Free Something Like Spring by Jay Bell

nightstand and turned the alarm clock to face him.
    “Shit!” he said, sitting upright. “Mom will be up soon. You better get out of here.”
    Instead of replying, Jason just laughed.
    Caesar blinked at him. “What?”
    “Your hair. It’s standing straight up!”
    Caesar tried to smooth it down before he nodded. “You should see yours. Hey, you’ve actually got eyes!”
    Jason brushed at his bangs selfconsciously.
    “You shouldn’t do that,” Caesar said, swinging out of bed and walking to the pile of clothes on the carpet. “Here.”
    Caesar held up the white bandana he’d worn the other day. Jason just shrugged at it, not having a clue how to turn a square of fabric into headgear.
    “Watch.” Caesar folded and flipped the bandana until it became a long ribbon. With one knee on the bed, he bent over and used this to brush back Jason’s bangs, tying the bandana behind his head. “Now your hair is sticking up too.”
    Jason patted the top of his head experimentally. “This is stupid.”
    “Yeah, but it’s nice to see those green eyes. And the rest of your face.” Caesar looked him over. “It’s a nice face.”
    Jason pulled off the bandana and held it out. “I look dumb.”
    Caesar shook his head. “Keep it. There are tons of ways to wear it.” A noise in the hall attracted his attention. “You really should get back to your room.”
    Jason shrugged, not understanding why it would matter, and feeling weird when Caesar cracked open the door to peek down the hall. Had they done something wrong? All his fantasies were still a secret, so Caesar couldn’t know the things Jason wished had happened. To anyone else, the night was as innocent as a sleepover.
    “Coast is clear.” Caesar opened the door all the way. “Go go go!”
    Jason hurried down the hall, glancing backward once. Caesar was still at the door.
    “Thanks for keeping me safe from the zombies,” he whispered.
    Jason nodded, ducking into his room. He shut the door—even though he knew Mrs. Hubbard didn’t like that—and sat on the edge of the bed. He considered the bandana in his hands, wondering if Caesar was embarrassed about needing someone to comfort him after his nightmare. Maybe that’s why he didn’t want Jason getting caught in his room. Or maybe, in Caesar’s mind, the night hadn’t been all that innocent. As they lay facing each other, perhaps they had been having similar dreams.
    Jason held the white bandana up to his nose and breathed in. Then he hid it between the mattress and box-spring before he rose to take his turn in the bathroom.
    * * * * *
    “Ready to go?” Peter tugged on the straps of his backpack to make sure they were tight and considered him with raised eyebrows.
    Jason had been loitering by the front door for the last five minutes, hoping Caesar would hurry up and finish whatever he was doing. After showing up at the breakfast table and sneaking a wink in his direction while wolfing a bowl of cereal, Caesar had disappeared upstairs again. Jason was hoping to ride to school with him and had mostly forgotten Peter even existed. Until now.
    “Well?”
    “Yeah, I think I have everything,” Jason said reluctantly. Perhaps Caesar was waiting for him to leave, not wanting to attract suspicion by them being too chummy. If so, then maybe Jason had been right. Last night had been special to them both.
    “Not the best move, skipping church,” Peter said as they began their journey down the sidewalk. “But then, you knew that already.”
    Jason glanced over at him, wondering if Peter could possibly be twelve years old. Aside from his videogame marathons, he seemed much older. Like thirty. Sure, life in foster care could be hard, but Jason didn’t feel like it had aged him prematurely. Unless he was too similar to see the truth. Was he just as jaded and calculating?
    “I don’t like church,” Jason said. “That’s enough reason not to go.”
    “Has nothing to do with whether you want to go or not,” Peter