Waltzing With the Wallflower by Rachel van Dyken, Leah Sanders

It isn’t the same as when we fell in love.”
    Feeling insulted, Kynan scowled. “I’m not stupid, Da.”
    His mother tensed; his father insisted, “This is our decision. We know what’s best. That’s all you need to know right now.”
    “ What’s best,” Kynan repeated sourly. “People don’t just give up on one another.”
    “ We aren’t giving up,” his father said calmly.
    Kynan snapped, “That’s exactly what you’re doing. Tell him, Ma. Tell him I’m right!”
    His mother had been relatively silent the whole time. The only clue he had that she was paying attention was the long succession of tears that poured down her face. “Tell him, Ma.”
    “ Leave it be, Kynan,” his mother whispered, refusing to meet his eyes.
    “ Kynan, don’t pry into things you don’t understand.” His dad stood looming over him. “This discussion is over. It is what it is.”
    Kynan turned toward his mother. “This isn’t right.” Then he bolted from his seat, stormed into his room, and slammed the door.
     
    ****
     
    The annual school trip to the shrine was something Kynan had been looking forward to for weeks. But not anymore. Usually learning about Ireland’s saints was a favorite pastime. Today it was a painful reminder of his parents’ stupidity. When his best friend Michael Connell slid into the seat beside him on the bus, he didn’t even notice.
    “ Hey, butthead.” Michael’s voice jolted him back into reality.
    Kynan glanced up at him and scooted closer to the window, giving him some room. “Hey,” he replied flatly and turned his gaze back on the view out the window.
    “ Look what I brought,” Michael said, seemingly oblivious to Kynan’s distance. He pulled a small plastic bag out of his school satchel, which contained about a dozen snap noisemakers. Kynan looked at what Michael held. He raised an eyebrow and smiled.
    “ Where’d ya get those?”
    “ My Uncle Joseph. Well, I snuck one out of each box, so he wouldn’t notice. Thought we could toss a couple out of the window and scare the wick outta the peds.”
    Kynan suddenly had a wicked idea. He knew it was wrong, but he felt this need to do something bad. “Okay. And maybe we can save a few for the shrine.” A haughty and mischievous grin curled across his lips.
    Michael’s eyes grew wide. “The shrine?” he whispered, his voice quiet. “I don’t know. We could get into a lot of trouble – and it’s a holy place. I don’t think that’s a good idea.” He carefully slid his treasure back inside the bag.
    “ Come on, Mike, nobody will know it’s us. Think of the laughs!”
    Michael didn’t answer. Instead he crammed the plastic bag down further in his satchel and wrapped both his arms around it, hugging it to his chest. He slid down in the seat and propped his lanky knees up on the back of the seat in front of him as the bus rumbled into motion.
    Though there was plenty of chatter and laughing on the bus, Kynan and Michael spent the ride in silence. Neither looked at the other.
    Looking out the window, Kynan watched the buildings fly by in a blur. The way to Whitefriar Street Church was familiar. It would only take a few minutes. Just long enough for Kynan to get lost in his mental replay of the conversation with his parents from the day before.
    A repetitive thumping on the seat in front of him caught his attention, and he glanced up to see who could be so annoying. It was Brianna Collins. She was smacking her gum nonchalantly and drumming her fingers on the top of the seat. Her long strawberry blonde hair was already falling out of her loose ponytail. “What’s the matter with you two?” she slurred through her gum, popping a small bubble on her tongue with a loud snap.
    “ Bug off, Brianna,” Kynan mumbled. Her clear blue eyes danced with temper. Usually Kynan enjoyed making her mad. The instant flush of red in her cheeks and the fire in her eyes made his stomach do flip-flops. But today, he just wanted her to leave