Free Shackled by Tom Leveen Page B

sadness and nodded. Snapped my rubber band. “Sure,” I said.
    Mom changed her mind three times about my outfit. I’d been fine with the first, but she was enjoying herself so much, I couldn’t stop her. Then she made me sit on the floor while she sat on the bed behind me and went to work on my hair.
    We both were quiet while she worked. Mom used to do this all the time when I was little. This, like so many things, hadn’t happened in a very long time.
    Mom has magic hands when it comes to hair brushing. She puts me to sleep nearly every time. I couldn’t believe I’d forgotten that.
    â€œYou know this is a date, right?” Mom said as she brushed.
    â€œNo, it’s not.”
    â€œPenelope, when you ask a boy out to dinner, it’s a date.”
    â€œIt’s not like that,” I insisted. “He just . . . I don’t know. Wants me to cheer up or something. So I’ll be easier to work with.”
    â€œWell,” Mom said, “just remember that when he’s trying to get inside your shirt or worse.”
    â€œMom! It’s David. He’s not like that.”
    â€œHoney, they’re all like that.”
    From where I was sitting, her behind me, I couldn’t tell if it was a joke or not. No big deal. I knew I was right.
    When I stood up twenty minutes later and went to look in the bathroom mirror, my mouth dropped open. Mom slid beside me.
    â€œHoly shit,” I said.
    Mom smirked. “I know, right?”
    I was almost afraid to touch my hair. It hung straight and smooth, thick and full. I wasn’t overly impressed with the color, which wasn’t unusual for me, but—wow.
    â€œThank you,” I said.
    â€œYou bet,” Mom said. “Anytime. Does David smoke?”
    Uh-oh. “No. I don’t think so.”
    Mom put an arm around my shoulders, meeting my gazein our reflection. “Most people who don’t, don’t enjoy kissing people who do,” she said. “Just a thought.”
    I met her eyes briefly in the mirror. Thought of all the little ways I believed she’d been out to get me, just like the world was out to get me. I guess the truth is, way down deep, I knew it wasn’t true. Not about Mom, anyway. Probably I just confused the hell out of her, and she didn’t know what to do. How to act. I mean, I didn’t. Why should she be any different?
    â€œOkay,” I said to her.
    She pulled me closer and kissed the side of my head. Then she went back to her room, leaving me to stare at my reflection.
    I could leave my smokes at home, I guess. Not because David was going to kiss me, because he wasn’t. But just to see if I could go the whole night. One small improvement, right?
    Ten minutes later the doorbell rang. Jeffrey screamed that he’d get it, and ran full tilt to open the front door. I came walking behind him, and Mom trailing me, trying not to look like she was dying of curiosity.
    David surprised me. He’d made an effort to look nice, it seemed, wearing a button-up short-sleeved shirt and nice jeans, and he’d swept his hair back a bit. It seemed like half his pimples had disappeared since work that afternoon.
    â€œDavid!” Jeffrey shouted. “What’s up, man !”
    â€œHey, dude,” David said, raising his fist so Jeffrey could knuckle it. “How’s it going?”
    â€œI just beat the crap out of Fire Master,” Jeffrey announced. “Wanna come see?”
    â€œOh, man, I’d love to, but we kinda need to get going,” David said. “But maybe some other time we can team up and take on Time Master together. I’ve never beaten him.”
    â€œThat would be awesome!” Jeffrey said.
    â€œHey,” I said after Jeffrey ran back to his game.
    â€œHey,” David said, smiling. Then his smile weakened. “You’re looking at me funny.”
    â€œOh. Sorry. No. I mean, I didn’t mean to . . .