Virgil threw a piece of grass toward the sky, waiting silently with Charlie. Zeke would be showing up any second. With a sigh he pulled another piece of grass from his back lawn and started twirling it between his fingers absentmindedly.
"What are we gonna say to him?" he asked softly. "What can we say?" He looked over at Charlie who only shrugged in response.
They heard a motorcycle and both of them quickly stood up and walked around to the front of the house. Zeke took his helmet off and climbed off his bike. "Hey guys."
"Hey. So, I was thinking we could hang out in the back, if that's ok," Virgil said.
Zeke nodded. "That's fine." The three friends walked quietly to Virgil's back yard where Virgil and Charlie sat down on the grass and Zeke propped himself up against the tree in the yard.
"Are you ok, man?" Virgil asked Zeke softly.
"Yeah. I mean, I guess so. This is pretty much normal for my life."
Suddenly the kitchen door opened and Virgil's mom stuck her head out. "Hey boys, I have some snacks for you if you want to come get them."
"Ok, mom, thanks," Virgil said. "Want something to eat?" he asked Zeke and Charlie. Both of them nodded and stood up.
"Good to see you again, Zeke," Mrs. Fox said kindly as the three boys started getting the snacks that were laid out for them.
"Thanks. It's good to be back."
The boys moved back out to the back yard, taking their snacks with them. After a few moments of silent eating Zeke looked up at Virgil and Charlie. "Did either of you guys tell anyone else?"
Virgil shook his head. "We wanted to talk to you before we did. We couldn't get a hold of you all week."
"Sorry I didn't call you guys."
"Why didn't you ever tell us you're a foster child?" Charlie blurted.
"I just don't like telling people," Zeke answered quietly as he looked down at his food, his long black hair partially hiding his face.
"Look, Zeke," Virgil began, unsure of exactly what to say, "you didn't have to tell us if you didn't want to. But you should know that we understand..."
"No Virgil," Zeke interrupted suddenly, looking up. His face was a mixture of anger and sadness. "I don't know what you were gonna say but it doesn't matter, because neither of you guys will ever be able to understand what it's like to be me. You might understand what it's like to have issues with your family or whatever, but that is completely different. Both of you have a mom and a dad who love you, Virgil you have a little sister who, annoying as she can be, still loves you. I have moved from one family to another my entire life. Some of them liked me, some of them didn't. I liked some of them, too, but it's not the same. I have never known what it's like to have a real family, and lots of people in my life have let me down, so you'll excuse me if I don't tell people everything about my life."
"C'mon, Zeke, you had to have parents once," Virgil exclaimed.
Zeke glared at him coldly. "Don't talk about things you don't know about, Virg."
"Well, you should have told us anyways," Virgil continued. "I mean, we're your friends! Why wouldn't you tell us? Do you not trust us or something?" He really didn't mean to sound as rude as he did. The truth was that he had no idea how to handle the awkward situation, so his words came out harsher than he wanted.
Without a word Zeke stood up and started walking away.
"Wait, Zeke!" Charlie stood up and ran after him. Zeke stopped and looked down at him. "Look, don't pay attention to Virgil. We want to help, really. Both of us do."
Zeke's hard look softened a little bit. "I'm sorry. I should go."
"Zeke!" Virgil stood up and walked slowly over to Zeke and Charlie. "Look, Zeke, I'm sorry, man."
"I know, Virgil. I don't think any of us are really ready to talk about this. I'm gonna go." Without another word Zeke slowly left.
