Free Brutal by Michael Harmon

written it to Velveeta. “Oh.”
    Theo grunted. “Queen socialite of Benders High. I think she's slept with every guy in five counties.”
    “Including you?”
    He shook his head. “Nope. She stays away from me.”
    “Why?”
    “Because her dad ran against my dad one year. For mayor. My dad crushed him.”
    I watched Velveeta walk, his hands stuffed in his pockets and his shoulders hunched. “This town is a soap opera. God.”
    “You've got that right. And Anna is the singing angel in the center of it.”
    “What?”
    “She's the lead soloist in the Elite Choir. Actually, she's awesome. I heard her sing at the wine festival after the parade last year. Last I heard, she qualified for some national contest in Philadelphia.”
    That set me back, and I had a flash of jealousy Anna Conrad would have been second string to me if I'd taken the soloist position. “Great.”
    “Oh, it gets better. Her mother chairs the school board committee. Funding isn't a problem for the choir.” He smiled. “It also helps that her mom's one of the three judges that pick soloists every year.”
    “So I guess Anna is a walk-on, then?”
    “Maybe if she didn't have a voice, but she's got some pipes on her.”
    I thought about that, then thought about what Mrs. Baird told me. She knew Anna would be second soloist if I took the spot, and she obviously wasn't afraid to deal with her mother about it. I watched Velveeta walk. “Hey, Velveeta.”
    He looked back.
    “Slow down, huh?”
    He did, and we all walked together. Theo hopped on the curb, balancing as he went. “Sorry about that, man.”
    “Sorry about what?”
    “About Anna Conrad being there.”
    He frowned, definite friction between the two. “You got something to say to me?”
    “I mean about the note and everything. Bad timing.”
    Velveeta looked at his feet. “What note?”
    I nudged Theo, and he got the picture. “Nothing, man. No sweat. Those burgers are so big I can only eat half anyway.”
    We came to our houses and Velveeta waved us off, heading up his walk and disappearing in his front door. The Volvo was gone, Dad off doing something after school, and Theo and I found ourselves alone on the front porch. We sat, and after a moment, Theo spoke. “So, you like it here?”
    “It's okay.”
    He nodded. “I always wanted to live in Los Angeles.”
    I laughed. “Yeah. It's cool. I miss it.”
    “Lot of friends?”
    “No, not really. Just a few good ones.”
    “Must be hard coming here. With your dad and all.”
    I shrugged. “I never knew him. He's different.”
    “He's cool,” Theo said.
    I turned to him. “You think?”
    “Yeah. You can't really talk to my dad. You say something, and he talks at you the rest of the time. It's the born leader in him. At least that's what he says.”
    “He sounds funny.”
    “He is. He's great. But he's like a bull in a china shop.”
    “My dad is like a gnat in the room. It's like pulling nails to get anything real out of him.”
    “All the surface counselor crap?”
    “Yeah. Sometimes I feel like I'm reading a textbook when he talks.”
    “What's your mom do?”
    “Avoid me.”
    “Ha. Really.”
    “She's a surgeon. In South America saving people for a year.”
    “Nice.”
    “If you like doing the right thing for the wrong reasons, sure.”
    “What's that supposed to mean?”
    “It means that my mom really doesn't care about people in South America. She cares about herself and what she looks like to her high-society snoot doctor friends.”
    He frowned. “Listen, Poe, my dad is a politician. Your mom is a
doctor.
She saves people.”
    I looked at him. “Don't start with that, okay? I don't care what she is.”
    “Whoa. Danger ahead. Didn't mean anything by it.”
    “I know. I just don't want to talk about it, okay?”
    Theo nodded, and just then, the Volvo rounded the corner. He stood. “Listen, I've got to split, and I can't really be seen around town with the school counselor.” He smiled. “I've got