Free Alibi Junior High by Greg Logsted

power.
    The top is down, and behind the wheel there’s a woman with long brown hair waving at us. She’s smiling, and even from this distance it’s easy to see how incredibly beautiful she is.
    She pulls the massive car into the driveway. Andy breathes in sharply. I glance his way and he looks both nervous and excited. He’s smiling, but the smile seems a lot like his suit, something he just put on to make a good impression.
    The car slowly cruises down the driveway and comes to a stop next to us. The music is pounding and the woman’s smile seems to grow as large as the music is loud. A moment later she reaches down, turns the key, and a new, tight silence quickly settles around us. The only sound is the tick, tick, tick of the engine cooling down.
    She shakes her head and says, “You know, I’ve used a phone with one hand before. I imagine with all your talents you could do it too.”
    He slowly starts to walk toward the car. “I’ve never been very good with phones, even the two-handed kind.”
    “How you doing, Andy?”
    “I’m okay, Annie, damaged but not broken. How about you?”
    She steps out of the car and starts walking toward him. When she’s about six feet away, she laughs, runs the last few feet, and throws her arms around him.
    “Oh, I can’t believe it. You’re really back. I’ve missed you. I’ve missed you so much.”
    “Missed you too. You’re still the fairest one of all.”
    She smiles over his shoulder. “My magic mirror returns.”
    “Always glad to perform a public service.” He glances my way. “Oh, Annie, this is Cody, he’s living in the cottage. Cody, this is Annie. She’s…an old friend.”
    She gives me a little wave. “Hey, Cody, nice to meet you. You keeping an eye on Andy?”
    “Hi, Annie. He seems to be doing okay.”
    “Don’t let him fool you.”
    Andy eyes the car. “Enough about me. How about the GTO? Does Johnny know you’re driving his baby?”
    “Of course he does. I wouldn’t dare touch it without his say-so. You know how he is about this car. But when I told him my old VW needed a new clutch, he insisted I use it. It was strange, very un-Johnny-like, if you know what I mean.”
    “You’re right. That doesn’t sound like the Johnny we know.”
    “Yeah, he’s different. I think it’s the…well, did you see him at all over there?”
    I can sense Andy growing uncomfortable; the smile is completely gone from his face. “A couple times but he was way up north, near Turkey, and I was mainly in Baghdad.”
    “When you saw him how did he look?”
    “He…he looked good, I guess. The last time I saw him was about five months ago. There’s a club on the base. It’s a good place for music and something cold to drink on a hot night. We wentthere and spent most of our time together talking about all the crazy things the three of us used to do.”
    Her smile loses its conviction of happiness. “Yeah, those were good times, real good times. It seems so long ago now.”
    She glances at her watch. “Oh, speaking of time. How did that happen? I’m late. I’m sorry. I’ve gotta go. I have to pick up my little sister.”
    She gives him another big hug. “Welcome home, hero. Call me. Okay? Seriously, I mean it. We’ll go out and catch up.”
    “You bet.”
    We watch the car back out of the driveway, toot its horn, and then roar away in a cloud of dust and exhaust.
    Andy and I stand together in silence. We can hear the car fading away into the distance, the sound of its engine growing dimmer with each passing moment. He seems upset and I don’t want to say anything that might upset him further. So I just stand there, waiting for him to say something. If I had the power to fade away from Andy like the sound of that engine, I think that’s what I would choose to do right now.
    Finally he turns my way and forces a smile. “Hey, how about helping me with this stupid tie?”
    “Sure.”
    We walk in silence through his house and into a bathroom. Andy faces