Stupid Fast

Chapter 39: TIRED BARBARIAN




That evening, Cody picked me up, and we went out to the deli at Walmart to have sandwiches with all the backs and receivers. On the way out, Cody said, “You hanging in there, man?”

“Yeah. Ken Johnson just pisses me off. No big deal.”

“No, I mean, you doing all right other than Ken Johnson? You haven’t been saying much lately.”

***

In the morning, on the paper route, Aleah had asked me sort of the same thing.

“What’s wrong? You’re so quiet. Are you mad? You didn’t come over last night.”

No, I wasn’t mad at all. Not at her. I’d skipped going to watch her practice because I thought I should clean my house. I mean, I’d broken that picture and the door frame, and there was trash all over.

I’d actually put in an hour or two cleaning too. But there was no point. The job was too big, especially because Andrew could dirty everything so fast.

I’d picked up the living room upstairs and swept the glass in the kitchen and then started with the TV room in the basement. While I worked downstairs, Andrew, apparently quietly because I didn’t hear him, pulled a couple of boxes out of the attic and spread the contents across the living room floor. Jerri must’ve heard him because she came out of her room and began shouting, “What the hell are you doing? What the hell are you doing? Stay out of my stuff, you little goddamn prick. You prick! You shit! You little ass!”

I ran upstairs in time to hear Andrew drop the f-bomb on her and slam the front door on his way out. Jerri was scooping up crap from the floor and crying. So the upstairs actually looked worse after I cleaned. It was a losing battle, so I quit and went for a fast bike ride, all the weeds and trees blurring, but didn’t go to Aleah’s (I had too much on my mind that needed to drain out).

The following morning on the route, I suppose I was quiet; I didn’t make jokes or anything, just delivered the papers. By the time we got to the nursing home, Aleah was staring at me.

“Are you okay, Felton?”

“Umm hmm,” I said.

“You’re quiet.”

“Just tired this morning.”

“You haven’t really talked in a couple of days,” she said.

“I have a lot to deal with because football is coming up,” I told her.

She nodded but seemed concerned.

***

“Aleah is leaving soon. I guess I’m bummed,” I told Cody in the truck.

He knew she was going back to Chicago, so it was a good excuse.

“Sucks. Make sure she comes to your party,” he said.

I couldn’t believe anyone was throwing me a party. I couldn’t believe it was only a week and a few days away. I honestly felt like I was turning into an old man, not just some young dude about to turn sixteen. Barbarian getting old…

***

You know, I don’t even know exactly what I mean by barbarian. I just saw that Arnold Schwarzenegger movie once. Big muscley man who can beat everyone. He even punched out a camel.

***

But these were still good times.

Cody and I arrived at Walmart a little later than everyone else. When we walked into the deli aisle where there’s seating, there were more than the backs and receivers, there were like twenty honkies waiting for me, including Abby and Jess.

“Hey, what’s up?” I asked.

And, seriously, I was greeted as if I were the king of the whole wide Walmart world. Nobody liked Ken Johnson very much apparently. They actually whooped when they saw me. Karpinski said, “If Kennedy Johnson thought he could take you, he would’ve thrown a punch.” Everybody shouted “Yeah!” “He’s scared of you, Rein Stone!” Then he shouted, “Kennedy’s scared of a squirrel nut!” And right away, everybody chanted “Kennedy’s scared of a squirrel nut. Kennedy’s scared of squirrel nut,” over and over, which might have been insulting because none of those people ever called me squirrel nut anymore. But it wasn’t. What’s the problem with squirrel nut? Nothing, if Ken Johnson’s scared of it.

But the Barbarian was getting tired.

I’m so, so, so tired.