Better Than Weird (15 page)

“I really could be a chef,” he said, dipping a finger to taste the mashed potatoes.

“You'd be great,” Sophie said as she tasted the potatoes herself.

Aaron thought about making a list of things he might do when he was grown-up. He could start with scientist and chef and add pilot and astronaut, 'cause then he'd really be able to fly. And maybe gold mining. If he was a gold miner, he might find real gold and be rich. While he was trying to think of what else to add, his dad walked through the door.

“Where have you been?” Gran asked.

His father looked surprised. “I was shopping. I told you, there's something I wanted to buy.”

“Did you get it?” Aaron asked.

His father hung up his coat before he answered. “No.” He sounded tired. “I went from store to store, but when all was said and done, I couldn't make up my mind. That's what you get in the big city. Too many stores, too many choices. I finally decided to sleep on it.” He went on then to talk about how much things had changed since he had left Toronto. But Aaron was stuck with the thought that maybe his father didn't like bigcity stores after all.

TWENTY - THREE

On Tuesday morning Aaron
really
didn't want to go to school. He wanted to be with Gran. In case. But a taxi had come early, before he was dressed, and Gran and his dad had climbed in. Aaron had watched them drive away.

“It's not fair. It's not fair. I wanted to go. I wanted to go,” he complained to Sophie.

“I know,” she said.

“What if…what if…?”

“Don't think those thoughts,” she said, placing her hand on his shoulder. He twitched. He didn't want her comfort. Not today.

“Sorry,” she said, taking the hand away. “But just so you know, I think your gran is right. Your place is at school. Sitting in a hospital waiting room is a long, boring way to spend your time. Besides, your dad said he'd call as soon as he knew anything. And as soon as I hear, I'll let you know. I promise. I'll let you know.”

So Aaron went.

Talk about a long, boring way to spend your time
, he thought as the morning dragged on. There were lessons in spelling and fractions and how to use quotation marks.

“Are you with us, Aaron?” Mr. Collins asked several times. Every time he heard his name, Aaron looked at Mr. Collins and nodded, but all the time he was thinking about Sophie. When was she going to let him know?

Just before recess, Mr. Ulanni announced that it was too wet to go outside. Kids cheered and pulled out cards and board games. They paired up and began to play. Except Aaron. He sat in his chair, waiting.

Some time before noon, Mr. Collins asked the class to take out their journals and write about their weekend. Aaron thought about all the things he could write about— his gran being sick, his dad coming home, the bear story, Sophie, the new baby—but his ideas jumbled together in his mind and he couldn't decide which one to tell. Something inside him was beginning to run faster and faster. It made his brain feel a little woozy. He stood up and walked to the back of the room and checked out the fish. He peered at the snake and the turtles. Then he slipped to the floor and crawled under a table, where he turned round and round on the spot, until everything outside became as blurry as his insides. When he stopped, he closed his eyes and sat humming softly and rocking. He was so busy humming and rocking that he didn't hear anything except the sounds in his head, until someone started calling his name. He heard, but he wasn't sure if the sound was coming from the inside or the outside of his head.

Karima's face appeared. She was on her hands and knees, facing him. “Aaron,” she said.

He stared. Karima was wearing a hair band. It was gold with a black stripe.
Iron pyrite,
he thought.
It looks
just like iron pyrite.

“Aaron? Did you hear me?”

“Yeah?”

“Mr. Ulanni wants to talk to you.”

“Uh-huh,” he said, but his mind was on the hair band.

“He's at the door, Aaron. He's waiting for you.” She reached for his hand. He pulled away.

“Aaron. The principal is waiting,” she said again.

He stretched his neck and looked out from under the table. When he saw Mr. Ulanni in the doorway, he crawled out and walked over to him.

“You need to come with me,” Mr. Ulanni said. He turned to Mr. Collins. “Perhaps you could come too. I'll ask Mrs. Evans to cover your class for a few minutes.”

So the three of them, Mr. Ulanni, Mr. Collins and Aaron, walked side by side along the hall, down the stairs and toward the school office.

Aaron glanced at the adults, one on each side of him. Neither one of them spoke.
This is bad
, Aaron thought.
Bad. Bad. Bad. Death march. Firing squad.
Doomed to die.

He'd been called to the principal's office before, but he'd never been picked up by the principal himself or marched down by two grown-ups.

In the office, Mr. Ulanni pointed him to a chair inside his private room. “Sit down, Aaron,” he said. “We'll be right with you.” Then he closed the door but stayed outside talking to Mr. Collins.

Aaron strained to hear. They had to be talking about him. What were they saying? Had he done something wrong? He tried to remember. He'd been in the principal's office often enough to know that the chairs were too high and too wide for him. He knew if his back lined up with the back of the chair, his feet would stick up and make him look like a little kid. So he anchored his feet to the floor and perched on the front edge.

When the door opened, Mr. Ulanni came in and sat down behind his desk. “I have a message for you,” he said.

A sort of sick feeling washed over Aaron. “It's Gran, isn't it? Is she…is she…?”

Mr. Ulanni's eyebrows made a knot over his nose as he peered at a piece of paper. “According to Sophie, your gran is fine. Do you know Sophie?”

“Of course I know Sophie. She came with my dad. She was the surprise. And she came with a surprise. It's a baby. That's
her
surprise. A baby. They're just not sure what to call it. If it's a boy, that is. If it's a girl, they're going to call it Fran, like my gran. My gran Fran. That rhymes, doesn't it? Just like the poem we're writing for the concert. It rhymes too.”

“Aaron.” Mr. Ulanni leaned forward. “Aaron, look at me.”

Aaron stopped talking. He leaned forward, elbows on his knees and stared into the principal's face.

“Sophie told me part of your gran's thyroid had to be removed, but she will be fine. Do you understand any of that?”

Aaron nodded. “Yeah. It means she's not going to die. She isn't going to die, right?”

“Right. But there seems to be a small problem with Sophie, which is why she called.”

“Did she have the baby? Did they have to…? Did they do one of those Caesar sections?”

“Aaron! No! Your dad's still at the hospital with your grandmother. Sophie wanted to come and tell you Gran's good news herself, but while she was on her way here, she slipped on the sidewalk.”

“It's very slippery out there,” Aaron said.

“Yes. It certainly is. Anyway, a taxi took Sophie to the hospital to be checked out. She said it's only a precaution. She said she was fine, but she was worried you won't have anyplace to go at noon. She wanted us to find a neighbor's or a friend's house you can go to, until someone in your family comes home.”

For what seemed a long time, Aaron sat. Then he said, “I can go home alone. I know how to cook. I can make tuna casserole. Sophie showed me.”

“That's great,” Mr. Ulanni said. “But Sophie specifically asked that we find someplace you could go.”

“Oh. Okay. Where should I go?”

Mr. Ulanni shifted in his chair. He looked relieved when his door opened and Mr. Collins came in.

“I've just phoned Jeremy's home, Aaron,” Mr. Collins explained. “And Milly said you should come home with him.”

“Jeremy?”

“You two are friends, right? Milly said she'd make your lunch, and dinner if you need it. Are you okay with that?”

Aaron nodded. “I'm okay with that,” he said. But his shoulders sagged as he spoke, because he knew Jeremy wouldn't be.

TWENTY - FOUR

At noon Aaron trailed behind Jeremy through the slush and sidewalk puddles. He noticed Jeremy kept his head down the whole way and didn't say anything. Nothing. Not one word. He didn't even look back. Aaron knew what that meant. Jeremy had said they were done, and he had meant it
.
They were done. They couldn't be friends. Not anymore. Not since they were done.

He felt a little better when Milly smiled and welcomed him in. She had lunch waiting for them. It was vegetable soup and a grilled cheese sandwich. Jeremy spooned in the soup and wolfed down his sandwich. He hardly talked to Milly, and he didn't talk to Aaron at all. When he was done, he excused himself from the table and went into the living room to watch television. Milly frowned as she watched him go, but she stayed in the kitchen with Aaron.

He was staring at the soup in his bowl. Vegetable soup. He hated vegetable soup. It was because of all the lumps. They were different shapes and sizes and colors. He didn't like soup when he couldn't see what was inside. And now all these mystery bits were floating around like bumper cars. He poked his spoon at something green. It disappeared into the orange broth.

“I see vegetable soup is not your thing,” Milly said. “Leave it if you don't like it. I'll pour you a glass of milk.”

Aaron looked up gratefully, then started on his sandwich. Between bites, he answered Milly's questions about Gran, about his dad and Sophie, about school and other stuff. When he was finished, she collected the dishes. “Why don't you see if you can talk to Jeremy,” she said. “He seems to be having an off day.”

In the living room Jeremy lay sprawled across a large chair. He was frowning. Aaron remembered Karen warning him not to annoy somebody who was frowning. He remembered Jeremy telling him to be quiet unless he had something smart to say. He knew there was all kinds of stuff he
shouldn't
do, but he had no idea what he
should
do. He leaned against the doorjamb and watched tv from there.

What he saw made him frown. In the movie Jeremy was watching, a mammoth and a saber-toothed tiger were walking side by side. “That's not possible,” he said, forgetting that he meant to stay silent. “Saber-toothed tigers and mammoths were enemies.”

Jeremy said nothing.

A new animal appeared. The new animal had a mouthful of teeth. It was clumsy and silly and it talked—a lot. It made the saber-toothed tiger and the mammoth roll their eyes. Karen had told him what that meant, but the new animal didn't know any better, and it kept talking.

“They think he's a pest,” Aaron said, “'cause he talks all the time.”

“You think?” Jeremy said.

“Yeah. And maybe they don't want him around, 'cause he doesn't know how to shut the heck up. Maybe…” Aaron stopped. On the tv, the annoying animal was still talking.
Like me,
he thought.
He's like me
.

“Are they gonna tell him to get lost?” he asked.

“What?”

“'Cause he does everything wrong and he never shuts up. Will they stop being his friend?”

“Nah. They make up in the end. It's a movie.”

“Not like in real life, huh? In real life they'd say ‘We're done,' and they wouldn't be friends anymore.”

Aaron's words brought a flush to Jeremy's face. “For crying out loud!” Jeremy said. “You're really bugging me! Not only do you have to come home with me, but now you won't shut up and leave me alone. Don't you ever stop? You're a real pain! Why can't you sit down and be quiet!”

Surprised by Jeremy's words, Aaron plopped to the floor. It was as if a hole opened under his feet and he fell in. He was standing one second, sitting the next. If Jeremy wanted him to sit, he'd sit. He'd be quiet. He'd do whatever it took to make Jeremy change his mind and be his friend again.

When he looked up, Jeremy was staring at him, eyes wide. One side of his mouth began to twitch. That turned into a smile, and to Aaron's surprise, Jeremy burst out laughing.

“What? What's so funny?”

“You are.” Jeremy sighed. “You made me remember the day my dad and I went fishing.”

“Fishing?” Aaron didn't get it.

“We were on the river in this old rowboat, and I got a bite and stood up to reel it in. I wobbled, sort of like you did when you were on the chair beside the fish tank. That made the boat tilt. My dad stood up and grabbed for me, but I dropped straight down just like you did, so he was the one who lost his balance and fell overboard.”

“Was he mad?”

“That's just it. I thought he would be, 'cause I sure felt like a loser for doing something so stupid.”