Page 64 of Run Away Home: Tempered

“You know exactly what we’re going to be talking about.”

“Not really, but okay.”

I sit back and pick up my phone. He looks in the rearview mirror.

“Who are you texting?” Peter asks.

“Eyes on the road,” I respond.

He stops short, causing me to jerk forward. Good thing I’m wearing my seat belt.

He turns around. “You have to learn to watch your smart mouth! Maybe that’s why you’re always acting ‘unsportsmanlike’ and fighting with others at practice!”

“Oh yeah? I wonder where I picked that up from? What a mystery.”

“That’s it. The PlayStation is going in my room.” He turns forward and starts driving again.

“Fine...I’ll just watch cable.”

I look back down at my phone.

“TV TOO!” he yells.

“Are you serious?! You aren’t going to move the TV into your room!”

“Oh yeah? As soon as we get home you can watch me do it.”

“I’ll help,” Hayley jumps on in. She turns to give me a mean Hayley smile.

“STOP LOOKING AT ME!” I reach forward to swat her away.

“Don’t look at him,” Peter says. “Just let him stew back there.”

Hayley turns the music all the way up. It’s even louder than before. She sings along to “Just Like a Pill,” badly. Really badly. After all, she does suck at everything, even singing. Peter doesn’t say anything to her. He puts his elbow up on the window ledge and rubs his head.

We get to the apartment, and I jump out of the back seat. Peter hasn’t rolled up the window yet. He still has a cigarette in his mouth. It’s getting pretty tiny now. How much smoke could he possibly suck out of that thing?

I lean into his window. “You know, I’m smarter than you. You think I’m dumb, but I’m so much smarter than you! Think you’re taking the TV away from me? HA! I don’t care! I have so much other better stuff to do.”

I am smarter than him. When I grow up, I’m going to be way more than a bartender or waiter.

“Yup. You are smarter than me.” He pulls the cigarette stub from his mouth and rolls up the window. He opens the car door. “Still punished, though. I’m sure even Einstein was punished at some point.”

Hayley gets out of the car and walks around to Peter’s side. “Can I have a cigarette?”

Peter reaches into his pocket and pulls out the box. I run up to the apartment door and start jiggling the knob angrily.

“Why don’t you just use your key?” Peter asks me.

“Because I left it inside. Let me in!”

Peter throws his cigarette onto the ground. He walks over and unlocks the door. I push in front of him.

“Danny!” he calls as I reach the top of the steps.

“What?” I watch as he follows me upstairs.

“I’m sorry if I was too angry with you, but you cannot be fighting with your teammates. That’s no good.” He walks toward me.

---