Free Dev Dreams, Volume One by Ruth Madison

rushed to throw her
books and papers together and get out the door, but everyone was
rushing out and she had to wait. Jake got in her way and she had no
choice but to look at him.
    “Hello, Jake,” she said.
    “Hello, Lucy, what? happening?”
    “Not much.”
    “No? Not too busy?”
    “What are you doing?”
    “Having a conversation. People who know each
other do this.”
    “Don't be a jerk.”
    “I'm just being friendly.”
    “And I'm leaving.” She passed him and hurried
down the hallway.
    “Man, what are you up to?” Paul asked.
    “Just making her squrim.”
    “You know you guys were totally wrong for
each other.”
    “I know.”
    “Let's go meet Sophie and Alex for
lunch.”
    Jake didn't argue. He hadn't hung out with
his supposed-friends in days and he was having a hard time caring
if they saw him with his brother's friends.
    That night Jake was supposed to go to the
symphony with his family.
    “Too much walking for me,” he said. His
mother began to make tittering noises. Any reminder of what the
diagnosis upset her. Jake caught Alex's eye and grinned. His
brother knew it was just an excuse. Although, it was true he felt
very tired.
    “All right, Jake,” their father said. “Take
it easy, we'll be home late. Come on, Alex.”
    After they left, Jake settled on the couch
with a ham sandwich and turned on the TV. Rather than watch it, he
thought about what had happened to him. As an infant he had learned
to walk, but now he wondered why he had bothered, if the ability
was simply going to be stolen away. His body, even at his young
age, had rebelled. The limbs no longer obeyed him and he was now
condemned to spend the rest of his life losing things: movement and
functions and also girlfriends, jobs and, most likely, his
sanity.
    He couldn't imagine what the future would
look like, he had no concept at all. He looked at the cane leaned
against the wall and felt a strange combination of hatred and
gratitude. His feet were not going to stay stable against the
ground, the cane at least let him continue to move without falling
over constantly.
    The doorbell rang and Jake grumbled to
himself. His one evening to be alone and undisturbed, but he
couldn't be left in peace. He considered not answering, but it rang
again and his curiosity got the better of him. He held onto the
furniture as he made his way to the door, looking down at his feet
as he walked, fascinated by how they seemed to not even be his.
They were doing their own thing, barely under his control at all,
like wayward pets.
    When he opened the door, he discovered Sophie
standing on the stoop.
    “Do you have an aspirin?” she said.
    “Come on in,” he said.
    She walked past him to the kitchen and began
digging around in the cabinets. “I've got a bad headache,” she said
when he made it to the kitchen, well after her.
    “So you came all the way here. You must have
more on your mind then a aspirin.”
    “You're a sharp cookie.”
    “Why do you think I get As in school?”
    Sophie laughed before she swallowed the pills
and put the glass in the sink. She sighed. “How do you know I just
didn't have aspirin at home?”
    “So you took the bus all the way over here.
Wait a minute. My brother.”
    “Okay, yes, Alex asked me to check up on
you.”
    “I don't believe this. He's out of the house
one night...”
    “He's just worried about you, and Lucy, and
everything. Come on, don't be mad. I brought my toothbrush, we can
have a sleepover party.”
    “Want to watch a movie?” Jake said.
    “Sure,” Sophie smiled. “Can I ask you
something?”
    “What?” he said, already walking to the
living room to rummage for the video.
    “Are you scared?” Sophie said.
    Jake stopped and turned to look at her. He
said, “No one will talk about it.”
    “You know me,” Sophie said with a smile,
“Asking the hard questions, searching for the answers.”
    “Have you been watching the news for fun
again?”
    “Tell me really.”
    He put the DVD in