Page 38 of To Catch a Firefly

“We were fourteen,” I say slowly, “when Luck brought paint…to school.”

Dani waits patiently while I tell the story, having to collect my words more than once before going on. He never interrupts, although I do notice him glancing at Lucky a time or two when I falter. I tell him how Lucky bought a gallon of discountedblue paint from the hardware store. How he smuggled it into school in his backpack. How, during lunch that day, he brought the paint to the bathroom with the intent of covering up some graffiti on one of the stall walls. How, when he pried open the can, it tipped, dousing Lucky and the floor in blue. How, no matter how hard he tried, Lucky couldn’t get it cleaned up in time before the bell rang for the next period. And how, when he was marched to the principal’s office, blue boot prints followed.

“He had…to spend the weekend cleaning up,” I tell Dani, who has tears in his eyes. “Paint everywhere.”

Lucky is shaking his head at me, but there’s a twinkle in his eye. I wouldn’t have told the story if he’d really minded.

“My God,” Dani says a little breathlessly. He hiccups a laugh when he looks at Lucky. “You blue yourself.”

Lucky shoves Dani’s shoulder, and his coworker breaks into laughter. I can’t help but join in, not minding one bit when Lucky shoves me, too.

“Assholes,” he mutters, not meaning it in the least.

“What were you trying to cover up?” Dani asks before taking a sip of his beer. “On the stall, I mean.”

Lucky’s face falls a little, and he shoots me a glance. It doesn’t bother me, but to this day, it seems to bother Lucky. He twists his beer bottle on top of the table before telling Dani, quietly, “Someone used an incredibly shitty, derogatory term to describe Ellis.”

They called me a retard.

Dani is quiet for a moment, and a fox squirrel chitters nearby. “That’s cruel,” he finally says, voice tinged with something hard.

I shrug. “Kids.”

“No,” Lucky says firmly. “There’s no excuse. They never would have dared say it to your face.”

I smack my fist into my palm, and Lucky snorts a laugh.

“You vandalized the inside of your school for your friend’s sake,” Dani says softly. The smile he gives Lucky is personal—secretive—and Lucky squirms slightly in his chair. Instantly, I feel the need to defend him.

“Would’ve…”—it takes me a moment—“done it, too.” I hope Dani understands what I mean.

His smile shifts to me. “I have no doubt.”

“Well,” Lucky says, beer bottle clinking softly as he sets it down, “if sharing time is over, I can show you to the guest room, Danil.”

Dani snorts. “Ohh,” he says to me. “He full-named me. I’m in trouble.”

Lucky rolls his eyes as I frown, but Dani stands up, unperturbed.

“I’m sure your parents can show me the way,” Dani tells Lucky. To me, he says, “It was truly great to meet you, Ellis. Hopefully, we can spend some time together while I’m in town.”

I nod, and Dani gives me a smile before stepping away from the table. He squeezes Lucky’s shoulder as he goes, but Lucky looks resolutely ahead at his empty beer bottle. I wait until Dani is gone before nudging Lucky’s foot with my own.

“Okay?” I ask.

His lips twitch as he nods. “Fine. It’s just… Nothing. Dani can be nosy, is all.”

I shrug. He seems like he cares. I suppose I should be grateful that Lucky has another friend in his life to look out for him.

I only wish they weren’t more than that, too.

I reach out and tap Lucky’s beer bottle.

He shakes his head. “I’m good, thanks.”

Leaning back, I prop my foot on the chair next to mine. Lucky is looking out over the backyard. The sun has set, just, and the sky is a dark, dusky blue. Crickets are chirping, every once in awhile a noise from the TV drifts out through the open window, and a dog barks somewhere far off. It sounds like home.

“I always have it in my head,” Lucky says, “that this place is nothing but dirt and corn. In all of my memories, I couldn’t wait to get out.”

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