Autumn

14: When Winston's around

Winston caught the bus with Theodore straight after school and the two spent the afternoon playing video games. He limited himself to one cigarette—for Helen's sake—and sprayed himself with half a can of deodorant afterwards which didn't mask the smell. It only made him worse. Still, it was a decent effort.

Around five, Theodore announced that he needed to do his homework. Winston protested when he left his controller, but eventually relented by dropping onto the desk chair and bumming around with Theodore's guitar, playing an awfully disjointed round of Smoke on the Water. It was soon followed by the classic Hot Cross Buns, but only Winston could make something so simple sound so atrocious.

Theodore never touched the guitar and he mostly forgot about its presence until his friend occasionally fooled around with it. It was a birthday gift from his father—one of very few things he kept from his years in high school. He promised his son that he would teach him how to play when he got older and Theodore was delighted by the prospect. When he received the present, he was only six and his father knew a total of twelve songs to play. Anyone who knew three that didn't consist of nursery rhymes was instantly a musical genius.

Still, the worn instrument remained caseless in the corner of Theodore's room. He convinced himself that it was only for show, because any resemblance of having a passion for music scored you instant cool points. But really, it was more sentimental value. He resented what his father did to their family, but the child inside him still expected him to come back. Luckily though, thanks to his teen angst, the guitar wouldn't be a reason for the two to bond. It was merely an object to smash across his father's head.

"Dinner is ready!"

Winston bounded down the stairs like an eager puppy, practically drooling at the fresh aroma of food. Theodore trailed after him at a more relaxed pace and entered the kitchen at the same time his friend had finished wolfing down his first slice of pizza.

Helen was used to the boys practically inhaling their food, but she was always drawn to watching with gross fascination. It was like driving past a car accident, unable to peel your eyes away from the destruction.

"Leave some room for dessert," she said.

Winston perked up. If he had a tail, Theodore was certain it would be wagging a mile a minute. "There's dessert?"

"There are brownies in the oven."

Theodore calmly took a drink of water and watched as his friend's eyes became unnaturally animated. They became so round and sparkly-looking that he was practically a cartoon character. He regained his composure enough to finish eating and while he snacked on a second bowl of ice-cream, Helen wrapped some leftovers in foil and left it in the fridge for him to take home.

By the time the dishes were cleared, Winston was bouncing on the balls of his feet, ready to go home. His behaviour was commonly mistaken for excitement, but really, he was just itching for a chance to smoke. So Theodore grabbed the keys to the Corolla and they were set to leave.

As soon as they were in the car, a pack of cigarettes was out. Winston barely took the time to put his seatbelt on before his lighter had been retrieved too.

"C'mon man," Theodore said.

Winston turned, looking agitated. Then he reconsidered, rolling the stick between his lips and eventually took it out of his mouth and back into the pack.

"Thank you."

Theodore held his hand out and Winston reluctantly gave him the smokes. Then he fidgeted in his seat and tried not to comment on his friend's deliberately slow driving. He only managed to mutter a couple of insults before they pulled up at his house.

"I'm doing you a favour, you know."

Winston mumbled something along the lines of 'yeah' and reached over to get his cigarettes from the dashboard. Theodore instantly blocked him.

"I'll hold on to them, yeah?"

"I have more, you know."

"I know. But now you have one less."

Winston seemed exasperated.

"It'll be good practice anyways. For when you meet Autumn."

Irritation evaporated into humour. "I'll believe you when I see her. Well, thanks for the lift. I'll see you tomorrow."

Theodore started the engine again, but before we could pull away from the curb, Winston ducked back down and poked his head through the open window.

"Hey, thanks."

"You already said that."

"No," he answered, pushing his backpack higher onto his shoulder. "I mean about..." He trailed off, nodding at the cigarettes.

"Don't mention it."

Bad habits were about to be broken.