Free 8 Plus 1 by Robert Cormier

daughter in Boston; and, of course, the Presidents.
    Because a stalemate had been reached, the President cards were the dominant force in our lives—mine, Roger Lussier’s and Rollie Tremaine’s. For three weeks, as the baseball season approached, each of us had a complete set—complete except for one President, Grover Cleveland. Each time a box of cards arrived at the store we hurriedly bought them (as hurriedly as our funds allowed) and tore off the wrappers, only to be confronted by James Monroe or Martin VanBuren or someone else. But never Grover Cleveland, never the man who had been the twenty-second
and
the twenty-fourth President of the United States. We argued about Grover Cleveland. Should he be placed between Chester Alan Arthur and Benjamin Harrison as the twenty-second President or did he belong between Benjamin Harrison and William McKinley as the twenty-fourth President? Was the card company playing fair? Roger Lussier brought up a horrifying possibility—did we need
two
Grover Clevelands to complete the set?
    Indignant, we stormed Lemire’s and protested to the harassed storeowner, who had long since vowed never to stock a new series. Muttering angrily, he searched his bills and receipts for a list of rules.
    “All right,” he announced. “Says here you only need one Grover Cleveland to finish the set. Now get out, all of you, unless you’ve got money to spend.”
    Outside the store, Rollie Tremaine picked up an empty tobacco tin and scaled it across the street. “Boy,” he said. “I’d give five dollars for a Grover Cleveland.”
    When I returned home I found Armand sitting on the piazza steps, his chin in his hands. His mood of dejection mirrored my own, and I sat down beside him. We did not say anything for a while.
    “Want to throw the ball around?” I asked.
    He sighed, not bothering to answer.
    “You sick?” I asked.
    He stood up and hitched up his trousers, pulledat his ear and finally told me what the matter was —there was a big dance next week at the high school, the Spring Promenade, and Sally had asked him to be her escort.
    I shook my head at the folly of love. “Well, what’s so bad about that?”
    “How can I take Sally to a fancy dance?” he asked desperately. “I’d have to buy her a corsage … And my shoes are practically falling apart. Pa’s got too many worries now to buy me new shoes or give me money for flowers for a girl.”
    I nodded in sympathy. “Yeah,” I said. “Look at me. Baseball time is almost here, and all I’ve got is that old glove. And no Grover Cleveland card yet …”
    “Grover Cleveland?” he asked. “They’ve got some of those up on the North Side. Some kid was telling me there’s a store that’s got them. He says they’re looking for Warren G. Harding.”
    “Holy Smoke!” I said. “I’ve got an extra Warren G. Harding!” Pure joy sang in my veins. I ran to my bicycle, swung into the seat—and found that the front tire was flat.
    “I’ll help you fix it,” Armand said.
    Within half an hour I was at the North Side Drugstore, where several boys were matching cards on the sidewalk. Silently but blissfully I shouted: President Grover Cleveland, here I come!
    After Armand had left for the dance, all dressed up as if it were Sunday, the small green box containing the corsage under his arm, I sat on the railing of the piazza, letting my feet dangle. Theneighborhood was quiet because the Frenchtown Tigers were at Daggett’s Field, practicing for the first baseball game of the season.
    I thought of Armand and the ridiculous expression on his face when he’d stood before the mirror in the bedroom. I’d avoided looking at his new black shoes. “Love,” I muttered.
    Spring had arrived in a sudden stampede of apple blossoms and fragrant breezes. Windows had been thrown open and dust mops had banged on the sills all day long as the women busied themselves with housecleaning. I was puzzled by my lethargy. Wasn’t spring supposed to