s3.e4

Wind Down

           Jace had worked pretty hard on his diorama, and was rather happy to show it off to the class for the final presentation. His book had been The Little Prince, and his box—the same one that held his contemporary shoes nearly a year ago—was full of colorful rubber bounce-balls held up by fishing line against a starry background. The whole Lego mini-figure thing for the characters was a running theme, and his followed it; about half the class had used the little yellow guys in various ways. The size ratio just worked well.

           “So… after the Prince went to all these planets, filled with adults doing mundane but dumb things, he realized that adults lived in a different world,” Jace continued. “He arrived in a desert on Earth and met the narrator guy here,” he pointed to a goggle-wearing Lego pilot near his crashed airplane in the sand at the bottom of the box, “and, well, the ending is kind of sad but up for interpretation. The Prince disappears, and the narrator wonders if he’ll ever see him again. Um, so, yeah, the entire story is kind of an allegory—like, a metaphor?—about how kids see things differently than adults. It’s… actually something I’ve sort of been thinking about myself recently.”

           “Thank you, Jason,” Ms. Porter said as Jace returned to his desk. “That was very nice. And that wraps up our last assignment together…” She walked up in front of the chalkboard to speak to everyone. “Every year, for this project, I have whomever got assigned The Little Prince go last. Because, as Jason said, the book really is about exploring this unseen wall that seems to separate the worlds of adults and children. And you’re all on a train ride between those worlds right now. I know you don’t really understand the meaning of all that just yet, but you will, one day. All I ask of you is that you try to keep even just a small shred of the wonder in things that you have now.”

           Ms. Porter looked contemplative for a moment and zoned out. Following a few whispers throughout the class, she snapped out of it and composed herself.

           After looking up at the clock, she continued, “Well, we still have a few minutes left. I’d like to give Brian and Willa a chance to reveal another project that they’ve been working on for the last few weeks. I think you will all like what they’ve done.”

           There were more murmurs as Brian and Willa walked to the front, Brian holding a deck of cards. Everyone seemed to be assuming that this had something to do with all of the often-intrusive questions Willa had been asking them over the past weeks.

           “Hi, everyone,” Willa said, her cat ears still missing since recess. “Um, so… yeah, Brian came up with this neat idea a while back. But he was sorta worried about what everyone would think. He was all like, ‘oh, but what if they hate it and laugh at me?’, and, ‘I don’t think they’ll like it at all.’” She grinned at Brian, who blushed and looked away. “But I thought it was a great idea, so we partnered up to work on it! C’mon, Brian, just show ‘em. We don’t wanna make anyone late for their summer break.”

           Brian began to pass out the cards, starting with the rows farthest from Wessy and his crew, leaving them in suspense. But judging by the positive and entertained reactions of most of the receivers, they were something worth the small wait.

           “We mushed together all of the answers to the personality questions I’ve been asking,” Willa explained. “Brian turned you all into original video game people with full-color, um, ‘pixel art,’ he calls it. And I added the character traits!”

           “I g-got inspired when Park brought his s-sister’s heart cards in for Valentine’s,” Brian added and handed Jace his card. “I even printed them at his dad’s p-print shop. They have really high-quality stuff there that m-made them turn out great!”

           “You know it,” Park replied. “And I look pretty good as a ‘merchant-ninja’!”

           Jace stared at his close-to-professional level character sprite in his hands, which looked more like him than his yearbook photo. He was known as the “Hero Helper”, who was always there to back up his friends when they were in need on adventures. He looked brave and knowledgeable, and his blue jacket had been turned into a long, regal cloak. His traits included “All Around Good Guy” and “Problem Solver.”

           “Super Spy,” Millie read off her card. “Nice. Even my glasses look slick.”

           “Brian, these are great!” Wessy complimented and looked at his friends’ cards.

           “Thanks,” Brian replied and finished handing them out. “Um, I d-don’t know if everyone likes them, but… It would be nice if you kept them as a memento. Just saying.”

           Wessy was a hero guy akin to Link from Zelda, Jared was a pirate mercenary, Colin had been turned into a brawler since he was good at fighting games, and Sadie was an archer. Arthur and Ash’s cards were a little different, as they were duplicates and they appeared on both of them as the “Magical Teller Twins,” a pair of mages.

           Apparently, Tammy and Trudy had also been paired up, as Trudy asked Brian, “What do you mean we’re the ‘Inseparable Alchemists’? We’re totally separable!”

           “Do you not like them?” Brian fretted.

           “No, no. They’re great,” Tammy assured him. “Thanks, Brian. I’ll treasure it.”

           “O-oh, and…” Brian handed the last card to Ms. Porter, who smiled and showed it off, which had her as a wise sage. “Well, that’s all of them. Thanks for helping, Willa.”

           Brian watched as the cards became a hit, and the class took a few minutes to show them off to each other. Willa’s character could transform into a ferocious tiger, Spice kept the kingdom’s heroes in only the finest of fantastical clothing, Robby was a scholar in all things mystical, and December was the warrior princess—the sight of her alter-ego giving her a constant albeit subdued laughing fit. Gerald was an honorable Arthurian-styled knight, while Carson was a “magical musician” with a collection of enchanted instruments. Wright had become a cunning rogue with a pair of lucky dice, and Brian had turned himself into the king, which was fair given his hard work. Delilah’s video game-self was a friendly giant, a risky choice. Luckily for Brian, she liked it, just as much as Felicity enjoyed seeing herself as a pretty badass necromancer.

           “Not bad,” Felicity complimented. “Commanding skeletons could be fun.”

           “It’s a beautiful project, you two,” Ms. Porter said as Willa and Brian took their seats. “And, more importantly, you did it because you wanted to. I’m not obligated to give you a single point of extra credit for all that hard work! Heh… Ahem. Anyway.” She glanced up at the clock again and sighed. “Well, our time together is almost at an end. Of course, me being me, I have a few last things to say to all of you. Firstly…

           “You all graduate tonight. You get to do so under a visiting comet! And you’ve still got a full summer ahead, before the trials of middle school. Most of the students at DTE will go to Cookton, so you’ll be seeing more of each other. And, December…”

           She perked up and blushed a bit as everyone in the class turned to look at her.

           Ms. Porter tilted her head and smiled. “Good luck at Everette Academy. You’ll be representing our class there. Try your hardest, but don’t forget to take it easy, too.”

           December bit her lip for a second before replying, “T-thanks, Ms. Porter…”

           “Remember, everyone! Graduation is at 7:30 tonight, in our good old cafeteria! It’ll probably be the last time you’ll be inside the school… Though some of you have younger siblings who will graduate here as well, one day. So you may get to come back to, you know, see that. Um, what else…” She looked around at the kids raring to start summer break. “Oh! One final announcement. You’re going to want to pay attention.

           “An… anonymous donor is giving our class a big gift. Sort of a graduation party. You’re all getting free tickets to King Arcade, and we even have the park to ourselves for the first hour of opening time. Now, settle down,” she spoke over the excited chatter produced by her wide-eyed students, “this get-together won’t actually happen until July 3^rd. Save the date! I’m sure it’ll be a fun time for all of us, and it’ll give us one more chance to get together in the middle of summer! Oh, and to anyone who is friends with Zach Pentino, please tell him he’s invited, as well. I’m not sure why, but… he is.”

           “Because he’s just that cool,” Jared, who looked especially thrilled, exclaimed.

           “Uncle Wes…” Jace groaned and slid down in his seat. “You didn’t…”

           Millie overheard him and asked, “Did you know he was going to do this?”

           “No!” Jace whispered back. “And I’m sure it’s gonna mess with the timeline.”

           Ms. Porter looked up at the clock to see that there were only thirty seconds left. She gazed around at the hanging posters in the room, and the faces of her students, and had one last thing to say, “It was a lot of fun teaching you this year. You were a good class. But you’re not little children anymore, and… you’re all on the road to somewhere.”

           The bell rang, and everyone got up, gathered their things, and began to file out of the room they had shared together for a good long while. Jace remembered the last time that he had left his own fifth-grade classroom for good as he headed out. The designs and colors of the four walls and floor hadn’t changed much in twenty-five years.

           “See ya…” he said to the room, and waved to Ms. Porter, who waved back.

           He was surprised to hear Wessy also say “see ya” nearby as he left with the gang, but with a different inflection. He still sounded sad and worried about what came next.

           Fifth-graders from all classes gathered out front of the school, not far from the bus loop. About half the school’s fourth-graders merged with the older kids to form quite a large crowd—Lucy and Gemika among them and pretty close to Wessy and his crew. Zach was up on the main entrance stoop, waiting for the onrush of summer-bound kids to subside before making his big new Dump owner announcement.

           In the section of the crowd filled with Ms. Porter’s students, Brian’s cards were still a big topic, giving a boy unused to so much attention plenty of it. He had found himself surrounded by remarks about the artwork, and that it must’ve taken him a long time to make all the cards. Even a few kids who weren’t into video games that much, like Spice, Felicity, and Gerald, were complimenting him about the pixel art concept.

           “Y-yeah, it’s p-p-pretty neat what you c-can do with a b-bunch of squares, huh?” he said nervously, stuttering more than usual. “It’s c-cool you like them, but I d-d-dunno if they’ll appreciate it in Cookton’s art dep-p-partment. And who knows how much longer p-pixel art will even be made… Everything’s c-changing…”

           “Aw, what do you mean?” Spice asked. “This type of thing is so cute!”

           “Well, it’s g-gonna be all about p-polygons soon. You know, 3-D, like Toy Story? The Nintendo 64 is coming out next month in Japan, and not long after in America… It m-might mean the end of pixels. No one is gonna c-care about older video games.”

           “Eh, not true, Brian,” Arthur tried to assure him. “I’ve seen the screenshots. I mean, Mario 64 doesn’t look… that amazing. Uh, well it does, actually, but… Hey, a lot of people love the classics! And stuff comes back in style sometimes, too!”

           “Y-yeah… I guess…” Brian said with a sigh.

           Zach looked into the school hall to see if it was empty, then took center stoop and cleared his throat to quiet the big gathering and attract its attention.

           “Thanks for coming out, everyone. Though, I guess most of you would just be stuck on a hot bus waiting for it to move right now, anyway, so… Heh. Yeah.

           “We fifth-graders had an amazing year! And I hope you fourth-graders, did, too. We were in your shoes not long ago, waiting to see who would run the, ahem, secret place we were so happy to finally get into and keep safe. So, thank you for not running around there, tempting as it may have been, and getting caught. Which would just make that old codger even more suspicious. In a few months, you’ll actually get to hang out there!

           “Sad to say, tradition was broken for us last year, due to certain circumstances, and all but me alone didn’t get to publicly find out who our first owner was. But, that’s in the past. After a careful review, and interviews with some of you lower classmen, and my own two eyes—because I know cool when I see it—and a thorough look at the yearbook photos that showed me which kids were active, and making a name for themselves on campus… After doing all that, I made a decision.”

           Time was brief before the buses would start moving, so the crowd expected him to go ahead and make the announcement. Instead, Zach took a breath and removed his sunglasses, holding them by his side as if to respect a solemn event in school history.

           “Ever since kindergarten, I wanted to leave a mark on this school. Records for the earliest years of The Dump are a little murky, but I’m pretty sure I’m doing somethin’ new today. All right. Without further ado, your next club-runner. Lex Skyler.”

           Mumbling spread throughout the fourth-graders, but the older kids, unfamiliar with their names, looked around like curious birds to see who was walking towards the stoop. Zach stepped aside as someone with short auburn hair headed up the steps. They wore a bright yellow jacket, headphones on their neck, cargo shorts, and red High Tops.

           “Well, Lex is a cool name,” Jared said. “Wonder what he’s…”

           “Ugh, he picked Lex, seriously?” Gemika could be heard complaining. “Gross. I wasn’t planning to hang out at the trash club anyway, but now I def won’t.”

           Lex reached the top of the stairs and turned around. Lex was a girl. One with a unique new-age punk look. And she made her debut to the fifth-graders by crossing her arms and throwing them double peace signs. The reactions were immediate.

           “A girl?!” Jared exclaimed—and he was far from the only boy to make such a remark. “Zach, what are you doing, man? She’ll get the place shut down for sure!”

           “Jared…” Sadie audibly growled over the applause, that she contributed to.

           “Way to go, Lex!” many of the fourth-graders shouted.

           She seemed to be fairly popular with her contemporaries.

           “What’s up, everyone?” Lex said, her voice both chill and confident. “Z here’s given me the full rundown. He even wrote the first guidebook for running The Dump. It’s gonna be a real cool place to be, and I’ll work hard to keep its legacy going.”

           “Y-yeah, I mean, maybe, but…” Arthur stopped when he caught his sister’s stare.

           Park, perhaps owing to his having three older sisters, actually shrugged and said, “You know, I’m cool with this. Zach’s in the record books too, now.”

           As Lex grinned, posed for a few pictures, pointed finger-guns at her admirers and buddies, and the crowd reacted in a whole variety of ways, Jace was simply trying to place a name and a face. There was something familiar about Lex.

           “Lex here was just, you know, by far the coolest kid I saw among the fourthies,” Zach explained. “She always stood out. And I thought, Zach, it wouldn’t be fair to not offer her the position, just because of… reasons. So, from Conrad, to, um, me, to Lex, the best hideout this side of Desert Tree will live on. And I might check in once or twice.”

           Jace suddenly made the connection once he noticed Lucy in the audience. His young mom was looking up at Lex, her own headphones off her ears and her eyes wide. She clearly admired the girl, even if… she was too shy at the moment to talk to her.

           “Lex Skyler… One of Laurie’s parents…” Jace murmured to himself. One of The Dump owners has my first friend. And my dad was the one before Charlie and Zach…

           Rather dumbfounded at the revelation but feeling like he had grown up around some kind of royalty, Jace added a listless golf clap to the applause.

           The claps quieted when Mr. Drake suddenly came around, doing his regular job of keeping the peace while students boarded buses. He seemed rather perturbed upon seeing the big crowd, and after having his fill of rowdy kids for the day, he went around them instead of interfering—giving Zach and Lex a nervous glance as he did so.

           Zach hopped down from the stoop to give Lex a couple more minutes in the spotlight, rejoining his friends and noticing a couple of concerned faces among them.

           “Oh, Zach! Before we forget,” Colin chimed in. “July 3^rd. Ms. Porter’s class is having a graduation party at opening time, King Arcade. You’re invited, too.”

           “Nice. That sounds kinda neat. I’ll try to be there.”

           “Hold up, Zach,” Jared said. “You seriously chose that girl to be the new boss?”

           “Yeah, I did. And I explained my reasoning. You were paying attention, right?”

           December, passing by, gave Zach a grin. “Not that I ever really went to the place, but nice move, Zach. Makes up for your chauvinism earlier this year.”

           “I was not…” He sighed and smiled. “Thanks, December. See ya around.”

           “You’re a special guy, Z,” Wessy said and turned towards the school.

           “Yeah, I know. Come on, guys. Bring it in for one last look at the old place.”

           With Millie and Ash sticking out on the sidelines, the rest of the group got in close, their eyes on the school entrance and the inscribed stone archway above it that read, “To Love To Learn”, and “Established 1976.” It was hitting Jace that this time, after seven years­—and a few bonus weeks—of going to the school and having another go at fifth-grade, that this was really it. He wouldn’t get a full summer with the others, either, so he wanted to make sure that the time he had left with them really counted.

           “Couldn’t ask for a better crew to get through it,” Zach told them.

           “You really think that Lex girl will take good care of the club?” Sadie asked.

           Zach faked a gasp. “Sadie, are you doubting my choice?”

           “Just because I admire what you did, doesn’t necessarily mean she was the best pick. But… I guess you usually have pretty good judgment about people.”

           “Um, yeah. I hung out with you bunch of dorks all these years, didn’t I?”

           “Still…” Wessy looked at a spot in the group that seemed empty. “I kind of wish Charlie was right here with us. Instead, of you know, busy hating everything.”

           “Well, Wes.” Zach patted his back. “There’s always a few bumps in the road.”

           “… And as we head into an unknown, uncertain future, I’m certain that these young people will grow and adapt to any challenge,” Mr. Shumaker said, wrapping up a familiar speech that must have been easy to retool for a quake timeline. “They’re ready to face adversity, just like they do already each day, both at school and at home.”

           The mood of the graduates and their parents further back in the cafeteria was much more upbeat than the previous attempt that none of them remembered. And this time, a table full of diplomas waited for the kids to take on the stage. Also up there with the principal were the fifth-grade teachers, Ms. Porter the youngest among them.

           “Enjoy your summer, and go proudly and bravely into middle school. It may be scary at first, but you’ll soon find that you’re growing as individuals, each of you with unique tastes and interests. Wherever life takes you, you’ll hopefully always remember the times you had here and the friends you made on the way. You did it, fifth-graders! Go Desert Tree Elementary!” Mr. Shumaker made a cringeworthy power fist and thrust it into the air. “Well, then… We’ll begin calling names.”

           The vice-principal stepped up to the microphone, pushed at her large and thick red-rimmed glasses, and said in her elderly voice, “Last names will be called in alphabetic order. Please proceed to the stage to receive your diploma. Be quick but orderly.”

           There was one benefit to the alt-timeline graduation: no one went to the stage, so seating assignments didn’t matter, and Jace got to sit with the others and hear their commentary. This time, he was sitting between two boys from different classes, with Carson and Wright a few seats away to his left. At least Wessy was only a couple seats away, and had leaned over to have a few whisper-chats with Jace during the speech.

           When Wright was called up, he fulfilled an old dare to perform a backflip on the stage—which he nailed, to great applause and head shakes from the teachers. Carson went up next, smoothly doing a walking dance of his own creation before yanking his rolled-up diploma and shaking an entertained Ms. Porter’s hand.

           “As a reminder, please, keep the tricks and flair to a minimum when you come up,” Mr. Shumaker said into the microphone. “We have many graduates to get through.”

           Wessy kept it basic when he went up, taking his roll and giving the audience a big smile and a wave. It struck Jace that Wessy only got an average amount of applause, mostly from his own class. For all of his uncle’s boasting, at the end of the year he was really simply another one of the many kids who didn’t leave a big lasting impression.

           In fact, when Jace went up after the kid between him and Wessy did, he seemed to get more energetic applause—though mostly from the enthusiastic kids that he had helped. At least his uncle didn’t seem to notice or care; his close friends were always the most important thing to him, not his wider popularity. As Jace took his diploma, he recalled the first time he had been up on the stage. This was all pretty much the same.

           When December went up, she was stopped by the principal, who put her in the spotlight by saying, “Ms. Helvetica here is one of two students from our school that will be going to Everette Academy. We’re very proud. Let’s give her some appreciation.”

           She didn’t appear to really enjoy the attention she received from a second round of claps, and stood there feeling awkward, grinning shyly and twirling her hair.

           But when Zach went up, he relished in the reaction. He got a full minute of loud applause from students across all the classes. He pointed to random kids he knew and struck various poses. It lasted so long that Mr. Shumaker checked his watch impatiently.

           Once all the kids had received their school participation papers, they rejoined their families in the back half of the cafeteria for some celebratory cupcakes delivered by a local supermarket chain. For the first time that night, Jace noticed that about a dozen kids—even a few from different classes—were wearing the “DANCIN’ J. CONNOR” buttons that Park had made earlier in the year. It was peculiar that a very brief moment in schoolyard history could last so long, but then again, Park did make quality merch.

           Adult Wes was hanging back and being a wallflower in his Clark Kent shades, letting Jace enjoy a much better version of an evening that he was rushed out of the first time. It was nice seeing all of the students dressed up and enjoying miniature cakes and chatting happily together, even if a few did still look a bit emotional about moving on. Nearby and no longer their teacher, Ms. Porter received some words of gratitude from her students that might have been too awkward to say to her during the school year.

           “Jared,” his mother said as he approached him mid-cupcake-bite. “Ms. Porter tells us that you got a B+ on your final book report project. Good job.”

           Jared swallowed the chunk and replied, “Mm-hm, well… It was kind of fun.”

           “You can be a diligent worker when you put your mind to it,” his dad added, already looking less anxious around his wife after some therapy together. “Everyone, thanks for being good friends with Jared. He likes you guys more than he’d admit.”

           “Come on…” Jared murmured as his buddies chuckled. “You’re embarrassing me.”

           While most of the others also got approached and congratulated by their parents, Jace watched as Wessy had to go to both of his to hear what they wanted to say to him. It must have been a rare occurrence for both his dad and mom to be in the same room together, and here, they stayed by the walls and were separated by the gulf of the packed lunch room. His dad, Lucy, and “Becky” on one side; his mom all the way to the other.

           Whereas he got a hug from his mom that made him smile, when he went to his dad… all he got was a brief chat. Once Wessy turned around to rejoin his friends, they saw the pensive, almost sullen look on his face. Whatever his dad had said to make him feel that way, it was something Lucy picked up on. She took a step forward as if to chase after Wessy as he left, but quickly hesitated and just stood there instead, looking worried.

           “Hey, what’s up?” Zach asked him when he was back with his buds. “You okay?”

           “Just fine,” Wessy muttered. “Anyone ready to get going?”

           “What? No, man,” Arthur replied. “Let’s enjoy this for a bit, you know?”

           “Wes, what’s wrong?” Colin asked him. “You look kind of… upset.”

           “My dad doesn’t even…” Wessy sighed. “Forget it. I don’t want to talk about it.”

           “Take it easy, have some punch,” Ash suggested. “They got the good stuff. Oh, Sadie—I wanted to ask.” She grinned. “Did they try to make you wear the dress again?”

           Sadie groaned, “Of course. Like heck I was gonna go up on stage wearing that.”

           Around them, Park chatted with his parents and older sisters, Min, Haru, and the younger one Gavin’s age, Nari. Brian got a friendly noogie from his big brother, Delilah threatened her punk siblings with her fist and saved her cupcake from theft, and Felicity tried her best not to upset her sister or the well-to-do parents she could barely relate to. Millie handed her tough-looking dad a cupcake that he happily gulped down in a few bites, while Willa, her cat ears still MIA, was introducing her folks and younger brother to all of her acquaintances she had made at school. Spice showed off her designer dress to other graduates across the classes, December’s parents doted on her, and Carson and Gerald got their moms and dads to introduce themselves to each other.  

           Jace took in the sight of all of these little moments among and between friends and family as the group talked happily. But Wessy was barely present, if at all, and he wasn’t interacting with anyone. He seemed to be totally zoning out, his eyes locked onto something no one else could see. Jace thought about trying to help his uncle, but he ran out of time before he could even think up the right words to tell him. His dad had already left with Lucy, and it looked like he felt little need to stick around, either.

           Wessy was the first to leave among them, heading out with his mom and saying, “I’m gonna go, guys. It was… quite a school year, huh? I’ll see you at Jared’s in a bit.”

           His friends waved him off, and none of them looked overly concerned about what he was trying to emotionally process. Wes approached Jace soon afterward.

           “You ready to head out?” Wes asked him, and took a whiff of the place. “It’s still amazing to me how the lunchroom smells exactly like how I remember it.”

           Jace got in one last look-around at the crowds in a familiar space and replied, “We’re never going to see the inside of the school again, are we?”

           “Suppose not. Unless you want to try another go-around… Ya know, you looked much happier up there than the last time I saw you graduate. Anyway… Let’s go.”

           As they walked to the car in the school parking lot under a twilight sky, Jace asked, “Are you going to tell me what’s up with Wessy? And about this July 3^rd party?”

           Wes replied, “Don’t worry about my kid self. It’s normal. I can remember being really contemplative for the first time tonight, like I had discovered thoughts that were new to me. I think it was hitting me all at once what everyone else felt over months.”

           “Well… I guess I get that. But this get-together you’re setting up…”

           “It shouldn’t be a problem, Jace. I want to go out on a bang and give my old class a good time. I should still have some extra cash to blow to pay for it, too.”

           “Sure, but just… putting everyone together like that, when originally…”

           “Don’t worry. I planned it on my last run, right before I left—I just didn’t have the cash to fund it. Every kid’s in town, with nothing on their schedules. Some are back from a trip; others are about to leave, and no July 4^th plans get ruined. Perfect day for it.”

           “And it has nothing to do with a certain big movie coming out, huh?”

           “That’s just a bonus. I was probably going to buy everyone a ticket to that, too.”

           “Geez, how much extra money did you save up before Eddie got busted?”

           Wes shrugged and open his car’s door. Once they were both seated inside and he got the air going, he replied, “I don’t really need it, bud. If I withdraw it all and bring a bunch of twenty-five-year-old bills to the present, I might draw suspicion on myself somehow. I’m well-off in 2020, anyway. So I may as well spend it on a big blowout.”

           “I mean, I guess you can just rewind time and cancel it if anything really does get screwed up. It could be fun seeing the whole class at the arcade in a month.”

           “We’re almost done here, Jace. Though I have a feeling Warren’s going to drop one last surprise on us before we return to the present. So… I know you told me all about what happened today during dinner, but how was school overall?”

           Jace sighed. “Different in a lot of ways to our time, similar in others. I guess the experience was worth it. The pre-internet video game rumors were always fun. Oh, and I forgot to tell you. Lex, the new Dump owner… is one of Laurie’s parents.”

           “That so? Huh…” Wes started the car. “I wonder if Laurie knows about that.”

           “Maybe not? It’s not as if the club existed anymore by the time we went here.”

           “Yeah. Shame about that. But hideouts were a generational thing, anyway.”

           Jace murmured as Wes backed out, “I dunno. It would’a been fun to have one.”

           The boys had given Jared the honor of hosting a celebratory sleepover that night, since he wouldn’t be going to camp with most of the others. His backyard—the very same where Sadie hid in an artificial pond almost a year ago and won her team a Bullet Water game—was now wild with overgrown grass and weeds. With Colin in the nearby old wooden play fort, the rest sat around a metal firepit toasting marshmallows. It was a clear, dark night, and quiet except for the crackling fire and a faint breeze in the trees.

           “This isn’t so bad,” Zach said, his shades hanging on his collar as he blew out the flame on a sugar-pillow at the end of a twig. “See, camp would probably just be this for two weeks, minus the option for an air-conditioned interior and television.”

           “I got no desire to sleep out here, trust me,” Jared said, pressing a s’more together. “This is still a nice change from the usual, though.”

           “Your dad doesn’t exactly make you do any yard work, huh?” Arthur remarked and looked around at the tall grass. “Or do much of it himself, I’m guessing.”

           Jared shrugged. “He’ll mow when it gets high enough and Mom gets mad. But they usually just hire a yard crew twice a year. If any of you wanna do it instead, he’ll probably pay you. But you’d have to clean up Sadie’s Pond, too.”

           “Sadie’s Pond?” Zach replied with a laugh and eyed the small lily pad pool. “Is that what you’re calling it now? Man, we gotta get a water gun game in sometime soon.”

           “Hey, I found Hale-Bopp again,” Colin said from the fort, where he had planted his telescope that he brought over. “You can still see the tail. Who wants a go?”

           Arthur hadn’t seen it yet, so he climbed up the small wooden ladder to look.

           “Nice,” he said after a moment. “It’s supposed to get a lot closer next year, right? I wonder if my dad could get a good telephoto lens so he can shoot it.”

           “Wes, you’re in some kind of funk, man,” Zach said to him. “You okay?”

           Tepidly chewing on a graham cracker and staring into the fire, Wessy replied, “Don’t worry about it. I just got a lot on my mind. And my dad kind of made me mad.”

           “What’d he do to set you off this time? Hey, I’m no Gerald or Jason, but I know your dad better than they do. You can talk to me, it’s cool.”

           Wessy slumped in his patio chair, groaning. “He congratulated me for graduating. And then he’s all like, ‘go have a good time, tomorrow you leave the kiddy stuff behind.’ Like, what the hell is he talking about? It just ruined my night. But, all this… helps.”

           “You mean being out here, relaxing? Keeping any stimulation on the light side?” Zach waited for a response from Wessy, and when one didn’t come, he changed his tone a bit. “Sorry, man. I don’t hear you curse that often, so I can tell he really did upset you. But don’t let it get to ya. You know that’s what he’s like. It’s not like you’re going to wake up tomorrow and be an adult, though. We all grow at our own pace.”

           “It’s the ‘kiddy stuff’ crap I don’t like, Z. He just doesn’t get any of the things I find fun to do, or buy. And… you know, I like my fun, interesting, colorful… stuff.”

           “I know ya do, man. You were never gonna be the kind of kid that went with the ‘plain’ binders others brought to school. Always had, like, game or cartoon characters on all your notebooks and lunchboxes. A funky eraser on every pencil. Ah…” Zach leaned forward in his chair. “Look, Wes, I’ve been preparing for middle school. Watching the right movies and shows that take place in ‘em… I even signed up for that ‘shadow a sixth grader for a day’ thing our school did that most of us didn’t care about. I gotta be ready, you know? And, uh… I’m not trying to take your dad’s side here, but you will want to tone it down a little. You can still be you, but if you bring your race car pencil sharpener to Cookton, you’re gonna make yourself a target.”

           This is actually valuable wisdom for me, too, Jace thought.

           Wessy scowled at Zach for just a second, but then seemed to take his advice—or warnings—to heart and went back to just looking conflicted about everything. Jared stared at Wessy from two chairs away, but didn’t have anything to say.

           “What about you, Jason?” Zach asked him. “Looking forward to Cookton?”

           “Actually, I…” Jace stopped, realizing that Wessy was not in the mood to hear about a friend leaving soon. “Y-yeah, I guess. Mostly. Middle school will be different…”

           “No playground. This place called a homeroom. Everyone has different classes and schedules. And there are things like the art, theater, and athletic programs… It’ll take some getting used to. But we’ll always have lunch. We’ll survive.”

           Colin added from the fort, “Yeah, Wes. We’ll still have some classes together. And don’t forget, it’s not like the other sixth-graders will be older and wiser than us. Some of ‘em will still be into, er… youth-oriented things, too. If you think about it, we’ll only be a few months older than we are now. How much can we be expected to, like… mature?”

           “You just gotta get things right with Jared before Cookton,” Zach suggested.

           Wessy and Jared glanced at each other, neither ready for a heart-to-heart.

           “Zach, I’m not clueless about middle school,” Wessy told him. “Gavin tells me about it when I hang out over there. I’d still be talking to him, but he and Vanni just haven’t been around recently. And, also… stop worrying about me and Jared.”

           “But I can’t help it. Hey, you two are kind of like rivals in a few ways, sure, but you’re still good buddies first. C’mon, remember when J got Nicky Becker off your back in third grade, when he kept making fun of your looks? And Wes, you came over here and played video games with J every day when he was sick for a week last year.”

           “Careful, Zach,” Arthur cautioned him from his spot up on the fort. “You didn’t see how bad it got during the blackout sleepover. Those two are tightly wound right now.”

           “Yeah, I can see that, Arty. But this is the perfect time to work out some feelings, know what I mean? No more school to worry about, just us out here by the fire…”

           “Zach, could you please not try to make us hug and make up?” Jared grumbled. “Isn’t it enough that we’re still hanging out together? Don’t try to force more out of us.”

           “We’ll work it out on our own time,” Wessy added. “We got all summer.”

           “Sure, but I don’t want you going to summer camp with a grudge, Wes,” Zach said. “If you’re not around Jared all day, you could, like, stew in your feelings.”

           “Or, maybe, two weeks away from him is just what I need right now.”

           “Ease up, Zach…” Arthur warned, with Colin watching on in morbid curiosity.

           “All right, all right,” Zach muttered. “Tell you what. Just… sit side by side for a bit, o-or shake hands, at least. Tell the other one that they’re a buddy, how about that?”

           Jared winced. “Z, you’re good at a lot of things. This, maybe not so much.”

           “I just don’t like bad blood in our group, dude! I don’t want to live under the threat of things breaking apart. We’re supposed to keep things real cool, remember?”

           Wessy crossed his arms and glared at Jared, who shot up from his chair and exclaimed, “Feuds happen among friends and family, Z! For once, stop… trying to control everything! Geez, man! That’s one of the reasons I got upset at Wes!”

           “Whoa, Jared, I… I, uh…” Zach was at a loss for words, and Colin and Arthur seemed surprised that he, of all kids, would ever get yelled at by anyone. “Sorry, man.”

           “Just forget it. Look, you guys do what you want. I’m going inside. Jason…” He turned to him and exhaled. “Can I talk to you in my room for a minute?”

           Jace obliged and walked into Jared’s smallish house with him, passing through the living room first where the sleeping bags were waiting around the smallish TV set. Jared’s room was also smallish, barely able to fit another two sleepers on its floor, so like the past sleepovers Jace had at the house—all two of them over the year—they would be snoozing elsewhere. Though Jared’s room wasn’t big, it wasn’t spartan like Wessy’s place at his dad’s. He had a tiny TV of his own, wall posters mostly for music albums and movies, and shelves loaded with old games and secondhand or knock-off toys.

           “Jason, you’ve been a reliable friend to us since we met,” Jared said after closing his door. “Even if I’ve known you the least amount of time… Well, maybe that’s actually a good thing, you having less history with the others. And you’re good at secret-keeping.”

           “Compared to how we started, um, thanks, Jared. So, what’s up?”

           “Look, this will sound a little weird, and I’m going to share something I’m just not ready to with the guys. When you go to camp… Keep an eye on Wes and Sadie for me, okay? I get it if you think I’m paranoid and should just drop it, totally, but…”

           “You really think you see something the others don’t.”

           Jared put his hands on Jace’s shoulders and confided, “I know I’m not as smart as Colin or Arty, or as cool as Wes and Zach. But I’m good at reading people. The others don’t appreciate that, but maybe they will by the time we’re in high school. I’ve seen it before—boy-girl friend groups can get broken apart by crushes. The two romantics go off on their own, and fracture the remaining friendships. It’s stupid, but it happens.”

           “You really think so? I think it’s Celeste that Wes needs to worry about. She’s the one who, um…” how best to phrase it? “has a past with him, and might see… a future.”

           “I know, I know. But she’s, like, in our ‘orbit,’ as my mom calls it; not down here with us. It’s different. If she pulls him away, he can bounce back to us. But Sadie is…”

           Jace crossed his arms and hesitantly asked a big question, “J, do you like Sadie?”

           “What? N-no! Not like… Not like that…” Jared breathed deep and stepped back. “Our friendship is one of debates and passionate arguments. She scolds me all the time, but I don’t even really mind. And there’s… the way she looks at me every now and then, and tells me things in private that she doesn’t tell anyone else, kind of like I’m doing right now… Jace, I always thought having a sibling would be fun. And Sadie? She’s…”

           “Jared, do you kind of see her as a sister or something?”

           “M-maybe.” He grimaced and rubbed an elbow as he admitted a truth that must have embarrassed him. “And, you know, I want to protect her for some reason. Like, even more than how I stand up for Wes—or, at least, used to… I don’t want to see her get hurt. So, in my absence, make sure that he doesn’t do something stupid, okay?”

           “He always does, but I still think he’s pretty oblivious to that sort of thing.”

           “Sure, he is now, but two weeks of summer camp together? Who knows, right? I’m telling ya, those two talk and joke differently around each other than the rest of us do with Sadie. And maybe I’m wrong, yeah, but my gut’s telling me something’s up.”

           “All right, Jared. I’ll report back to you what I see.” Maybe there really is something to all this that connects to modern boss-Jared, Jace thought, and then added, “We good here?”

           “Yeah.” Jared huffed out a big burst of air. “Feels good to finally get that off my chest. Um, so… you know I don’t get many channels, but we should be able to catch some Unsolved Mysteries reruns before conking out. That is, if we can sleep afterwards.”

           “Heh. Those ghost and alien episodes freak me out a little.”

           “Oh, Colin hates those, and the cursed object eps, too… Thanks, man.”

           The boys fell asleep early after an exhausting day and woke up early, in time for classic network TV Saturday morning cartoons; a legacy block that was on its way out. There was nothing like a bowl of cereal and classic Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles episodes, which they enjoyed from the couch and messy sleeping bags strewn about on the floor.

           It was around ten in the morning when Zach’s dad pulled up out front in his black Mercedes. Upon seeing it, the boys stopped their casual chats right away, and Zach stood up from the couch with a wistful moan and stretched.

           “That’s my ride,” he said and slid on his shades. He grabbed his backpack and looked at his friends after opening the front door. “See you guys in a month. Don’t miss me too much. Be excellent to each other. And Wes and Jared… Do what you can, okay?”

           “See ya, Z,” Arthur replied with a wave. “You ran The Dump with respect.”

           “Yeah, see if they have secret clubs in schools in Hawaii,” Colin added jokingly.

           “Bye, Zach,” Wessy said. “We’ll try to… keep things cool while you’re gone.”

           Jace and Jared simply waved, and after one last pair of finger guns and a tongue click, Zach left the house and headed off. And with his departure, summer returned.

           On Monday, the start of a week to fill before camp, the cottage phone rang. Wes answered it to find that he was being asked for Jace by his younger self, and he suddenly vaguely remembered how boring and uneventful the next few days would be.

           Just after he ate lunch, Jace biked and met Wessy at the Circle K. They grabbed ICEEs, which they slurped up under the hot sun outside the store. It was strange being alone with his young uncle, who was almost always seen with at least two of his friends.

           He actually felt the same way, as he revealed when he said the first significant sentence once half his drink was gone, “Sorry, Jason. I know it’s kinda awkward with it being just us. The only kid I ever feel ‘normal’ being around mano a mano is Colin. You know, because of our history and stuff. But I had to get out and do something. I thought I could just laze about in my room all day, but, like, when I picked up my Super Nintendo controller while sunlight was coming through my window, I just wasn’t feeling it.”

           “Nah, I get it. Sleeping until eleven was nice, but then I was all, ‘what now?’ But where is everyone? Usually, a few of them are always around.”

           Wessy shrugged. “I think Sadie’s summer-clothes-shopping at the mall with the twins and their folks. And Jared went with Colin’s parents on a day trip to San Fran to see a Giants game. I could’a gone, but I didn’t want to get up at seven.”

           “Could always see what Celeste’s up to,” Jace half-heartedly suggested.

           “Ugh, no thanks. It would be scary being around her without the others.”

           Jace hesitated before asking, “You worried she still has a thing for you?”

           “I wish everyone would just forget all about that. We were dumb kids and, I dunno, thought the other was ‘neat.’ We held hands a few times in kindergarten, so what? Jason, let’s bike somewhere. Doesn’t matter where. Ride, talk, drink. Keep moving.”

           “You never do like to stay still…” Jace said and began following Wessy back into the neighborhood, their cold drinks in one hand, the other on a handlebar.

           “Sitting still just means the world’s passin’ you by, Jace. I mean, I can do it, but I better be watching or playing something while I’m doing it, so I’m still having an experience. I never know what to do with myself during lonely summer days.”

           “Well, camp should help with that problem for a couple weeks.”

           “I guess. I mean, since my dad and… Becky are going on their gross adult trip, Lucy would’ve had to go alone, and I’d probably just sit around worrying about her.”

           “Do you worry about Lucy a lot?”

           “Uh, yeah! She doesn’t like to speak her mind, she has trouble making friends, and the ones she does have are horrible. And she has to be around Becky all the time.”

           “Maybe she’ll make a buddy at camp. It’s a good opportunity, right?”

           “So long as she doesn’t just cry in her cabin the entire time, yeah, maybe.”

           As the two rode by the entrance to Mansion Street on their bikes, Jace noticed Willa and Wright hanging out in the cul-de-sac at the end. Wright was playing games with another local neighbor boy, and it appeared that he was making a killing again.

           “What’s up, Jason?” Wessy asked after his bike skidded to a stop.

           “You know, I never got around to helping Wright or Willa.”

           Wessy chuckled. “You can stop doing that now, right? School’s out.”

           “Doesn’t mean it’s not worth seeing how they’re doing. Come on, let’s say hi.”

           Shrugging and turning his front wheel, Wessy replied, “All right, but I’ve never really said much to those two. Willa’s weird and Wright’s like Charlie used to be, but if he was doing crazy stunts and making bets for only his own entertainment.”

           “Willa’s ditched her cat ears. Maybe there’s something to that.”

           They both walked their bikes over, quickly-melting drinks still in hand. Willa was rather listlessly watching Wright win from the curb, while Wright’s victim—who looked to be a middle-schooler—was looking freaked out about being close to losing the Magic: The Gathering card game they played on a piece of cardboard, to keep the asphalt from scratching up valuable cards. Wessy and Jace arrived just as Wright tapped one of his wizard cards to deal the final bit of damage to his opponent, knocking him out.

           “Dang it, Wright,” the boy groaned and packed up his deck. “I am not playing with you anymore. You’re just going out and buying the best cards instead of taking a chance and getting booster packs like the rest of us. Where do you get the cash?”

           “One thing leads to another, my man,” Wright said with a grin. “Small wagers let you buy the goods that lead to bigger wagers. Speaking of, you owe me three bucks.”

           “Whatever, dude,” the boy grumbled and tossed three wadded-up one-dollar bills on the cardboard. “Some other player’s going to kick your ass at Cookton, you’ll see.”

           After the boy stormed off, Wessy remarked, “This looks a lot more advanced than Pogs or all the usual card games. Where’d you learn about it?”

           “It’s a trading card game system with monsters and magic,” Wright replied and carefully slid his pristine deck into an old playing card box. “Robby taught me how to play it. Cool part is, you can build your own deck and up your odds at winning with the good cards—and they increase in value, too, so you can just sell ‘em off later.”

           “Also, the art is pretty…” Willa remarked.

           “I keep telling you, Willa, ‘pretty’ isn’t important,” Wright scoffed. “You wanna learn how to play, Wes? I got a trainer deck I can let you borrow for a few bucks.”

           “No thanks, man. I don’t want to lose weeks of allowance to you.”

           “Right, right… You need that money to buy and keep video games that don’t give you anything in return. Life’s about investments, risks, and reward, my dude.”

           “How’s summer treating you so far?” Jace asked them.

           “It’s off to a bad start,” Willa sighed. “Gramps just got sent off to do a year at a ‘white collar prison.’ He never even wears white collars, so he’s gonna hate it.”

           “Willa, that’s not…” Wright muttered and shook his head. “Again, it’s barely a punishment. They got tennis courts at those places. And quit saying it’s your fault. He gambled and lost. It happens to the best of us. Well, not to me so much.”

           “Maybe not yet,” Jace replied. “But, Wright, I got a feeling that if you keep getting more intense with your stunts, you’re going to get yourself hurt one day. Or broke.”

           “Heh, Jason, is this your attempt to fix me? I know my limits, but I’m a thrill-seeker, man. I’m always going to look for the next big thing. Don’t worry about me.”

           “Just be kind to your eyes, okay? Don’t go sticking, or dripping anything in them.”

           “The heck’s that mean? Look, I’m not gonna end up like Willa’s pop-pop or go stabbing knives into my face. There’s nothing to help here. Willa on the other hand…”

           “Oh, I got this,” Wessy said, acting like he wanted a shot at Jace’s game. “They have some pretty good toy cats at KB that kind of look like the real thing. They even meow and purr and stuff when you press a button. No mom allergies to worry about.”

           “I don’t even really care about getting a cat anymore,” Willa huffed.

           “Oooh, so you want a dog now? Or maybe a lizard? No allergy stuff with those.”

           “Nah. I realized I need something that will listen to my problems, and talk back, and treat me real nice. That’s why, before middle school starts, I want a boyfriend.”

           “Oof, yikes.” Wessy got on his bike right away. “Good luck with that. See ya.”

           Wright shot up and rushed towards his house. “Not gonna be me, cat-girl.”

           “It wouldn’t have been either of you!” she exclaimed, arms crossed. “Buuut…”

           A shiver ran down Jace’s spine when Willa glanced up at him. After first taking a nervous sip of his drink, he also quickly got onto his bike and began pedaling away.

           Willa shouted, “I just think you’re kind of cute, Jason! It doesn’t mean anything!”

           “Bet that just put a dent in your ‘help everyone’ plan,” Wessy commented as he and Jace booked it out of Mansion Street. “Now I gotta stay away from Willa forever.”

           “Yeah, I’m not going to help her if it means…” Jace shook his head to keep away the intrusive thoughts. “Well, I guess I can’t solve every problem that’s out there.”

           After another few minutes of riding, they tossed their empty drinks into a house’s garbage bin waiting for pickup by the curb, and Jace took the lead, a destination in mind that he wanted to check up on. Wessy, just enjoying the ride, followed without question.

           The house where Jace would start living fourteen years in the future came into view in the shady part of the neighborhood, with a moving truck out front. The boys came to a stop and noticed that Felicity and her sister were watching their parents supervise two hunky college-aged moving guys as they carried a couch into the truck.

           “Oh, cool, Felicity’s moving,” Wessy remarked. “Cookton won’t be as creepy.”

           “Don’t get excited, Wes. They’re just going to a bigger place nearby.”

           I want to get a peek at my house sometime to see it empty, Jace thought.

           Wessy also appeared to be having some thoughts of his own as he observed the moving process. Felicity caught sight of both of them, but Wessy didn’t seem to notice. Jace gave her a timid half-wave from a distance, and she did the same back.

           “Jason, I want to bike by Vanni and Gavin’s,” Wessy said quietly.

           “You think they’re back home? We could hang out there a bit if they are.”

           “I don’t know. I want to see if… Let’s just go.”

           They got back to pedaling, Jace following close behind and trying to get a read on his uncle’s emotions. Jace had been wondering when the day might come that Wessy would find out that the Patiles were moving away, and he very well knew that it could be today. There was no changing or delaying it. All there was to do was see the reaction.

           They slowed down on final approach to the residence, and Wessy eventually just let his bike fall onto the curb grass upon seeing the “For Sale” sign out front.

           “They really are leaving…” he murmured. “And they’re still not home. I can tell. Vanni’s always playing her drums in the garage when I come over. They’re just… gone.”

           “I’m sorry, Wes. That sucks. B-but, you know…” Jace tried to think of a bright side to things, and got another look at the sign. “It doesn’t say ‘Sold’ yet. I don’t think they’re just going to leave town without telling you. You come here a lot, don’t you?”

           Wessy shook his head and let out a big sigh. “Forget it. Let’s go to my house and play some video games. I don’t want to think about this right now.”

           Wes remained pretty quiet the rest of the day as they gamed or watched a few shows up in his room, his window open and his fan running to help with the heat. As the sun went down later in the day, he paused Super Mario RPG after a long session—Jace had helped him by providing Nintendo Power tips—and eyed his open window.

           His adult uncle had never mentioned it, and Jace had never seen it happen, but Wessy took the screen off his window and guided him onto the part of the roof that was right outside his room. It was a little dangerous, but at least the roof wasn’t steep at all.

           “I come out here sometimes to look at the stars,” Wessy said as he and Jace sat down on the shingles. “But usually only when my mom’s asleep. So keep it down.”

           “You feeling all right, Wes? I’m used to watching you actually enjoy gaming.”

           “Yeah… I don’t know. The truth is, I’ve been going to Vanni’s place a lot more than the others think. If they’re too busy to hang out, I can head over there and just chill. Gavin gives me middle school survival tips and knows tons of video game history, and Vanni… She’s like my Obi-Wan, you know? Like, a sage? She gives me better life tips than my dad ever does. She’s all like, ‘here’s what can happen, but how you deal with it is up to you.’ But when my dad tells me that kind of stuff, he’s just… What’s the word Arty taught me? … Oh, yeah, he’s self-righteous about it. ‘This is what you have to do or say, kid. Be a grown-up,’” he mocked his dad’s voice. “And now… they’re leaving.”

           “… People come and go, Wes. Sometimes all you can do is remember them.”

           Wessy scrunched down and grumbled, “Growing up is going to suck.”

           As the sun set, Jace replied, “It’ll be hard. But it doesn’t have to be terrible.”

           “Now I can’t wait for camp. Two weeks of not thinking about any of this.”

           Jace sighed. “Let’s try to make it a good time. It always eventually runs out.”