My Brother's Keeper by Adrienne Wilder

one. We’ll go on the Ferris wheel first. No spinning or turning upside down.”
    “I like turning upside down,” Rudy said.
    There was no winning this argument, not with two on one. Ellis let Jon drag him over to the Ferris wheel. The closer Ellis walked to the monstrosity the harder his heart pounded, and the tighter his lungs squeezed.
    “Just breathe. It won’t be that bad, I promise.”
    Rudy repeated what Jon said.
    To Rudy Ellis said, “What is with you today?”
    “I’m with you and Jon.”
    “No, I mean the whole repeating what people say.”
    “You’re smart and Jon is smart. I want to sound smart too. Then I can be smart and gay.”
    A few people in front of them turned around. A wave of heat flooded Ellis’s cheeks.
    “Why is your face red?” Rudy said.
    “Hush and turn around.”
    At least, Jon had the decency to hide his grin behind his hand.
    The line went forward and Ellis pushed Rudy ahead of him to close the gap.
    Jon handed over the right number of tickets and a skinny kid with pimples led them to one of the benches. He raised the bar.
    Ellis eyed the seat. “That’s gonna be a tight fit for all three of us.”
    “Would you rather ride in one alone?” Jon said.
    “No.” To the attendant Ellis said, “You sure that will hold all three of us?”
    The kid leaned closer. “The Penuckle sisters rode it yesterday and they’ve gotta be five hundred pounds each.”
    Everyone probably looked to be five hundred pounds to the skinny kid.
    It would still be a tight fit for all three of them, but if it could hold two extra large women and not go crashing down, Ellis was pretty sure they’d live through this.
    “I guess that means we get in,” Ellis said.
    He sat in between Rudy and Jon. The bar lowered and a fine sheen of sweat broke out over Ellis’s skin. The ride shuddered to life and every bolt and hinge clattered. The vibration ran up Ellis’s body until his teeth knocked together.
    Then the Ferris wheel went quiet.
    “Wow,” Rudy said.
    Lots of words went through Ellis’s head, but ‘wow’ was not one of them.
    Jon put his hand over Ellis’s. “You don’t have to hold the bar so tight.”
    “I’m not.”
    “Your knuckles are white.”
    “I’m not letting go of the bar.”
    “Then at least open your eyes.”
    As soon as he did, Ellis wished he hadn’t. The Ferris wheel had lifted them into the stratosphere. Below them, the carnival turned into circles and squares surrounded by moving dots.
    And they just kept getting smaller.
    Jon put his arm over the back of the seat. “Relax.”
    “I’m relaxed,” Ellis said.
    Rudy swung his legs, making the seat rock. “I told you I liked rides. Look Ellis, you can see the whole world.”
    While Rudy chattered about rides and hotdogs, Ellis glared at Jon because all he did was grin. Jon said, “You know, you’re really cute when you’re scared.”
    “Shut up.”
    Jon leaned over close enough that his lips brushed Ellis’s ear. “I’m going to show you just how cute when we get home.”
    Ellis looked at Jon. Their faces were so close, their noses almost touched, and only a few inches separated their mouths. And oh the incredible things that perfect mouth could do.
    Jon’s lips curled, giving him a nefarious expression. “If you keep looking at me like that, I’m going to embarrass myself.”
    “That’s your own fault. You shouldn’t say things like that.”
    “Why not? I mean it.”
    Jon was right. The rides weren’t that bad. If Ellis was honest, they were actually kind of fun. Rudy seemed to enjoy them. All he did was describe every loop and turn as they headed toward the game booths.
    Jon draped his arm over Ellis’s shoulder. “So what do you like to play?”
    “Uh, I don’t.”
    “Nothing?”
    “Okay, I’ve tried, but I, apparently, lack the hand-eye coordination that it takes to get those little hoops over the bottle necks.” Ellis nodded at Rudy, who stared at the inflatable castle where a dozen or more