Read Online Almost Perfect by Brian Katcher - Free Book Online

she wanted to. And I knew I’d end up bowing to the inevitable and going to Mizzou, at least to see what it was like. But there were other things going on.
    Laura placed her hand on the back of my neck. I tensed until I realized she wasn’t about to put me in a wrestling hold. “You’re still thinking about Brenda, aren’t you?”
    “Maybe. The main reason I wanted to go to MU was because she’d be there. And now it doesn’t matter.”
    Laura was about to say something when we heard the door to the trailer open.
    “Laura!” Mom called. “Laura, honey, where are you?” My sister smiled at me. “We’ll talk more later.” For the next few hours, we enjoyed an evening together, just like old times. Mom badgered Laura about her classes, her roommate, and her social life, while making thefinal preparations for supper the next day. Laura sat at the dining room table grating carrots or preparing stuffing (there wasn’t room for two people in the kitchen). I didn’t bother to offer my help. The laws of chemistry didn’t seem to apply when I attempted to cook, and I knew I’d be stuck with most of the dishes the next day, anyway.
    That evening, as the Thanksgiving ham slowly baked, we all sat on the couch, ate popcorn, and chatted. Mom kept dozing off, and eventually we hustled her off to bed.
    “So how’s Mom doing?” asked Laura after Mom’s door closed.
    “Okay, I guess. She’s working too hard. If I move out next year, I hope she’ll ask for fewer hours.”
    Laura flicked a kernel at me. “You mean
when
you move out.”
    “Gosh, I could live in a tiny room with Jack and see you all the time. Sounds great.”
    We both laughed, then fell silent, lost in thought for a minute. Laura sifted through the duds in the bowl.
    “Do you want to talk about it?” asked Laura eventually. She didn’t mean college. She meant Brenda. My sister was the only person who realized that my relationship with my girlfriend had been more to me than some stupid teenage crush. She was the only one who knew the true story of my breakup.
    I shrugged. “I haven’t talked to Brenda in over a month. She’s moved on.”
    “I really don’t give a shit about how she’s doing,” said Laura without pausing. “I want to know how you’re holding up.”
    “Eh,” I grunted.
    “That’s not an answer. That’s not even a word.” Laura scooted closer to me. She laid her bare feet on the coffee table. This was the sister I remembered.
    “She’s gone and I survived. I hope she’ll be happy. I also hope her boyfriend will slip in the shower, fall face-first into the toilet, and drown. One or the other.”
    Laura didn’t feed me any lines about getting back on the horse or looking to the future. She just gave me a one-armed hug.
    “So you haven’t asked anyone out, I guess.”
    “No.” I paused. “Well, once.”
    “Really?” asked Laura with interest. “Who?” As a former Boyer Bear, she still knew everyone at school.
    “New girl, no one you know. And she turned me down.”
    Laura rolled her eyes. “Then she’s stupid. But at least—”
    I cut her off. “It wasn’t like that. There’s something going on with her parents. She says she’s not allowed to date. She’s been homeschooled since junior high.”
    “Sounds like she has personal issues, and you’re probably better off. But now that—”
    “It’s weird, though. Her younger sister can date, but she can’t. And her sister went to regular school.”
    Laura was giving me a perplexed look. “Well, that’s her problem, isn’t it?”
    “Yeah, but … I dunno.”
    Laura suddenly grinned. “So you
do
like her. What’s her name?”
    I blushed a little. It’s not like I was ten years old; Icould admit to liking a girl. “Her name is Sage. She transferred to Boyer a couple of weeks ago.”
    “What’s she like?”
    “Weird. Dresses like she’s been in a paint factory accident. But she’s funny and cute and puts up with Jack and Tim. And sometimes she acts