Read Online Boy21 by Matthew Quick - Free Book Online Page A

asks.
    “How?”
    “YouTube,” he says while pulling a laptop out of his bag. “I downloaded it before I came.”
    We watch the short video. Boy21 was quoting verbatim whoever was announcing the launch on the YouTube clip—all the talk about harmony for the heavens and gateways. I wonder how many times he’s watched this video.
    “Your dad,” I say. “He was interested in outer space?”
    “Fascinated by it. He used to read endless books. Was a big
Star Trek
fan. He loved the final frontier. We had several high-powered telescopes too. Still do, in storage out west.”
    Boy21 looks into my eyes and I start to feel as though he’s making a decision. It’s weird. This is the most he’s ever said about his past. I feel as though he’s already let down his guard far more than he had intended. But then his facial expression changes and he’s gone again, just like that.
    “My father sent me a telepathic birthday card today. He says he has a present for me, but due to an unforeseen meteor shower in a galaxy that you Earthlings don’t even know exists yet, he anticipates being a few Earth days later than he had originally planned, regarding the pickup. So it looks like you and I will be spending some more time together, Earthling known as Finley.”
    Part of me wants to call him on the charade and put some direct questions to him, especially after all he’s revealed tonight. He came here uninvited. He freely offered up the story about his father. He obviously wants to talk about all this stuff. But for some reason I don’t ask him anything. Maybe it’s just my nature to remain mute when I am unsure, which is always, but I feel likeI should be asking questions—that conversation would help—and yet, I realize he’s probably talking to me because I
don’t
ask questions and just let him exist as he wishes to exist. I don’t mind him being Boy21, but I sort of like Russell too.
    Instead of talking we simply lie on our backs and look up at the sky, even though it’s cloudy and we can’t even see the moon.
    When his grandfather pulls up to my house, Boy21 says, “Thanks for eating cupcakes with me, Earthling.”
    I walk him through my room, down the steps, and out the door.
    Just before he gets into the car, Boy21 turns around and says, “I wish you and I could travel through the cosmos together, Finley. You have that calming presence. Happy birthday to me—and thanks.”
    “See ya, man,” I say, and then he’s gone.

18
    I’M IN MY ROOM TRYING TO READ
The Merchant of Venice
for English class, which is proving to be pretty hard, when something hits my bedroom window. The splat remains of a snowball are sliding down the glass. I open up the window and cold air rushes into my room just before I get blasted in the face with another snowball.
    “Snowball fight!” Erin yells from across the street.
    I throw on my jacket and shoes and race downstairs.
    “Where’s the fire?” Dad says as I pass him in the living room.
    Erin drills me in the chest just as soon as I exit through the door.
    The flakes are falling huge and fast and the whole neighborhood is coated in white. Something pretty magical happens whenever it snows around here. The neighborhood gets very quiet and all the trash, broken glass, and graffiti are hidden under the white, at least for a little while. It seems too early for snow, which makes this night even more beautiful—like an unexpected present.
    While I scoop up some snow and pack it, Erin hits me three times, which is when I realize that she has stockpiled snowballs. Once I have one packed, I charge Erin and take aim. She ducks and I miss, so I decide to tackle her, but not too hard, because there isn’t all that much snow on the ground. She doesn’t put up much of a fight at first, but then she tries to wrestle me, so I grab her wrists and pin her arms with my elbows, and we kiss.
    Our mouths are the warmest things in the world right now.
    “Isn’t it amazing?” she says as the