Darius the Great Is Not Okay(77)

“Yeah. They call it football, though.”

“You play a lot while you were there?”

“I guess.”

“How come you never tried out for our team? I didn’t even know you played.”

I thought about Coach Henderson.

I thought about lack of discipline.

“I guess I didn’t think I was that good.”

“Well, you’ve got some skill. Why don’t you try out in the fall?”

My ears burned. I almost told Coach no.

Almost.

But that’s what Darius would have done.

Darioush would have tried out.

I thought about telling Sohrab that I had made the team. And sending him photos of me in my kit. And him squinting and congratulating me.

I thought about having fun on the field, like I did with him and Asghar and even Ali-Reza and Hossein.

“Maybe I will,” I said. “Maybe I will.”





DARIUS THE GREAT



I kind of wished I could shower after physical education.

There was something to be said for getting clean and fresh again after a game of football.

But guys didn’t do that at Chapel Hill High School.

Instead, I cleaned off my shoes with the towel Coach Fortes found me, got dressed, and headed to geometry.



* * *





My throat tightened when I saw Chip Cusumano sitting on the curb by the bike rack after school, twisting the end of his top knot around his index finger with one hand and fiddling with his phone with the other.

I checked my bike for any obvious signs of damage, but it seemed fine, and besides, Trent was nowhere to be seen.

“Chip?” I said.

“Oh. Hey. What happened to you after gym?”

“I had to clean my shoes off.”

“Dog shit?”

“Yeah.”

Chip shook his head.

“Did you need something?”

“No. Just wanted to make sure your bike was okay. I still feel bad about that.”

“Oh. Yeah, it’s okay now.”

“Good.”

“How was your trip? And your grandfather?”

“You knew about that?”

“Yeah.”

“Um. It was good. Really good. Thanks.”

We unlocked our bikes and walked toward the road. Chip kept glancing at me.

“Something wrong?”

“No. Not really.” Chip grinned again. His eyes crinkled up, almost like a squint. “You just seem different somehow.”

I shrugged.

“Maybe you brought some of your ancestor back with you.”

“What?”

“Darius the Great. Or Darioush. You were named after him. Right?”

I was amazed that Cyprian Cusumano, Soulless Minion of Orthodoxy (maybe), had made that connection.

I was amazed he knew the proper pronunciation.

I was amazed he never once tried to make a joke about it.

“Yeah. I mean, I was named after him, but I’m pretty sure we’re not related.”

“Well, it’s still cool.” Chip adjusted the rubber band holding his hair in place. “Hey. Glad you’re back, Darius.”

“Um. Thanks.”

“Cool. See you.”

“Yeah. See you.”



* * *





Chip followed me the first mile, laughing about the awkwardness of saying good-bye and then not actually parting ways, until he turned right at the Safeway and I kept going straight.

I didn’t know what to make of his sudden and inexplicable change in attitude.

Maybe he was right, and I was different somehow.

Maybe I had brought a little bit of Darioush the Great back with me.

I would have to ask Sohrab what he thought.

He and I emailed every day.

Well, it was more like every other day, given the temporal differential involved in waiting for a reply. Sohrab lived half a day into the future.

This is why I hate time travel.



* * *





That night, we ate carry-out from the sushi restaurant around the corner from Dad’s office. And then we watched “Family,” which is the episode where Captain Picard goes home to France to visit his family and recover from being assimilated by the Borg.

It was his first time seeing his family in years.

“Is it just me, or is this really weird timing?”

Dad laughed.

“Not just you.”

Mom sat down on my other side during the opening credits. Dad and I both turned to stare at her.

“What? I like this episode. It’s all on the farm.”

“Vineyard,” Dad said.

Mom reached across me to swat at Dad’s chest.

“Whatever.”

Dad caught Mom’s hand and kissed her on the palm, which made her laugh.

Mom spent the whole show running her fingers through my hair. It was nice, sitting there sandwiched between her and Dad.

(Laleh had gotten bored before the teaser was even over.) Dad and I watched the ending credits all the way through, and then I got up to make some tea. Grandma and Oma had taken me to Rose City Teas when we got back, to celebrate my birthday, and I’d picked up some new Ceylon Nuwara Eliya to try.