Free Flyaway by Helen Landalf Page A

his pockets. Today his dark hair is slicked back and held in place by his sunglasses, which sit on top of his head.
    He looks me up and down. "Nice of you to finally show up."
    "Give me a break. I had a rough morning, okay?"
    "Aww, that's too bad. Too much partying last night ?"
    "Where's Valerie ?"
    "She waited around for you. She just left for the dentist."
    "Oh." I cross my arms over my chest.
    "So, are you just going to stand there," he says, "or are you going to get some work done?"
    I wish I could leave, but I made a promise to Valerie. I go straight to Tweety Bird's incubator. She's huddled in her little nest, but when I get close, she stretches her neck and gapes. Even though I know it's all about the food, it still feels good that she's glad to see me.
    "Want me to start feeding?" I ask.
    "We're out of formula. Did Valerie show you how to make it yet?"
    "No."
    "Then watch and learn."
    His I'm-a-bird-expert attitude is driving me nuts, but I am curious what fake bird barf is made of. He plugs in the blender, then takes a bowl of mushy brown stuff out of the fridge. It smells like old dog food. The coffee I drank earlier does a three-sixty in my stomach.
    "Eeww. What is that?"
    "Ferret chow. It's high in protein, and it's got similar carbs to what birds feed their babies in the wild. We soak it in water overnight to make it soft enough to feed through the syringes." He scoops up a spoonful and shoves it in my face. "Want some ?"
    I stumble backward. "Gross!"
    He grins and comes toward me with the spoon. "Yum, yum."
    "Cut it out." I'm trying to look mad, but I can't hold back a nervous giggle.
    "Open up. Time for breakfast."
    I shriek and duck away from him.
    "Okay, then, I'll eat it myself." He throws his head back, opens his mouth wide, and dangles the spoon above it.
    "Oh. Gross. Don't," I say, half gasping, half laughing.
    He brings the spoon closer and closer to his mouth, then at the last minute pulls it away.
    A big smile spreads across his face—not his usual mean smirk, but a real smile that shows the gap between his front teeth and lights up his eyes, which I'm glad for once aren't hiding behind those sunglasses.
    "Had you going there," he says.
    I roll my eyes. "You're a freak."
    He goes back to his usual grouchy self, but things aren't as tense between us. He dumps the waterlogged ferret chow into the blender, along with yogurt, dried egg whites and some disgusting yellow stuff from a jar.
    "What's that?"
    "Baby-chicken food," he yells over the whirring noise. Then there's a loud
pop,
and the top of the blender shoots off. Alan flips the switch before the mush flies everywhere, but it's still a mess. A brownish-yellow puddle spreads across the counter.
    He fumbles around under the sink. "Great. We're out of rags. Go grab me a towel, would you?"
    "Where?"
    "The bathroom closet." He nods toward the other side of the house. "Through Valerie's bedroom."
    Just like I expected, her room is full of old-lady stuff: a vase of dried purple flowers by the window, a corny painting of mountains and geese on the wall above the bed. Then a framed photo on her dresser catches my eye. A dark-haired man in a suit and skinny tie smiles out at me, and next to him a boy about my age holds up a baseball glove. I move in to take a closer look. The boy has Valerie's eyes.
    Â 
    I hand Alan the towel. "So, you do this now instead of going to school ?" I ask as he wipes up the mess and then pours the rest ofthe food into yogurt cups.
    It's summer.
    Well, technically school doesn't get out for two days, but whatever. "You know what I mean."
    "Well, then, yep."
    "Isn't that against the law or something?"
    "Hey, I'm seventeen. As long as I'm working, I don't have to go to school if I don't want to." He hands me one of the cups and a syringe. "I notice you haven't been exactly burning up the halls of old Ballard High, either."
    "I don't want to talk about it."
    "You brought it up." He smiles that real smile again. "Hey, how about