watching him walk off. I said,
“You really think all that shit you just said is gonna make me less pissed?”
Brand just turned, walking backwards, and gave me one of his
usual cynical smiles. He said, “No. But just think on this for a moment; that
is a big ass asteroid about to kill us, not one of your comic book super
villains. It’s a rock; do you think it’s going to care about you being angry?
Or that people are laughing at it? Or that we feel sadness, or grief?”
I blinked and rocked back against the open door’s edge. I said,
“No.”
He shrugged and turned to walk down the hall.
I followed, slowly walking behind Brand but saying nothing
more. There wasn’t anything that needed saying. Walking
into the cafeteria, I put on a smile, forced as it was, and joined Mom and Dad.
They were talking to people I didn't know. That was to be expected. I couldn’t
be friends with every person in a town of fifteen thousand people. And the few
who had stayed hadn’t exactly done so in a mutual suicide pact…or
something. Hmm, bad thinking. I pushed down
the dark thought. I smiled when Brand looked at me and jerked his head to the
front.
I glanced back and saw the cooks put the first of the hamburgers
and hotdogs on the tables set just inside the cafeteria. The cooked food was
next to very small bags of potato chips and cookies I recognized from eating
lunch here over the years. The organizers had emptied the school kitchens in
town for this little ‘blowout.’ And I saw the sign. Even from the back, I could
make out the words. ‘EXTREME COOKOUT! TODAY ONLY!’
Gods…
Joining up with him, I whispered, “Guess even the looters
couldn’t stand school food.”
Brand nodded and pointed at the banner. I sighed, “I guess
that’s how we’ll go out. Not with a bang, not with a whimper…”
He said, “But with a horrible sense of humor!”
We both laughed, and the tension that had been hanging between
us fell away in my mind. I realized that if I was going to die, at least I was
with someone who was the closest thing to a brother that I would ever have.
Then Mom came over with Karla in tow. Mom was carrying a pack of cards. Smiling
mischievously, she said, “Come on boys. Let’s play a hand.”
My eyes widened out of reflex as I took a step back. Oh no. Not on my last day. I
mean, yes, I wanted Mom there when it happened, but not with a bad hand of
bridge. I was horrible at the game. If we had to play a card game, I would
prefer to be playing Magic the Gathering during the last
moments of my life, not Bridge!
Karla saw my reaction and laughed. She said, “Oh let them go
have their own fun, Andrea.”
Smiling, I gave them a vigorous nod and walked away quickly. I
could hear their chuckles. Joining Brand, I went over and listened to Dad and
Jim talking about getting a quick game of football going. Oddly—given that he
liked the sport—Brand looked at me with his ‘I’m bored’ look, and pointed to
the hallway that led into the northwest wing of the school. Seeing other
teenagers, I found myself wanting to head that way myself.
Our dads were both busy discussing who to get involved in their
game. We quietly backed away and walked out of the cafeteria before they
started to look for us. Once we got out of there, we saw that the kids for the
most part were off in the hallways, talking about the stuff we liked to
talk about . And while I had no problems with what
was going on in the cafeteria, the people there were mainly adults. And they
were talking about their adult interests. I needed someone around my own age.
Outside the Home Economics classroom, we ran into a group of
online gamers I knew. Talking with them was fun, especially when we got into
game and MMO talk. A couple of us talked about the last comics that had been published .
After only a few minutes, though, Brand was bored silly. He’d
never gotten into the gaming or comic books the way I had.
“You really think all that shit you just said is gonna make me less pissed?”
Brand just turned, walking backwards, and gave me one of his
usual cynical smiles. He said, “No. But just think on this for a moment; that
is a big ass asteroid about to kill us, not one of your comic book super
villains. It’s a rock; do you think it’s going to care about you being angry?
Or that people are laughing at it? Or that we feel sadness, or grief?”
I blinked and rocked back against the open door’s edge. I said,
“No.”
He shrugged and turned to walk down the hall.
I followed, slowly walking behind Brand but saying nothing
more. There wasn’t anything that needed saying. Walking
into the cafeteria, I put on a smile, forced as it was, and joined Mom and Dad.
They were talking to people I didn't know. That was to be expected. I couldn’t
be friends with every person in a town of fifteen thousand people. And the few
who had stayed hadn’t exactly done so in a mutual suicide pact…or
something. Hmm, bad thinking. I pushed down
the dark thought. I smiled when Brand looked at me and jerked his head to the
front.
I glanced back and saw the cooks put the first of the hamburgers
and hotdogs on the tables set just inside the cafeteria. The cooked food was
next to very small bags of potato chips and cookies I recognized from eating
lunch here over the years. The organizers had emptied the school kitchens in
town for this little ‘blowout.’ And I saw the sign. Even from the back, I could
make out the words. ‘EXTREME COOKOUT! TODAY ONLY!’
Gods…
Joining up with him, I whispered, “Guess even the looters
couldn’t stand school food.”
Brand nodded and pointed at the banner. I sighed, “I guess
that’s how we’ll go out. Not with a bang, not with a whimper…”
He said, “But with a horrible sense of humor!”
We both laughed, and the tension that had been hanging between
us fell away in my mind. I realized that if I was going to die, at least I was
with someone who was the closest thing to a brother that I would ever have.
Then Mom came over with Karla in tow. Mom was carrying a pack of cards. Smiling
mischievously, she said, “Come on boys. Let’s play a hand.”
My eyes widened out of reflex as I took a step back. Oh no. Not on my last day. I
mean, yes, I wanted Mom there when it happened, but not with a bad hand of
bridge. I was horrible at the game. If we had to play a card game, I would
prefer to be playing Magic the Gathering during the last
moments of my life, not Bridge!
Karla saw my reaction and laughed. She said, “Oh let them go
have their own fun, Andrea.”
Smiling, I gave them a vigorous nod and walked away quickly. I
could hear their chuckles. Joining Brand, I went over and listened to Dad and
Jim talking about getting a quick game of football going. Oddly—given that he
liked the sport—Brand looked at me with his ‘I’m bored’ look, and pointed to
the hallway that led into the northwest wing of the school. Seeing other
teenagers, I found myself wanting to head that way myself.
Our dads were both busy discussing who to get involved in their
game. We quietly backed away and walked out of the cafeteria before they
started to look for us. Once we got out of there, we saw that the kids for the
most part were off in the hallways, talking about the stuff we liked to
talk about . And while I had no problems with what
was going on in the cafeteria, the people there were mainly adults. And they
were talking about their adult interests. I needed someone around my own age.
Outside the Home Economics classroom, we ran into a group of
online gamers I knew. Talking with them was fun, especially when we got into
game and MMO talk. A couple of us talked about the last comics that had been published .
After only a few minutes, though, Brand was bored silly. He’d
never gotten into the gaming or comic books the way I had.
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