her eyes.
Arno pulled the big white car out of the driveway as quietly as possible, and he didnât open his mouth, or look at Kelli, who was loudly chewing what looked like Blue Blowout Bubblicious and examining her nails. Arno drove slowly and did everything he could to delete from his brain the image of his parents embracing naked by candlelight in front of the family pool.
mickey blows it big time
On Wednesday morning, Mickey Pardo decided to go to school. Heâd convinced himself that he was finally coming down from his painkiller cloud, and anyway heâd been sort of missing the place. So he showed up for second-period physics class and really enjoyed listening to Mrs. Alsadir go on about a load of trippy shit involving quarks. He couldnât follow much of it, but it was all kind of cool anyway.
âAre there any questions?â Mrs. Alsadir asked.
âI just want to say I am totally loving this trippy shit!â Mickey called out.
Mrs. Alsadir just smiled uncomfortably and went on with the lesson. Mickey didnât have a textbook or a notebook or a pen. He sat in the back row, alone. And after a while he climbed up on the lab station in front of him and lay on his side. Still Mrs. Alsadir said nothing.
Then he got a call from Jonathan, so he decided to take it, and shuffled out into the hall. He was wearinga brown jumpsuit, his combat boots, and he had some old necklaces strewn around his neck, along with a pair of black aviator glasses. His cast was huge and gleaming and white, except for the places where heâd spilled coffee and food on it.
âWill you be returning?â Mrs. Alsadir called out. He ignored her.
âDude?â Mickey said to the phone.
âAnything interesting happening?â Jonathan asked. âIâve been looking for Arnoâhe should be back. Can you believe he went down to Florida with my cousin?â
âHuh,â Mickey said. He smelled something good, like bacon, and looked around.
âShe had a day between her NYU interview and her Sarah Lawrence interview, so she went down to South Beach. I donât even want to think about what they did down there. And I had to cover for her, and now sheâs back. But Arno didnât come in today. Have you seen David?â
âHe goes to Potterton, remember?â Mickey said. âIâm at Talbot.â
âOh yeah. Listen, Iâll check you later.â
âSounds good.â Mickey looked up and down the corridor. What was that good smell? A small eighth grader came down the corridor then, and he was eating something. A BLT. Mickey looked at it. Mmm.
âMickey Pardo,â a stern male voice said. But Mickey didnât hear. He dropped the phone. The kid with the BLT kept coming.
âActually, why donât I come by your house after school,â Jonathan said, to air. âWeâll go find Arno together.â
Mickey spread his arms wide, like he was signaling that he was about to make a fair catch. He wanted that sandwich. The eighth grader tried to pass him on the left, then on the right.
âMickey Pardo!â the adult male voice yelled. Too late. Mickey had wrapped the kid up in his cast and the sandwich was up in the air.
âWait,â the kid said, his voice muffled by the fact that his head was jammed into Mickeyâs chest.
Mickey pushed the sandwich toward his mouth and heard voices all around him. He felt like he hadnât eaten in days. As he closed his jaw, the sandwich shot into the air and Mickey closed his mouth on something soft that was still moving.
Mmm, bacon
, Mickey thought.
âAaah!â the eighth grader screamed, as Mickey bit into his hand.
And then Mickey was slowly separated from his food. And phone calls were made. And he was being sent home for biting an eighth grader.
david connects some of the dots
âHave you seen Patch?â Jonathan asked. He and David were standing in front of Mickeyâs
Arno pulled the big white car out of the driveway as quietly as possible, and he didnât open his mouth, or look at Kelli, who was loudly chewing what looked like Blue Blowout Bubblicious and examining her nails. Arno drove slowly and did everything he could to delete from his brain the image of his parents embracing naked by candlelight in front of the family pool.
mickey blows it big time
On Wednesday morning, Mickey Pardo decided to go to school. Heâd convinced himself that he was finally coming down from his painkiller cloud, and anyway heâd been sort of missing the place. So he showed up for second-period physics class and really enjoyed listening to Mrs. Alsadir go on about a load of trippy shit involving quarks. He couldnât follow much of it, but it was all kind of cool anyway.
âAre there any questions?â Mrs. Alsadir asked.
âI just want to say I am totally loving this trippy shit!â Mickey called out.
Mrs. Alsadir just smiled uncomfortably and went on with the lesson. Mickey didnât have a textbook or a notebook or a pen. He sat in the back row, alone. And after a while he climbed up on the lab station in front of him and lay on his side. Still Mrs. Alsadir said nothing.
Then he got a call from Jonathan, so he decided to take it, and shuffled out into the hall. He was wearinga brown jumpsuit, his combat boots, and he had some old necklaces strewn around his neck, along with a pair of black aviator glasses. His cast was huge and gleaming and white, except for the places where heâd spilled coffee and food on it.
âWill you be returning?â Mrs. Alsadir called out. He ignored her.
âDude?â Mickey said to the phone.
âAnything interesting happening?â Jonathan asked. âIâve been looking for Arnoâhe should be back. Can you believe he went down to Florida with my cousin?â
âHuh,â Mickey said. He smelled something good, like bacon, and looked around.
âShe had a day between her NYU interview and her Sarah Lawrence interview, so she went down to South Beach. I donât even want to think about what they did down there. And I had to cover for her, and now sheâs back. But Arno didnât come in today. Have you seen David?â
âHe goes to Potterton, remember?â Mickey said. âIâm at Talbot.â
âOh yeah. Listen, Iâll check you later.â
âSounds good.â Mickey looked up and down the corridor. What was that good smell? A small eighth grader came down the corridor then, and he was eating something. A BLT. Mickey looked at it. Mmm.
âMickey Pardo,â a stern male voice said. But Mickey didnât hear. He dropped the phone. The kid with the BLT kept coming.
âActually, why donât I come by your house after school,â Jonathan said, to air. âWeâll go find Arno together.â
Mickey spread his arms wide, like he was signaling that he was about to make a fair catch. He wanted that sandwich. The eighth grader tried to pass him on the left, then on the right.
âMickey Pardo!â the adult male voice yelled. Too late. Mickey had wrapped the kid up in his cast and the sandwich was up in the air.
âWait,â the kid said, his voice muffled by the fact that his head was jammed into Mickeyâs chest.
Mickey pushed the sandwich toward his mouth and heard voices all around him. He felt like he hadnât eaten in days. As he closed his jaw, the sandwich shot into the air and Mickey closed his mouth on something soft that was still moving.
Mmm, bacon
, Mickey thought.
âAaah!â the eighth grader screamed, as Mickey bit into his hand.
And then Mickey was slowly separated from his food. And phone calls were made. And he was being sent home for biting an eighth grader.
david connects some of the dots
âHave you seen Patch?â Jonathan asked. He and David were standing in front of Mickeyâs
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