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Today was going to suck Sa about hio Today was his little brother’s first day of high school

David peeled back his flannel sheets and stood His roolasses on the floor along with piles of dirty clothes, free weights, and one overflowing trash can He couldn’t believe he had gotten used to living in such filth He resolved to clean it up the ot home David pulled on a frayed T-shirt that was draped over a lamp, and then some dark jeans from the floor He’d had these clothes since football season of last year, and they still fit His rooone to hell, but at least he’d maintained his fitness He slipped on a black hooded sweatshirt and pulled the large hood over his unruly brown hair

David dug his feet into his favorite beat-up sneakers and took the stairs doo at a time

He stepped into the kitchen and smelled burnt food The roo up most of it The walls were painted the color of mar-malade, and his mother’s old lace curtains cast floral patterns across the floor Will stood in front of the fridge He was short and stringy, and he drank orange juice out of the carton with the refrigerator door wide open Smoke plumed up from a pan on the stove David ran to it and switched off the burner

"What are you doing?" Will said

There were pancakes in the pan, dry and brown on top, charred black on the bottoonna burn the house down," David said He took the pan off the stove and walked it to the trash

"Whoa, whoa, there’s nothing wrong with those," Will said

"They’re incinerated"

"I like ’em crunchy," Will said He took the hot pan from David David shook his head Will could be so stubborn

Will slid the stiff, blackened disks onto a plate David moved to the counter and opened Will’s epilepsy medication

He shook out soave Will a puzzled look, and Will shook his head again "Dude, if Ie myself from now on"

Will sat down at the kitchen table with his burnt breakfast

It had been their father’s idea to enroll Will in a three-week leadership expedition called Wild-Trek He’d left for Utah kicking and screao, he was more confident than David had ever seen him

"So you take one trip with Chazz the Scoutht One trip with him, and you’re a brand-new man, huh?" "Somethin’ like that"

"So you’re probably not scared about this being your first day of high school or anything"

"Nope I’e forin aphorisot back from his trip David had to admit, he was a little jealous of Will’s newfound positivity

"So, what happened out there at this big sausage fest?" David asked "Did you guys give each other a lot of back rubs and stuff?" David did his best meathead voice "You climbed that rock like a chahs’"

Will laughed He had black flecks of char on his teeth Will had their ular features, not like David who had a rounder, fuller face, like their dad’s

"It wasn’t a sausage fest There were girls," Will said

"There were girls? Or there was a girl?"

"No There were girls It was a coed trip" Will blushed David laughed "Now it all makes sense! You come home all sirl What is she, like, a hippie chick?"

"Don’t worry about it, it’s none of your business"

"Did you make out with her? I hope you at least tried, you don’t want to get stuck in the friend zone"

"I don’t want to talk about this," Will said

"I’ to need her phone number"

"Shut up"

"Ooh, and her e-mail address Where are your baby photos?" Will threw a burnt pancake at David like a Frisbee It bounced off his shoulder David laughed Teasing aside, he was happy for Will His little bro was growing up

"Hoas that party the other night? I thought you were dead up there yesterday," Will said