“Good point,” his father said, sitting down on the lawn.
“Should I tell Mom you’re hurt?”
“Leave her, she’s busy.” He pulled a twenty from his back pocket and handed it to Adam. “Why don’t you run down to the 7-Eleven on the corner and get us a cold six-pack.”
Adam pocketed the bill. “Yeah, I’ll just tell them I forgot my ID, but I really am over twenty-one.”
“I meant a six-pack of Coke.”
“I know.” Adam turned away, “I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
His dad groaned as he leaned back on his elbows and stared up at the sky. “Take your time. I don’t think I’ll be going anywhere anytime soon.”
2
It was while Adam was returning from the store with the sodas that he met Sally Wilcox. She sneaked up on him from behind. A pretty girl about his age, she had long brown hair and a sticklike figure that somehow made her look like a doll that a fairy queen had brought to life with a wave of a magic wand. It was a hot day, and her long legs poking out of her white shorts were tan and bony. She had the widest brown eyes Adam had ever seen, and she didn’t look a thing like Denise back in Missouri.
“Hello,” she said. “Are you the new kid in town?”
“I suppose so. I just got here.”
She stuck out her hand. “My name’s Sara Wilcox, but you can call me Sally. It’s easier to remember.”
Adam took her hand. “I’m Adam Freeman.”
Sally practically shook his fingers off. “What should I call you?”
“Adam.”
She nodded to his Coke cans. “Are those cold?”
“Yes.”
“May I have one, please?”
It wasn’t as if he could say no, being the new kid and all. He gave her a Coke, which she promptly opened and drank. She didn’t even let out a loud burp afterward. Adam was impressed.
“You must have been thirsty,” he remarked.
“I was.” She studied him for a moment. “You look depressed, Adam.”
“Huh?”
“You look sad. Are you sad?”
He shrugged. “No.”
Sally nodded to herself. “You left someone special behind. I understand.”
Adam blinked. “What are you talking about?” This girl was weird.
Sally waved her hand as if what she was saying was obvious. “You don’t have to be embarrassed. You’re a good-looking guy. You must have had a good-looking girlfriend wherever you came from.” She paused. “Where was that anyway?”
“Kansas City.”
Sally nodded sympathetically. “She’s a long way away now.”
“Who?”
“I just met you, Adam. How would I know her name?”
Adam frowned. “My best friends in Kansas City were named Sammy and Mike.”
Sally tossed her long hair impatiently. “If you don’t want to talk about her, that’s OK. I’m going through an identity crisis myself.” She paused. “But you couldn’t tell that just by looking at me, could you?”
“No.”
“I hide it. I suffer in silence. It’s better that way. It builds character. My aunt says I have a face full of character. Do you think that’s true?”
Adam resumed walking toward his house. The Cokes were getting warm and Sally was making him dizzy. But it had been nice of her to say he was good-looking. Adam was a little insecure about his looks. His brown hair, similar in color to Sally’s, was not nearly so long. His father cut his hair, and the man believed in closely trimmed lawns as well as heads. Nor was Adam as tall as Sally, who seemed to him to have stilts sewn on to her legs. But people told him
he had a handsome face. At least his mother did when she was in a good mood.
“I guess,” he replied to her last question about the character in her face.
She followed him. “Are you going to introduce me to your family? I always like to meet parents. You can get a good idea of what a guy is going to become by looking at his dad.”
“I hope not,” Adam muttered.
