Some Kind of Normal

“Nice hair,” he said with a grin.

“You suck,” she said, glaring at him.

Link threw his hands into the air. “What did I do?”

“Nothing,” Taylor shouted. “Forget it.” She pushed past my dad and headed back upstairs.

Link rocked on his feet and shoved his hands into the front pockets of his jeans. “Man, your sister. What’s up with her?”

“Who knows?” I replied.

Link raised his eyebrows in question. “You ready?”

“Yeah,” I said with a rush. “Let’s go.”

My mom stepped in front of me, her hands sliding up either side of my face. Her fingers were cool, their touch gentle. “Where are you going?”

“Gonna hit the movies,” Link answered.

My mom’s eyes softened, and for a moment I saw the fear that still lived inside her, and I felt like a shit. It was fear that I had put there, and I’d be the happiest guy on the planet if that look would just go away. But I had a feeling it was not happening anytime soon. Maybe it never would.

“We

’ll be okay, Mom. We’re just heading over to the next parish. Their drive-in is running up.”

“It’s what?” she asked.

“Running up.” Man, get me out of here.

A heartbeat passed. Maybe two.

My mom cleared her throat, her eyes falling away.

I glanced over to Link and shrugged.

“Okay,” she said stepping away. “Be safe,” she whispered.

“I got him,” Link said with a grin. “No worries.”

“You better, Lincoln. Don’t forget. We know where you live.”

That was my dad, and I nodded to him before following Link out to his truck. A beat-up and rusted Ford, it sounded like shit, and I was pretty sure the exhaust wouldn’t pass any kind of emission test, but to Link, it was the best ride ever. He’d saved all his money two years ago, and as soon as he’d gotten his license, he’d bought the thing from Old Man Ben’s used car lot.

And Old Man Ben had owned the thing since it was new.

I slid inside and leaned back, just now thinking of what I’d said. Running up? I’d meant to say the drive-in was still up and running. That was the problem with my brain these days. Sometimes I skipped words or got the order mixed up and didn’t know it until later, if I figured it out at all.

Link threw the truck in reverse, and after a few seconds, we were heading out of town.

“So how did it go?”

“How did what go?” I replied. But I knew what he was getting at. He’d been ribbing me about Everly ever since he found out she’d be the one tutoring me for my government test.

“Don’t make me hurt you,” he said with a chuckle.

Link was a good guy, with an easy smile and an I’m up for anything kind of vibe going on. His mom was black and his dad was white. And Link? Well, he’d ended up somewhere in the middle. His dreads were an ode to his mom (though she made him keep them trimmed to just below his shoulders), but the blue eyes, they were all from his dad.

He was probably the funniest guy I knew, and he would do anything on a dare. Like once he’d run naked across the football field during cheerleading practice. It had earned him fifty bucks and a week’s worth of detention. But that was Link. Up for anything.