Free Rooster by Don Trembath

gonna have nightmares of her staring at me.”
    â€œOne of them called you a moron, I take it?”
    â€œPercival, this guy who’s about fourteen feet tall. He talks like he’s being strangled, which gives me a good idea, now that I think about it. Halfway through the interview he slams his hand down on the table, calls me a moron and screams at the woman running the place to throw me out.”
    â€œWhat did she say?”
    â€œShe says to him, ‘No name-calling, Percival. It’s against the rules.’ Like there’s rules in that place. Right. Rule number one. Don’t stick both hands in your mouth at one time. Suck all the fingers on your one hand, then switch. Rule number two. Don’t call people morons. Number three. Repeat yourself as often as you can. You should hear this Tim guy talk. ‘Okay, okay, okay. I’ll ask the first question. I’ll ask it. I’ll ask. I’m ready. Oh boy. Rock ’n’ roll. I’m ready. I’m ready.’”
    Puffs got up from his chair and walked toward the telephone on the wall next to the refrigerator.
    â€œWhat are you doing?” said Rooster.
    â€œI’m getting Jayson over here. Then I’m gonna get you a drink. You’ve earned one tonight.”
    Jayson showed up at the door half an hour later. By that time, Rooster had phoned his mom and told her that he was getting help in math and social studies from Puffs and would likely be sleeping over. She was skeptical, but he eventually convinced her that he was telling the truth. She asked him how the meeting at Common House went, and he told her, for simplicity’s sake, that he had decided to take the position after all, but that everything was still fine.
    When Jayson arrived, Puffs, who was still in the mood for fun regardless of Rooster’s situation, told him that Rooster was despondent because Jolene had just dropped him for another guy.
    â€œThey’re still friends, though,” Puffs added. “Don’t say anything bad about her. You’ll get him upset.”
    â€œThey really broke up?” Jayson said, taking the bait immediately. He was vulnerable to such stories: He had been dumped by three different girls in grade eleven, prompting him to make a pledge with himself to remain single for the rest of his high school days.
    â€œGo see for yourself,” said Puffs. “He’s in the kitchen. He’s on his third drink already and I just got the bottle out.”
    Jayson went into the kitchen and slapped a big thick hand on the back of Rooster’s shoulders. “Buddy,” he said, “Puffs just told me about your day. The Jay-man feels your pain.”
    Rooster nodded in silence and took another sip of his drink, which was actually his first.
    â€œYou wanna talk about it?” Jayson sat down in the chair vacated by Puffs.
    Rooster shook his head. “It’s too weird. I’ve been through it enough already tonight. I just wanna forget about it.”
    Jayson nodded understandingly. “Not a problem. This guy won’t say another word.”
    â€œPuffs told you everything anyway, right? Who did what and all that?”
    â€œHe did.” Jayson continued to nod his big bald head. “He gave the Jay-dog the goods. Pretty incredible.”
    â€œWell, I had it coming, apparently.”
    â€œThat’s what she said?”
    â€œWe had a meeting this morning. She laid it all out for me.”
    Jayson frowned. “She called a meeting?”
    â€œWe sat and talked. She told me all the reasons she was doing it, and I just sat there thinking, ‘Is this happening? Am I really here right now?’”
    â€œWhat reasons did she give you?”
    Rooster shrugged. “I goof around too much. I’m not serious about anything. My marks.”
    â€œYour marks?”
    â€œStupid, eh? You’d think she’d be used to it by now. Every year around this time I’m