Sugarcane Chronicles Volume I: One and Lonely (ryden)

Nature's Juice Box

Bronx high-fived Pete and Pete stood up before picking up Bronx.

"Are you hungry?" Pete asked.

Bronx nodded and Pete carried him over to the fridge.

I walked over to the kitchen table and sat next to Brendon. He smiled at me and Spencer offered me some gum.

"Where did you get this gum," I asked, because I knew Spencer, "and what did you do to it?"

"I just found, jeez," he said.

"Where?"

He sighed. "Under my bed."

"That's all I was asking," I said. "I don't want any, thank you."

Brendon and Patrick discreetly spit their gum out.

"These are some nice candles," I said, holding my hands above one.

"Yeah," Brendon agreed. "They're very..." he looked over at me and raised and eyebrow "...romantic."

I laughed. I couldn't raise one eyebrow, so I raised both. "Much romance. So candle."

We burst into fits of laughter.

"So, uh, what's the kid's name?" Brendon asked when our giggles had calmed down. "Spencer wouldn't shut up so I couldn't hear."

"His name is Bronx and he's the cutest kid on the face of the Earth," I said.

"Bronx..." Brendon repeated the name. "That's a cool na-" He stopped mid-sentence and felt the back of his head before turning around. "What did you put in my hair?" he asked Spencer.

"I'm so sorry," Spencer said. "I was trying to blow out his candle and make a wish..."

"You spit your gum into my hair?" Brendon yelled.

"Accidentally."

Brendon sighed exasperatedly. "Ryan, how stuck is it in my hair?" He turned around so that I could see it.

I tugged on it and pulled a little, but it wasn't going anywhere. "Sorry, Brendon. We're going to have to cut it out."

He sighed. "Well, my mom has been trying to get me to get a haircut for a while." He turned to Spencer. "But why, why did you have to spit gum in my hair in the middle of winter?"

"It was an accident," Spencer repeated.

I pulled up a chair and got a towel to wrap around Brendon's shoulders. I got out the best pair of scissors we had and stood behind him.

"What are you waiting for?" Brendon asked as I hesitated with the strand of hair with gum on it in my hand.

"I can't do it," I said, dropping the hair. I handed the scissors to Patrick. "You do it."

"Uh, ok," Patrick said, taking the scissors from me. He hesitated, too. "This is too stressful!" He put the scissors down on the table. "I can't do it!" He sat down and folded his arms.

"Will someone please just get this gum out of my hair?" Brendon asked, annoyed.

Pete sighed. "Fine, you wimps," he said. "I'll do it." He put down Bronx and picked up the scissors. He cut off a chunk of hair that included the gum in it. He put the scissors and the clump down on the table in front of Brendon. "There." He picked Bronx back up. "Done." He walked out of the kitchen.

Brendon felt the back of his head where there was now a large lack of hair.

"Oh, my God," he said. "Mom's gonna kill me."