Convergence, chapter 2

Chapter 2
Alex thought he might be glad to be home, but as he looked upon the
Prescott abode... not so much. Too familiar.
The developers were going for something suburban, but this was a
suburban-urban fusion, the houses packed tight, corner stores and delis
just a few blocks away.
Alex hopped up the grass-lined driveway to a brown door with three
staggered rectangular cuts of glass, the last at eye-level. Just beyond
the door was the living room, the hardwood floor decked with the white
couch Sam could usually be found on and a television and cable box on a
stand. The kitchen was straight ahead, while just in front of the
threshold of the front door was the staircase leading up to the three
bedrooms. At the base of the staircase was the door leading to the
basement.
There was a sliding-glass door in the kitchen that opened at ground
level to the tiny backyard. A small awning was just beyond the door,
sealed off on the right side by a latticework swallowed by ivy. There
was a tin shed in the far left corner of the yard, and a single tree in
the far right corner. The Prescott driveway met the lip of the yard on
the right side.
Alex took this walk before he even went through the front door. When
Abby told him to stop daydreaming and got him inside for real, though,
the only walk he took was a slow hop up to his room, where he promptly
fell asleep.

"Come on, Alex, wake up," Abby urged, rousing her son.
"What is it?"
"Oh, nothing. Just wanted to say hi."
"Goodnight, Mom."
"Not so fast."
"What?"
"Just stay awake awhile. Come on, being awake can't be all that
bad."
Alex rolled his eyes, and then paused. "What happened to the guy who
hit me?"
"They arrested him. He was drunk."
"Good. Let me grab my bat." Alex made a motion to get up.
"Stay right where you are," Abby said. "He's the state's problem
now."
"No, I think he made himself my problem."
"Just take it easy. He'll get his."
"He'd better. So when's Dad coming home?"
"Soon."
"I can't wait."
"You know what? Go back to sleep."
"How come?"
"Because I can't stand the two of you."
"It's a good show."
"Everything's a joke, Alex. Everything. Well, congratulations. You're
the best comedian I know. I'm going to cook dinner."
Before Alex could ask what was on the menu, Abby had slammed the door
behind her.

The next morning, Abby dragged Alex to school, driving him in with
Ashley. He hated taking the ride; he was used to driving himself and
his sister.
Ashley held the door for her brother as he entered Bradley High
School. There were no streamers, no bunting, no sweeping, Welcome back,
Alex! signs, just, "Oh, the cripple-ass punk himself!" and the widest
smiles Alex had ever seen on Ricky Serrano and Kurt Hansen.
"Shut up," Alex yelled to the two.
"Hey, welcome back, fool," Kurt said.
Alex paused a moment, surveying the halls. "This place still
sucks.".
"Well, everything's back to normal," Ashley said.
"Hi, Ashley," Ricky teased.
"Hi, Ricky."
Ricky had been flirting with Ashley for weeks. Alex had very sincerely
promised to hang him by his testicles if anything transpired between
the two.
"Como estas, bonita?" Ricky said.
"She's fine," Alex said. "How are you?"
"Damn good as always, you know that!"
"I'll see you guys later," Ashley said, shooting Alex a dirty look and
walking away.
"You can't stand in the way of love," Kurt said to Alex, looking after
her.
"Shut up, man," replied Alex. "I can stand in the way of whatever the
hell he's feeling."
"Hey, it's all good, I swear!" Ricky said.
Alex and Kurt laughed. "It's always been all good with you, right?"
Kurt said.
"I'm a changed man."
Just then, a young lady walked up to Ricky, planted a kiss on him, and
said, "I had a great time last night, Ricardo." She walked away.
"Changed man?" said Kurt. "Only if that was a transvestite just
now."
Alex laughed. "Give it up, Ricky. Besides, my sister is too young for
you."
"She's a sophomore," Ricky said. "She'll be sixteen in a month. And I
have a late birthday."
Alex laughed again. "Case closed, kid."
"Are we done talking about this?" Kurt asked.
"Hell, yeah. Who feels like cutting today?"
"Sounds like a good first day back to me."
"Welcome back!" Ricky yelled, laughing.
Alex crutched his way to his locker. A few of the kids in his homeroom
asked him why he was on crutches, but for the most part it seemed as
though no one had noticed he was gone. He didn't really have close
friends at Bradley. Only Ricky and Kurt.
Alex started to pull a book out of a locker, then shook his head and
tossed it back in. "Not my style," he said, slamming the locker shut.
He took a step away, then turned to examine the locker for a second. He
traced his fingers over the patch where the yellow paint had chipped
off when he'd punched his locker over and over after being
sucker-punched in the hallway one afternoon. A lot of fights here. Alex
could never back down.
He studied the locker a second longer, then punched it one more time
for good measure and crutched to homeroom.

"Aight, let's biz-ounce," Ricky said to Alex as they drifted with Kurt
along the empty hallway after third period.
"Let's go, Alex the Great," Kurt said.
Alex the Great. All it took was one history class in sophomore year
when the name "Alexander the Great" somehow filtered through to the
trio, and he had a nickname. "I'm going as fast as I can," Alex
said.
"Going somewhere, sweetie?" a voice called behind them.
Alex turned around. "Oh, Maria... Hi."
"Well?"
"Nowhere... I was just seeing them out the door."
"Alex, don't be such a-" Ricky said, before Kurt stifled him.
"I just thought we could hang out after school today," said Maria.
"You know, your first day back."
"You guys get out of here," Alex told Ricky and Kurt. "How many times
do I have to tell you? Cutting is wrong." His buddies rolled their eyes
and shuffled away. He turned to Maria. "So, what do you wanna do
later?"
"You could've gone with them if you wanted."
"It's no big deal."
"I mean, if you don't wanna spend time with me, that's fine."
Alex rolled his eyes. "Damn, I gotta get to class."
"Fine." Maria started to walk away.
Alex took a couple of crutch steps after her. "Maria... Maria,
wait."
She turned around. "Yeah?"
"Let's get something to eat later."
Maria smiled. "Let's do that."
"Okay... After school."
"Alex?"
"Yeah?"
"Are you sure that's what you wanna do?"
"I'm sure... That's what I wanna do."

Crutching his way home that day, Alex came upon a disheveled
middle-aged black man with a shaved head and goatee wearing a worn
overcoat. He slapped the man on the back of the leg with his crutch.
"Come on, fool," said Alex. "Let's go."
The man turned around to face him. "Al!" he cried. "What the hell
happened to you?"
"I'll explain. And don't call me Al. Let's go."
The two walked a block to a pizzeria and got a table inside. "So,
Jimmy, what's going on?" asked Alex.
"Oh, you know, not too much," Jimmy replied.
Alex had been using Jimmy Moorer to get him booze since he was
fifteen, and buying him lunch most days since then. "Where's your crib
at?" Alex had asked him once. When Jimmy replied, "Oh you know, here
and there," he knew he should be getting him lunch as often as he
could. Alex kept both the booze supply and the lunches a secret.
"So, what happened to your leg?" asked Jimmy.
"A goddamn car accident," Alex said. "I got hit. And the guy was
fucking wasted, too."
"Damn it!"
"I know... Well, whatever. Here I am."
"Still alive."
"And you too! How the hell have you been?"
"Gettin' along."
"I hope you've been eating okay."
"Al, you know I always get by."
"You won't be getting by for long if you keep calling me Al."
"Oh yeah?" Jimmy teased. He punched Alex's arm. "You find yourself a
nice girl yet?"
Alex smiled. "What's nice?"
Jimmy reached into his pocket, produced a flask, and slammed it on the
table. "Whoever makes you give this shit up."
Alex smiled. "Hey, as long as you have this out," he said, placing a
hand on the flask, "let me take it off your hands."
"Yeah, and you won't be gettin' by for long if you pull that
shit."
"Oh really!" Alex laughed. "Look, bro, I gotta be out now. Wifey's
making me hang out with her."
"Have fun with that, dog." Jimmy gestured to the pizza. "Put all this
on my tab," he said. "See you tomorrow, man."
"See you then.
Alex walked out, then turned around and spied Jimmy through the
window. At first the man was expressionless, but then he smiled
serenely.
Alex saw the same smile every day after lunch with him. When he
thought of his favorite things in life, it didn't come down to sunsets
and stars and horizons. No, he had it narrowed down to Ashley's laugh
and that smile he got to witness every afternoon.

"So, how was your day?" Alex asked Maria over dinner.
"Not bad," she said, pouting.
Alex narrowed his eyes. "What's up?"
"Oh, it's just Tara."
"What now?"
"She's going on and on about how she wishes she'll be prom
queen."
"So? She probably will be."
"She shouldn't be!"
"Hey, she doesn't bother me."
"She doesn't even know you. But I have to listen to her every
day."
"So?"
"So... I could be a good prom queen."
"The best," said Alex. "But come on... Your boyfriend isn't exactly
the type to be going out with the prom queen."
"We would look so nice," Maria mused, ignoring Alex. "Up there,
dancing in front of everyone..."
"About that..." said Alex.
"What?"
"Well... It doesn't look like that's gonna happen."
"Your leg?"
"Twelve weeks, baby girl."
"Are you serious? That'll be like... half the summer!"
"You don't have to remind me."
"So... no dancing at the prom."
"Hey, you could always dance with Ricky or Kurt."
Maria buried her head on the table. "This prom is going to be the
worst."
Alex stroked her hair. "Hey, I'm sorry. Blame it on the dickhead who
almost killed me."
"I know, I know."
"Actually, you should blame him for not killing me. Then you'd be prom
queen."
"Alex, stop it."
"Just trying to help."
"What are you doing about work?"
"There's nothing I can do. I can't even work the register. So I'm out
for three months. I guess it's better that way, 'cause I need to find a
real job."
"Or go to school."
"Not happening, Maria."
"Give me one reason why not."
"Because I don't want to."
"How are we gonna have a future if you won't do that much for
yourself?"
Alex grimaced at the thought of their future. "Hey, my old man never
went to school, and he got a roof over out heads."
"Do you really wanna take after him?"
"You know what I mean."
"Don't be so stubborn."
"Look, you're going, so you be the damn professional. Just change that
bootleg major of yours."
"There's nothing wrong with women's studies!"
Maria went on chattering away, but Alex drifted. He kept on drifting
until he was back in the hospital bed, back in that instant before he
opened his eyes for the first time after the accident... back when all
he had was the realization that he was alive.
As he drifted in and out during dinner that night, Alex could not
understand why he preferred that realization to actually living.