The Closet-a Ralbert Story

Chapter 8

He thinks of the memories with his Nonno, taking him to see the horse races. They sat in the stands, bought popcorn, and laughed for hours. He remembered when his Nonna got mad at him for spending so much money, but they didn't care. Nothing could ruin that day.

That's when he found out about his grandpa's track career in high school and college. He wasn't the best, but he was the greatest Race had ever seen. The pictures of the silly faces he made while jumping and running were everything, and it sparked something in Race.

But it didn't become a flame until his Nonno died when he was in sixth grade, and it wasn't a fire until Nonna passed away in eighth.

Race ran faster at the thought, feeling his chest burn and his legs wobbly, but he didn't stop. What's the point? He's planning to run forever anyway.

"Take a break!" He slowed down as he saw JoJo, one of his best friends, sitting on the bleachers, right in front of the field. "Slow down!"

"What are you doing here, Jo?" Race ran up to him, thanking him for the water bottle. "Don't you have the clean up?"

"It ended earlier than we thought", JoJo says joyfully. "Me and Katherine weren't the only ones there. Even that Albert kid showed up at some point to help out. It was at the very end, though..."

"Albert?" Race felt his heart spin when he heard his name, but he could blame the blush on his avid running.

JoJo nodded, checking the time on his phone. "Yeah. You know him?"

Race looked away, down the track, where all of his problems were held. "I mean...barely, yeah. Just saw him in the hallway, you know?"

JoJo nodded. "Well, I'm supposed to pick you up so we can head to Jack's place. You know he's having that party thing, right?"

I forgot. "Oh, yeah! For sure."

JoJo chuckled, already knowing Race forgot. "How many laps have you run?"

"Don't know", Race says, looking at the track. "Just ran."

"Something wrong?"

"When's anything right?"

JoJo nodded, sighing. "Since you've gone and went deep in me, we can listen to Queen in the car. Maybe you'll feel better."

Race smiled, watching JoJo leave. "I'm assuming we're taking my car?!"

"Shut up!"

——————

Albert walked back in, breathing out the air he was holding in. He placed his shoes by the door, looking for anyone in the house. "Hello?"

"Hey, Al." Fred was home, probably making lunch. Albert walked into the kitchen- something that seems to happen very often- and sat at the breakfast bar, in his seat. "How was the clean up?"

"Exhausting", Albert sighed, placing his head on the counter. "I never want to clean again."

Fred laughed, handing Albert a sandwich. "You're gonna have to get rid of that attitude. We have to clean again tomorrow."

Albert groaned, causing Fred to laugh harder. "Who is your mom, anyway? The Queen of Senegal?"

"Exactly."

Albert's eyes widened, shock evident on his face as he sat up. "Really?!"

"No", Fred chuckled, cutting his sandwich in half. "She's very strict, though."

Albert nodded, looking at his food. "Yeah, I've had strict parents."

"Really?" Fred smiled and placed his chin in his hand, utilizing his time with Albert. He didn't open up much to him, but when he did, Fred loved every bit of it.

"Yeah. I had a really early curfew, they'd go through my laptop, shi- stuff like that. They were my first foster parents."

Fred hummed. "I'm sorry you had to go through that."

"It wasn't too bad", Albert shrugged, picking up his sandwich. "They took me along on a bunch of vacations."

"Really? Where have you been?"

"Um, Mexico, Washington State, Washington DC, and Colorado", Albert listed, biting into his food. "I think I've even been to California."

"Huh!" Albert nodded, looking around. "That sounds like fun. Were there any other kids?"

"Their daughter, Olive", he answered, thinking. "She hated me."

"Oh."

"Hey, guys", Ralph says, walking into the house with more cleaning supplies. "I'm back."

"Ah, mon amour", Fred says, smiling happily as he walked up to his husband, wrapping his arms around his waist. "Back from war against the Karens and toothpaste bandits."

"Ah, mi amor", Ralph smiles back, wrapping his arms around his neck. "I have survived the war of Wal-Mart, not a scar to my name."

They chuckled and kissed, Albert smiling softly at the sight. He liked seeing them in love, he was happy for them. But he was also a teenager.

"Ew- guys!" The couple turned to him, question clouding their faces. "I am a child."

Fred and Ralph laughed, sharing one last kiss before departing. "Hello, a child. I am adult. This is my husband, also adult."

"Babe", Fred smiled amusingly, his glasses falling down his face. "That was a horrible joke."

"I like it."

"It sucked", Albert added, dodging the pillow Ralph threw at him as he laughed.

There was a knock at the front door, Ralph going to answer it. Fred followed after him, and Albert could practically feel the tension in the room.

"Mrs. Diop", Ralph says nervously, and Albert's brows furrowed. "You're here early."