Free Small Steps by Louis Sachar

said Tatiana without looking at him. She entered the classroom and maneuvered her way between the desks. Claire whispered something to her when she sat down, and Tatiana said something back.
    Armpit couldn’t hear what they said, but he was able to read Tatiana’s lips. She told Claire to shut up.
             
    He went to work early on Saturday, glad to be doing physical labor so he wouldn’t drive himself crazy thinking about the concert and Tatiana. Hernandez dumped a truckload of dirt in the driveway, and now they mixed it with peat moss before spreading it around the yard.
    Better to use a fifty-cent plant and ten-dollar dirt than a ten-dollar plant and fifty-cent dirt. Jack Dunlevy said that all the time.
    He got home around four-thirty but didn’t shower right away, or else he’d be all sweaty again by the time he picked up Tatiana. Instead, he went over to Ginny’s.
    Ginny’s mother looked all frazzled when she opened the door. “Oh, Theodore, I’m so glad you’re here,” she said. “Ginny’s— It’s my fault. I said something I shouldn’t have.”
    Armpit stepped inside. “Ginny, are you okay?”
    She sat on the floor, crying while she hugged Coo.
    “Ginny, what’s wrong?”
    “My d-d-dad . . .” She was unable to continue.
    “Did your dad call?”
    Her father had left home when she was a baby.
    “He l-left because of m-me. B-because of my disa-b-b-bility.”
    “That’s not what I said!” said her mother.
    “It’s true!” Ginny exclaimed.
    “It wasn’t you. It was the whole situation.”
    “If I g-get b-b-better, will he c-come h-h-home?”
    Ginny’s mom was crying now too.
    Armpit sat on the floor next to Ginny. “I didn’t know your dad was disabled,” he said.
    “He’s n-not.”
    “Sounds like he is. He’s a lot worse off than you are. You just had a little bleeding in your brain. He’s got something wrong with his soul. I mean, if he left your mom and you, man, there’s got to be something really wrong with him.”
    Ginny shrugged.
    “I sure hope he gets better. You at least can go to physical therapy. I don’t know what they can do for someone with no heart and soul.”
    There was a knock on the door; then it opened, and Armpit’s mother leaned her head in. “Is Theodore here?” She had the telephone with her, her hand covering the mouthpiece. “It’s
her
.”
    His mother was almost as excited about his date as he was, even though he kept telling her it wasn’t a
date.
They were just going to hang out at the concert together.
    He took the phone and walked outside for privacy. “Hello?”
    “Hi, how’s it goin’?” asked Tatiana.
    “Great. I’m really looking forward to the concert.”
    “Look, I don’t know how to say it. I’m not good at this.”
    “At what?”
    “I’m really sorry, but I can’t go to the concert.”
    He didn’t respond.
    “Theodore? You there?”
    “Yeah.”
    “I’m really sorry. There’s this family thing I got to do. I forgot all about it. They won’t let me out of it. My parents have this thing about
family time
!”
    “I understand,” said Armpit.
    “You sure?”
    “Yeah.”
    “But I want you to tell me all about it on Monday, okay?”
    “Sure.”
    “Promise? Every song she sings. What clothes she’s wearing. I want to know
everything
!”
    “Okay.”
    “I really feel bad about this. Maybe you can find someone else to go with you.”
    “Yeah, don’t worry about it.”
    He hung up, then dialed X-Ray’s number.
             
    “Was it Tati-
ahna
?” Ginny teased when he returned to her house. She seemed to be feeling better.
    “She can’t go to the concert.”
    “Oh, I’m so sorry,” her mother said.
    “Well, that’s the way it goes,” Armpit said. He winked at Ginny.
    “You want to hold Coo?” she offered.
    He shook his head. X-Ray had said people were still calling about the tickets, so maybe it wasn’t too late. If nothing else, they could go to the Lonestar and try to sell them at