Free Pass It On by J. Minter Page B

She’d come back into the room with a full glass of wine.
    â€œI guess we’re not eating with you all,” Arno said, suddenly totally annoyed at his parents and everybody else for being such assholes. So what if Jonathan was staying over for a few days because his mom was a loon and had split town while she was having their apartment painted? And whatever about his dad—what were they even talking about? Fuck them. He’d been totally mellow only five minutes ago, enjoying the relative warmth and safety of his own living room, and now his mom and dad had messed it up all over again. He really wondered what he was going to do with the two of them.
    â€œWe’re going to smoke up some heroin in my room and watch sadomasochistic porn,” Arno said. “You know, chase the dragon and then wag its tail?”
    â€œVery funny, darling,” Allie said. “Now get along, you two. On to your mischief.”
    No one had even offered Jonathan a glass of wine. Arno scratched his head. He didn’t get it.
    â€œOkay,” Arno shrugged. “See you.”
    Arno walked out of the room without looking back at his parents or their guests, and Jonathan followed.
    They went down to Arno’s wing, padding quietlydown the hall.
    â€œYour dad had on velvet shoes with foxes on them.”
    â€œI know. My dad is so gay.”
    â€œYou know—” Jonathan pulled up short and stared at Arno. Arno stared back.
    â€œWhat?” Arno asked.
    â€œHe really is,” Jonathan said.
    Arno said nothing. They reached his room and he grabbed some fifty-dollar bills from a silver bowl on his desk.
    â€œI was kidding.”
    â€œWhat?” Arno asked.
    â€œAbout your dad—I didn’t mean it.”
    â€œOh. Right—anyway, I don’t care. They’re being assholes for some reason I don’t get. It’s like, lately I hate my house. Let’s get the hell out of here.”

david is good at football, too
    Wednesday was a bright fall day. The sky was an incredible blue and it was a perfect, bracing fifty degrees. With just a week before Thanksgiving, each day that could be enjoyed outside felt like a little gift, and everyone in the city seemed to know it.
    Because of the weather, after school David and Mickey made their way to the baseball diamonds in Central Park, where they were going to play football.
    It was a weekly game and whoever showed up played. David was always a quarterback because he had laser accuracy and an incredible ability to throw the bomb, and Mickey liked to be a lineman so he could grab guys and wrestle the ball away from them. They hadn’t talked since David called Mickey and told him about how Jonathan wasn’t supposed to invite them all on the trip, which David was currently wishing he hadn’t done, since Mickey seemed very, very on edge.
    â€œI mean, I kind of can’t believe Jonathan,” Mickey said. He kept shaking his head and looking around. “Isort of feel like he lied to me, you know.”
    â€œI know.” And David did know. The trip was nothing, but the more he thought about Jonathan’s dad stealing that money, the more he wondered if Jonathan knew about it all and was just taking him sailing to keep him quiet about the whole thing. “He and Arno said they were going to come a little later.”
    â€œOh yeah? If they show up, I’ll give you twenty bucks,” Mickey said. “I love those guys, but they suck at sports, especially team sports.”
    â€œI think they’re just planning to watch.”
    â€œThat’s lame.”
    They walked quietly for a moment. They were both wearing sweatshirts, running shoes, and wind-pants, so they made loud swishing noises while they walked. David had a football stuffed in his kangaroo pocket. He looked pregnant. They sipped steaming coffee from paper cups.
    â€œReally fucking lame,” Mickey said.
    â€œHey,” David said.