Dad’s home.”
“For Pete’s sake. Will you two lower the volume already?” Dad said. This was the second time in the last week Dad had come home grumpy.
Sam came crashing down the stairs. “Hey, Dad. Can I go to a movie? I need some money, too.”
“How come he gets money and I don’t?” I asked.
“Why should you get any money?” Sam said. “You never do your chores.”
“I do them more than you do yours,” I shot at him.
“Enough!” Dad shouted. “Knock it off, you two!”
Sam and I clammed up. Mom was more of the yeller in the family. (And it took a lot to get her angry.)
Dad waved a hand at us. “Sorry, guys. It’s been a stressful day.”
“What happened?”
“My car’s toast,” Dad said.
Sam ran to the front door and opened it while Dad and I stood in the kitchen. “Where is it?” Sam asked. “Did you wreck it?”
Wreck? I searched Dad for visible injuries. “Are you okay?” I asked.
“Don’t worry. I’m fine,” Dad said as Sam came back into the room. “And the car’s at the mechanic. A friend from school brought me home.”
Dad explained that he’d taken his car in to get looked at because the brakes were making noises. The mechanic told him the brake pads were completely gone. If Dad had brought the car in when the brake light first came on, it would have been easy to replace the pads. But now it was going to cost a lot more money. And since Mom didn’t get paid until the end of the month, we didn’t have the money to have it fixed right away.
“It’s my own fault,” Dad said. “I wrote myself a note weeks ago to have them looked at. I just got busy and forgot.”
“When am I going to practice driving?” Sam asked.
Dad shrugged. “At night, I guess.”
“How are you going to get to school?” I asked.
“Mom and I will have to work something out,” Dad said.
“How am I going to get to taekwondo?” I said.
“Don’t worry,” Dad said. “I’ve got a ride all lined up for you on the days Mom needs the car. I think you’re even friends with the other girl.” Dad smiled. “Her name is Madison.”