Highly Illogical Behavior(37)

“I didn’t choose to be this person,” Lisa defended. “It chose me.”

“Good,” Solomon added, standing up. “I knew the second I met you that you’d save my life someday.”





SEVENTEEN


    SOLOMON REED


Summer didn’t mean much to Solomon. He still did the same amount of schoolwork, a plan he’d discovered would save him an entire year of high school. If he worked all through each summer, he’d have the credits to get his diploma just after he turned seventeen. But, since meeting Clark and Lisa, he’d started slacking off a bit. It was an easy thing, being distracted by the two of them. And they made it easier by showing up nearly every day.

It wasn’t always both of them, either. Lisa, being in Student Council and on the yearbook staff, was suddenly swamped at the end of the school year. So Clark started coming over without her. At first, Lisa made a big deal out of it—calling Solomon one afternoon, using that calm voice of hers, and explaining how busy she’d be over the following weeks. Eventually, Solomon just had to cut her off.

“Of course Clark can come over without you.”

“I know, but I had to make sure. What if you secretly hate him and you’ve just been hanging out with him for me or something?”

“Is that the impression you get?”

“Yesterday, you guys spent two hours writing a theme song for a board game. I think you’re probably the best friend he’s ever had.”

“It’s a great song.”

It seemed a little strange at first, but things weren’t too different with Lisa gone. Solomon noticed, though, that every time she did have a chance to come over, she seemed distracted, always sitting quietly and watching as he and Clark talked about all the things she thought were stupid. Sometimes Solomon wondered if she was filming a Teenage Boys in their Natural Habitats documentary in her head.

It was good that they’d gotten used to her absence, because as soon as school was out for summer, Lisa had to go to Camp Elizabeth. It sounded like Solomon’s own personal hell, complete with knot-tying classes and wilderness survival training. And the few times Lisa talked about it, she hadn’t seemed all that thrilled either. Apparently she’d been guilted into it by her friend Janis, who Solomon was forbidden to meet.

“She’ll try to pour holy water on you.”

“Never mind.”

Clark worked summers as a lifeguard at the Upland Community Center Pool. He hated it because his shift was from six a.m. to eleven a.m., five days a week. Sometimes, when he’d come over to Solomon’s after work, he’d fall asleep on the couch. There were even a few afternoons when he’d be right in the middle of a sentence and doze off completely. So, Solomon would just read a book or watch TV until he woke up.

“I want to quit so bad,” Clark said one day. “I feel like a zombie.”

“So just hang out here. All the food and Netflix you can stand and a swimming pool on the way.”

“Mom won’t let me,” he said.

“Well, if you don’t spend money, you don’t need it, right?”

“Yeah. It’s not just that, though. She wants me to learn responsibility or something. And it’s good for college applications.”

“Lisa’s worried you won’t go.”

“To college?” Clark asked. “I may not. I don’t know yet.”

“What else would you do?”

“That is also something I don’t know yet.”

“So, what’s something you’re good at? Aside from speaking made-up languages?”

“Swimming,” he said. “But I’m not good enough to make a career out of it.”

“That sucks. Are you sure?”

“It would be a very short career. And then what?”

“Maybe you can get paid to play video games or something. Don’t they need people for that?”

“Oh no,” he said. “I don’t want my favorite thing to be my job. That would be a nightmare. No thank you.”

“But you’d get paid to do what you love,” Solomon argued.

“And what if that makes me stop loving it? I can’t take the risk, man.”

“My dad loves building things and he loves movies, so he builds movie sets. That’s badass, right?”

“He does seem happy,” Clark said. “But, like, what are the chances someone would just hire me to play games all day? I wish that were realistic but I’m sure it’s a tough job to land.”

“I wonder if I’ll ever have a job,” Solomon said.

“You could work online I guess.”

“If I never get better, you mean?”

“Oh. No . . . I just . . .”

“Hey, I’ve accepted it. Maybe it sounds crazy to you, but that backyard may be the farthest I ever go.”

“Do you ever think about being out there again? Like all the way out there?”

“I didn’t use to,” he said. “Not much anyway. Just the thought of it would give me a panic attack.”

“And now?”

“It’s still terrifying. But I can at least talk about it without crying, so that’s a win.”