A Face in Every Window by Han Nolan Read Free Book Online Page B

woods when I need to, wash in the creek—I do okay."
    "Yeah, I guess," I said, not knowing what else to say.
    He stood up and stretched, looking down at me at the same time. "Don't look so worried," he said. "I'm like a cat; I've got nine lives and I always land on my feet."
    "Maybe," I said, wondering what it would be like to be someone like Larry, to have lived his life. "But how many lives have you already used up?"
    He turned to me and made a fist, and I wondered for a second if he were going to punch me, but he smiled and just gave me a nudge. "You've got a point," he said, not answering the question. Then he added, "I like you, O'Brien. You're smart, aren't you?"
    I shrugged, pleased for some reason that he liked me.
    He stuffed his hands in the pockets of his cutoffs and leaned against a post "So did Timmy tell you about what happened?"
    Now I'd done it. I should have left with Tim when I had the chance. I didn't want to get in the middle of a family feud.
    I looked down at the floor, pretending to study the gray-painted floorboards. "Not really," I said. "Just something about your father seeing you with some—uh—pills, I guess."
    "Vitamin pills. They were vitamin pills."
    "Maybe," I said.
    He shook his head and pulled out a pack of cigarettes from the pocket of his T-shirt. "Man, I'll never be able to live there again." He took a cigarette out of the pack and lit it, stuffing the box back in his pocket. He took a few puffs and looked out at my parents. Pap was spinning around and around while Mam stood watching him, talking to him. Some of the other people had drifted out, coming from around the back of the house to where they stood. I looked for Dr. Mike but didn't see him.
    "You've got great parents," Larry said, surprising me. That's one thing I never expected to hear from anybody and knew I'd never believe myself, much as I loved them. "They just let you be, don't they? They just kind of live for the moment. It's great."
    "Your parents are pretty good" I said, and then added, "Your father's great"
    Larry flicked his cigarette ash over the side of the porch and squinted at me. "You good at sports?" he asked.
    I shrugged. "I'm okay, I guess, in basketball."
    Larry shook his head. "No good, two strikes against you. You're mediocre, strike one, and you like basketball, strike two. Now, if you were really great in basketball, that would put you in neutral territory, but you see with Dad, with my great, wonderful, slap-you-on-the-back, how-ya-doin' father, you'd better be great at some sport, preferably football, because that's all that counts."
    "I don't know. He's nice enough to me," I said.
    "For a friend of Timmy's. For a neighborhood buddy. It would be a whole different story if you were his son."
    "Yeah, maybe."
    Larry tossed his cigarette down on the wooden floor and mashed it with his foot. "You say 'maybe' a lot. Aren't you ever sure of anything? Don't you
know
anything?"
    I could hear the irritation in his voice.
    "I know you're living in a doghouse," I said.
    He snickered. "Yeah, I sure am." Then his expression changed. He looked worried, even scared. He looked out toward the cabin again. "They'll never let me change. To them I'll always be Larry the dropout, the dopehead.... They were just looking for me to slip up. I take a few vitamin pills and it's the perfect excuse to kick me out. I'm too much trouble, and I'm not worth the effort. Even I'll admit that."
    Larry jumped off the porch. I watched him, long legged and lanky, walking toward Mam and Pap, and I thought
about the way he'd blown it, thrown his family away with the way he acted. I knew if I had his family, his parents, I'd do anything to stay with them. I'd do anything to keep a father like Mr. Seeley.
    I looked across the lawn and saw Pap, dizzy from spinning, waver and then fall to the ground.

Chapter Seven
    M AM AND THE contest were a one-week wonder, and then all the hoopla ended. Everyone went back to whatever they were doing, and we got