“Get your ass ready for school,” his mom yelled through his window.

Michael sighed, throwing his Captain Astro quilt off of him. He loved his quilt; his mom had made it for him on his twelfth birthday. It was the year she and Uncle Vic were buying the diner. That meant they were pretty strapped, and he knew he wouldn’t be getting any store-bought presents. His mom was amazing though and had spent her nights on that quilt. No one else had a Captain Astro quilt.

“I mean it, get up. You’re going to have to take the bus.”

Michael wrenched open his door and glared at his mother. “What are you talking about?”

“I have to take your car to work. Mine is on the fritz and I won’t have time to get it into the shop until tomorrow.”

“Can’t Uncle Vic take you?” He knew he was whining but he hated taking the bus.

“He’s got an appointment in Joelton. This won’t kill you, I did buy the thing and pay insurance on it,” she said darkly.

“You told me to save my money for school,” he defended himself. He would have bought the car himself and pay for insurance, but she wouldn’t hear of it.

“You’ll need it in college. One day isn’t going to be the end of the world. Maybe if you call Brian he can swing by and get you before school.”

She turned and headed down the stairs, she had to be at work at seven. His uncle usually opened the place at five. Michael shut his bedroom door and went about getting ready for school. He wore a simple red t-shirt and jeans. He tried to call Brian, but he must have already left for school because he wasn’t answering. He had a beeper, but Brian got annoyed if he used it too much, he only liked having it for extra hours at work.

The walk to the end of the driveway was bitter. Just the thought of getting on that bus was annoying. He had hoped those days were behind him, that was the whole point of his car…a little independence. It wasn’t like his mother gave him much, she was always in his business.

Just last week when she found out he was dating David Cameron she couldn’t help but put her two cents in. She said that David was a nice boy but not really someone she pictured for him.

When the bus slowed to a stop and he got on, he groaned. The only empty seat was beside “the freak.” Brian had given him that nickname the start of their freshman year. Carl Horvath was a weirdo; he always had been. Not only that, but his dad would also come to the diner and hit on his mom.

Freshman year Carl Horvath Jr. had gone from a geek in eighth grade to a goth. His once short light brown hair was now jet black and past his shoulders. He wore black lipstick and black eyeliner; his nails were painted black too. Then to finish off the ensemble, he wore black jeans and always a long black sleeve shirt, even in the summer.

“Can I sit here?” he asked begrudgingly.

Carl, who went by the name Wylder or Wyld, something like that now, just shrugged but he did move over. Michael sat down beside him and gave him a small smile. He never actually had anything against the other boy. The other boy was reading a book, one that he had never seen before.

“Is it good?” Michael asked, he was too much like his mom.

Wylder looked at him like he was insane for a minute. “It’s…interesting.”

“A Brave New World,” he said, reading the title. “What’s it about?”

Wylder shut the book and reached over, handing it to Michael. “Here, I’ve read it many times. It’s mine, not a library book, it’s been banned at our school.”

“I’m not really a book reader.”

“You can read comic books; you can read Huxley. Give it a try, it may surprise you.”

Wylder started to look out the window while Michael thumbed through the book. As he was glancing over some of the book, something hit him in the back of the head.

“Ignore it,” Wylder said under his breath. “They get tired if you don’t give them any notice.”

Michael remembered back in sophomore year when Wylder’s bullying was the worst. He couldn’t walk down the hallway without someone throwing something at him. He remembered more than once the boy had to wear his gym clothes because people threw food or water on his clothes, paint once.

“Isn’t your dad a cop? Can you have him stop it?”

“I don’t tell him. He already thinks I’m a freak. Come June I’m out of here and never looking back.”

Michael saw the intensity in the other boy’s eyes. “Where are you going?”

“Cleveland.”

“What the fucks in Cleveland?” Michael asked.

“Elois, my girlfriend.”

“That skinny girl with the Mohawk that transferred out last year?”

“Yeah.” Wylder smiled, an honest to God smile.

“I hope Cleveland is everything you want. I know you usually sit alone at lunch, but you’re welcome to sit with us.”

“Fuck no,” Wylder spit out.

“Because it’s the queer table?” Michael asked, ready to not like him again.

“I’m bi, that’s not the reason. That asshole Kinney. I’d rather die than sit near him.”

Michael knew Brian didn’t like Wylder, but he hadn’t said anything to him ever. He called him a freak but that was only to their friends.

“Why?”

Wylder looked at him and Michael saw the pain in his eyes. “Read the book, it’s good.” He went back looking out the window until they arrived at school. He wondered if Brian would tell him what the issue between them was.

Justin sat in his biology class and started working in his notebook. They had a sub today, so they only had a worksheet to finish. He had completed his worksheet, now he was working on his suspect list. It had taken him most of the week to find out that only four were real possibilities. Howard Barnes, the old man who lived down the road from his aunt at the time. Wanda Jean Purdy, a teacher at the time, long retired. Vincent Myers, he was a teen at the time. Then one that made him sweat, Ira Dane, a man that lived in an outbuilding on the neighboring farm’s property. Brian had told him to stay away from him, he was crazy. He just wished he could.

Brian has said he would help but Justin realized that wasn’t going to happen. It wasn’t that Brian didn’t want to help him, but that was a part of it. The biggest thing was that Brian was always working or had soccer. Even the boyfriend thing wasn’t what he thought it would be. There were no dates, there wasn’t going to each other’s place to watch movies. All that boyfriend meant was when Brian climbed the scary tree outside Justin’s room, he would have to let him in. They had been dating for a week and the only thing that had happened was twice Brian made late night trips to Justin’s room, parking at the end of the drive. If his parents ever caught him with Brian in his room they would flip, but it was also exciting. The thrill of taking a risk. He was doomed, he knew it because he really was falling for Brian. How pathetic was that? Begging for any little piece of attention from the older boy.

“What’s that?”

Justin looked towards the source of the interruption of his thoughts. Wyld was pointing towards his notebook. He liked the other boy; they were in art together too. Wyld wasn’t as talented as Justin, but he wasn’t untalented. Everything he drew had a gothic theme to it. He had been trying to get a house drawn like it was in his head but didn’t have the skill. After seeing Justin’s work, he had asked him if he could help. Justin was able to get the house right after just an hour working together after school. They weren’t friends but not because of lack of effort on Justin’s part. Wyld finally said they couldn’t be friends it would never work; Justin was sunshine, and he was darkness.

“Just something I’m working on.”

“The Killer?”

Justin closed the notebook, looking at the front. Maybe he shouldn’t have labelled it that.

“Just something I’m working on.”

“A story?”

“I guess but I’m not telling it, I’m solving it.”

“Huh?”

Justin looked around making sure no one was paying attention. No one was even looking in their direction.

“My great aunt, her family was killed in a hit and run in ‘71. I found out that before she died, she had been looking for who did it. She even had a list of most likely suspects. I’m working on solving it.”

The dull look that was always in Wyle’s eyes except when he showed him the drawing, was gone. In its place was interest. “Can I help?”

Justin thought about Brian helping but he knew the older boy had more important things. He had to work to support himself and save for school. Justin didn’t have a friend that wasn’t one of a group and he hadn’t seen Wyld hang out with anyone. Plus, Wyld’s dad was a detective. That had to help them somewhere down the road.

“Sure, I’d like that.”