The First Step

Chapter 14.

"Mom isn't gonna like that."

I stared at my test, holding it up to the sky to get more light on it. The sun shone through, lighting up all the little sketches along the margins. A cat, a lollipop, a happy guy...

But my sister was pointing at the red Xs my teacher had drawn over the problems. "You didn't even answer most of the questions."

I brought the paper down, glancing around me as we continued to walk home from the bus stop. It was perfect out, sunny, with the sky covered in clouds. Well, perfect if I didn't look at the big red four-slash-one-hundred written on my test. I shoved it in my pocket.

"It's math, Gwen." I shrunk into my jacket as she glared at me with her sharp, grey eyes. My own fell to watch my shoes on the sidewalk. One two, one two... each step closer to our house. "I'm not smart like you. Subtraction is hard."

"It's just backwards, Dustin." She sighed, slapping a hand on her face. "If you had five apples, and you gave me two, you'd have three apples left. It's just like if you had three apples, and I gave you two, then you'd have five. It's just the other way around. Easy."

An uncomfortable feeling was starting to wiggle in my chest as she kept explaining. I was trying to listen to her, but... I snickered. "If I had five apples, I wouldn't give you any. I'd just eat them."

She tipped her head back at that, groaning to the sky. "Gosh! You just never pay attention. This is why mom says you're going to fail school and live outside one day. You don't do anything right."

I looked back at my shoes, kicking at a rock and watching it bounce a couple steps before I kicked it again. "I know."

We were home now, the tall, white building only having one car in front of it today.

Oh right. Daddy left far away for work.

I didn't know where he went exactly. This time the trip was farther. In West Carolina maybe? A state with other doctors; I knew that much.

"You know when Daddy is coming back?" I asked Gwen, watching her fix her hair before looking for the key I knew was hidden under the doormat. It hadn't looked that bad: long, blond, and much more straight than mine, but Gwen was perfect. She was supposed to look like that. I just hoped rubbing my hands through my own was good enough for Mom.

"He'll be home in a week," she said, holding open the door for me. The lights were off, but she flicked them on a second later.

"Aw..." I pouted a bit. "I wanted to show him what I drew at school." He always lit up when I showed him pictures. I could still remember his blue eyes twinkling as I showed him my drawing of a guy named Caleb. He had a sword, and he was really cool and brave, like from a story.

"I think you'll make a great artist someday, Dustin. You know, when I was your age, I loved making comics. Why don't we go through them later and I'll read them to you?"

He hadn't done that yet because he was busy, but maybe next week I could show him what I made, and he'd remember again. I hoped so.

"Yeah, well first you need to show Mom the actual important part of the test," Gwen reminded me, her voice snippy. "You know, failing?"

"...Right."

Maybe she won't be too mad, I thought as I headed up the stairs to look for her. Sometimes Mom got angry at me, but it wasn't too bad, and Daddy would tell her to calm down anyway. I'd just be grounded. Again.