Streetlights Like Fireworks by David Pandolfe Read Free Book Online Page B

school early this morning. Maybe I can catch up on the summer classes
after we get through this but it doesn’t matter right now. Maybe I’ll just drop
them. What matters is that we get home to be with Mom in case she comes out of
the coma.”
    “Coma?”
    “I know it sounds bad but we need to say calm,” Lauren
says. “How soon can you get packed?”
    Finally, I put it together. Holy shit, she’s amazing. It
takes superhuman effort not to grin. “Just a few minutes. We need to go.”
    Mr. Whilhite clears his throat and directs his attention
to me. “I already explained to your sister that we don’t normally let campers
leave with anyone but their parents. But under the circumstances, and since
your sister’s eighteen, it looks like we have little choice but to make an
exception.” He turns to Lauren. “I’ll still need to see your identification.
And you’ll have to sign the release form.”
    “Of course.” Lauren opens her purse, produces an ID and
passes it to Mr. Wilhite.
    Mr. Wilhite studies the ID. “This says your last name is
Hornsby.”
    Here’s where we’re going down. Nice job, Lauren. What was
she thinking?
    I feel blood rushing to my face but Lauren doesn’t
flinch. She keeps her eyes on Mr. Wilhite’s. “That’s correct. Our mother was
married before. In fact, our new father can’t actually have children. As you
can imagine, we don’t exactly talk about it. Kind of a sensitive topic. Anyway,
I decided to keep my last name. Jack felt differently.”
    Mr. Wilhite thinks for a moment. He blushes and I wonder
if Lauren hit a nerve. “This says you live in Charlottesville. Jack’s file says
your family lives in Edmonds.”
    “That’s right. I go to school there. UVA. Did you go
there too?” Lauren points to the desk. “I noticed your mug.”
    Sure enough, a black coffee mug with a University of
Virginia logo sits on Mr. Wilhite’s desk. Damn, she’s really good.
    “That was a gift from my nephew,” Mr. Wilhite says. “He
goes there.”
    “Really?” Lauren says. “Wilhite…that name sounds kind of
familiar. Is he in the engineering program?”
    Mr. Wilhite’s expression brightens. “He is. His name’s
Tim. Do you know him?”
    Lauren’s face lights up. “He’s a friend of my roommate’s
boyfriend. Did Tim ever mention Paul Parsons?”
    Mr. Wilhite shakes his head. “I don’t think so.”
    “You should ask him sometime. Those two are almost
inseparable. Which, frankly, annoys the heck out of my roommate.”
    Mr. Wilhite chuckles. “Talk about a small world.”
    “Next time I see Tim, I’ll be sure to tell him we met.”
Lauren turns to me. “Jack, are you okay? Can you manage to pack your things
now? I just need to sign you out and then we can get going.”
    Mr. Wilhite passes Lauren her ID and a clipboard but
addresses both of us. “I hope your mother is going to be okay. I’m sure she
will be.”
    We both thank him and Lauren signs the form.
    ~~~
    “Just walk fast,” Lauren says, once we’re outside and
hustling toward the cabins.
    “What are you doing?”
    “What am I doing? I think this is more of a ‘we’
situation. Wouldn’t you agree?”
    “But what was with the whole mom-fell-down-the-stairs
thing. The Middle East? Really, a coma?”
    “I’d say it worked nicely,” Lauren says. “Although, I
feel bad about lying to Mr. Whilhite. He seems really nice. You can tell he’s
proud of his nephew.”
    “And what was up with that ? How did you know his
nephew was in the engineering program?”
    “I didn’t, not for sure. But I kind of got a feeling
about it. See why you should trust your instincts? Besides, it’s a huge
engineering program so my odds were pretty good either way. Anyway, it worked.
And, obviously, you wanted to run with it.”
    “What makes you say that?”
    “Well, it wasn’t exactly like you called me out for being
a liar. That gave me the distinct impression you were on board.” Lauren stops
walking and stares at me.