Sink or Swim by Bob Balaban Read Free Book Online

think?”
    â€œThey’d think he was pretty strange, Mrs. D.,” Sam says, digging into his salad. “But come to think of it, everybody already does.”
    By the time supper’s over, the table looks like a swarm of locusts has descended and eaten everything but the chairs and the napkins.
    Dave goes to Lainie Mingenbach’s house for a study date. Lainie is Dave’s third-favorite girlfriend. She is captain of the pep squad and specializes in doing the cha-cha, the samba, and modern jazz. If it can be danced, she can dance it. This means Dave’s first- and second-favorite girlfriends are either sick, grounded, or out babysitting.
    Sam and Lucille and I finish watching
The Raven
.
(I don’t want to spoil the ending for anybody, but basically everyone in it eventually gets maimed, killed, or arrested.) We learn two more vocab words and do the rest of our homework, and then my dad and I drive Sam and Lucille home in my mom’s old pickup truck.
    â€œYou know you could be a wonderful swimmer if you put your mind to it, Charlie,” my dad tells me when we’re finally alone and heading back to our house. “Your grandmother swam like a veritable fish.”
    â€œShe
was
a fish, Dad.” I sigh. “She played championship bridge, too, but that doesn’t automatically make me a card player.” My parents are always telling me I can do anything. Which is nice, I guess. Only sometimes it just reminds me of how many things I
can’t
do.
    â€œI just hate to see you being so afraid, son. That’s all. Fear can stop you from doing all sorts of fun and interesting new things.”
    â€œBut can’t fear sometimes be a good thing, Dad? Like fear of putting your hand too near the fire? Or fear of falling off a tall building?”
    â€œOf course, son.” Dad smiles as he pulls into our driveway. He shuts off the motor and we go into the house. “We have to learn to tell the difference between our unnecessary childish fears and the fears that keep us safe. That’s what growing up is all about.”
    Balthazar trots up behind us as we quietly climb the stairs. “Sleep well, Charlie. You have a big day tomorrow.”
    My father pads down the hall and I change into my pj’s and get into bed. At least most of me does. The part that’s too big to fit sticks out over the end and rests on my brother’s old camp trunk. Balthazar curls up next to me. Pretty soon I hear Dave come home and go into the bathroom to brush his teeth. The big spruce tree outside casts an ominous-looking shadow on the ceiling. But then, any shadows you run into after watching
The Raven
are guaranteed to look pretty ominous.
    Suddenly a distant shriek pierces the silence of my room. It is the same sound we heard on the way home from the fish store today. I wonder if “fear of shrieks in the night” is an unnecessary childish fear, or a helpful adult one.
    Balthazar wakes up and runs to the window, barking his most protective bark. He wouldn’t hurt a mouse, but he can sound really ferocious when he thinks something might endanger his family.
    Dave shuts off the water. It gets awfully quiet. He tiptoes out of the bathroom and steps on my Buzz Lightyear action figure. “OUCH!!!!!” he screams. Hard molded plastic toys are the worst thing you can possibly step on in your bare feet. “Sorry,” Dave whispers.
    â€œIt’s okay. I’m not asleep.” I sit up in my bed and turn on my desk light. Balthazar jumps back into my bed and curls up next to me.
    â€œYou’d better get some rest.” Dave sits on the edge of his bed and rubs his sore foot. “Don’t you have swimming practice tomorrow?”
    â€œHow am I supposed to be on the swimming team?” I say. “I don’t know how to swim. I don’t like to put my head underwater. I’m not even that crazy about drinking the stuff. I’m going to make a