Tuesday, November 28, chapter 5

"I bought the groceries you wanted" Cody had come home from the market to find his mother asleep on the couch.

She turned so her face was toward him. "Put 'em away, will you honey?"

"Sure."

"I'll get up pretty soon. I was just resting my eyes."

He went into the kitchen. Nothing had changed since this morning, including last night's dishes. Some days it seemed she barely moved.

He bought some bread and eggs. A can of spaghetti. Milk was too expensive, but she said he probably wouldn't grow much more anyway. He'd be a small one like his dad.

His dad had treated them both bad, real bad, but she still missed him.

She was sitting up slowly as he walked back into the room. "How are your eyes?" Cody asked.

"Getting old. Like the rest of me." She yawned. "Shouldn't you be in school? What time is it?"

He told her

"Lord, I must have been more tired than I thought. I don't see how I can watch so much TV when there's nothing on."

He tried to make a joke. "You can trade places with me and go to school."

She didn't laugh. "You can leave school anytime you want and get a job."

"Speaking of school…." Cody spoke casually. "There's this special program and I get to take part in it."

"What kind of special program?" She frowned. "You're not in any trouble, are you?"

"No!" He was shocked. "It's an honor. Sort of. Hey, there are only seven from the school taking part. One of 'em is on the soccer team, and one girl is running for student council. One of them is a girl whose parents teach at the university- she takes courses there and everything. There's a girl from the school paper." He couldn't think of the others.

"What do they want you for?"

"It has to do with the Health class were all taking." His heart was thudding. If he tried to explain Argus to her, she'd never understand. He was having trouble understanding it himself, except he wanted to see his future.

He had to know if the future was worth sticking around for. He couldn't end up like them. Not like his mom. Sure to God, not like his dad.

"There's these papers they want you to sign."

She leaned back again and shut her eyes. "That school sure does hand up enough forms. If it's not one thing, it's another." Her eyes opened. "How much is this honor going to cost me?"

"Nothing. It's free. They just want some high school students to take part." He went up and shoved the papers at her.

She let them fall into her lap. "If they want high school students so bad, they should be paying you."

"It's educational," He repeated. "I want to do it. It's only for one night."

"Wait," she said. "There's something here about a doctor appointment."

"A doctor at the university will check me out. It won't cost anything."

He waited for her to ask why he needed to be examined. That was something he didn't understand too well. It was a requirement. That's all he knew.

She didn't even bother to pick up her glasses to read the forms. "If you want me to sign these, you better find me a pen." He brought a pen from his knapsack and she scribbled at the bottom of the first page, on the line for the date, but he didn't suppose that mattered. She stood after signing the second one correctly. "If I have a son getting honors, maybe I'd better fix him some dinner." She looked around. "Did you pick up the groceries I asked for?"

He was used to her not remembering what he said from one minute to the next. "I got 'em, Mom. They're in the kitchen."

She got on her feet slowly. "You're a good boy. I don't know why, but that's what you are." She started toward the kitchen. "Maybe your too good for this world."

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