Middle School: Get Me Out of Here! (22 page)

“Home,” I said.

“It’s going to be suspicious if you show up too early,” he said.

“Well, duh,” I said.

Besides, I didn’t mean Killarney Avenue.

I walked past my usual stop for the number 23 bus and kept going. Then I passed another bus stop, and another, and another. Nobody even looked twice at me, even though I was supposed to be in school. I guess that’s one of the good things about living in a city.

It felt good to walk too. It gave me time to think—and to figure out exactly what my plan was going to be.

By the time I finally got all the way to Grandma’s house, it was right around my usual time for getting back from school. That was good. I didn’t want to draw too much attention to myself, in case I got stuck here for a little while.

Because as far as I was concerned, I was just passing through.

H
ey, kiddo,” Grandma said when I came in. “How was your day?”

“Um… unbelievable?” I said.

“That’s nice.”

“Is Mom around?” I asked. I hadn’t seen her car out on the street.

“She went for another job interview,” Grandma said. “But she’ll be back.”

Mom had been to so many interviews, it didn’t really seem like it meant anything anymore. Nobody ever ended up giving her a job.

But it
was
going to make my next move easier.

As soon as Grandma went into the kitchen, I ran upstairs to Mom and Georgia’s room. Georgia was on her bed, talking on the phone when I came in.

“Get out,” I said.

“
You
get out,” she said. “It’s my roo—”

I figured Georgia would run straight downstairs and cry to Grandma that I’d yelled at her. Or maybe stop along the way to mess with my stuff somehow. But I didn’t care about any of that. I just needed to keep moving.

As soon as Georgia was gone, I opened Mom’s
top dresser drawer and took out this little seashell-covered box she had in there. That’s where she kept her “just in case” money. When I checked, there were three twenty-dollar bills folded up in a big paper clip.

I took two of the twenties and put one of them back in the clip, with a note.

The one other thing I took was Mom’s key for the big storage locker in Hills Village where we still had a lot of our stuff—like my sleeping bag and some extra clothes.

Once that was done, I snuck halfway down the stairs and listened for Georgia’s whining in the kitchen. I couldn’t hear anything, but the coast seemed clear, so I kept going.

Then as soon as I got my hand on the front doorknob—

“What are you doing?”

I turned around and Georgia was right there, looking at me over the top of Grandma’s big recliner. Seriously, she should get a job spying for the CIA. Like, in Mongolia would be nice.

“Nothing,” I said. “But… tell Mom I’ll call her later.”

“Rafe?”

Georgia looked like she could tell something was up, and didn’t want me to go.

“Sorry I yelled at you before,” I told her. Then I opened the door and left before she could say anything else.

As soon as I hit the sidewalk, I started walking fast, back up Killarney Avenue the way I’d come just a few minutes before.

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Leo said.

“No,” I said. “But I’m going anyway. You coming?”

“Well, duh.”

Y
ou okay, honey?” the lady next to me asked. “You seem like you’re a million miles away.”

“I’m okay,” I said.

We were about halfway to Hills Village by now. It was too hot on the bus, and I was getting kind of sleepy.

“What’s your name, sugar?” she said.

“Um… Leo,” I told her.

“That’s a nice name. Where are you headed, anyway?”

“I’m going to see my friend Matty,” I said. “He’s in
the hospital with this terrible flesh-eating disease.”

The lady looked at me like she didn’t know whether to believe me or not.

“He still owes me five dollars,” I said. “So I need to get there before—well, you know. Before it’s too late.”

Now she was looking like maybe it was time for her to change seats.

“Just kidding,” I said.

“Listen, Leo… aren’t you a little young to be riding alone?” the lady asked me. She started reaching into her purse. “Is there someone I can call for you?”

“No, it’s okay,” I told her right away. “The truth is, I was just visiting my grandma in the city. My mom’s going to pick me up at the bus station.”

I looked her in the eye this time, but not too much—just right. Anyway, I think she bought it. She didn’t ask any more questions, and the rest of the ride to Hills Village was quiet.

So I guess Matty the Freak taught me a thing or two after all.

Like how to lie.