away. “Where’s he from, then?”
“Well, my first thought was he’s from the future.”
He scoffs. “That’s a pretty big leap.”
“I know. That theory doesn’t work, but he still isn’t who we think he is.”
“What did you tell your parents? Why is your dad letting him stay there?”
“That’s another weird thing.” I pick up a strawberry and take a bite. “The Danny we know lives with a foster family, but this Danny says he lives with his parents. Only he can’t find them. Anyway, my parents took pity on him and let him stay.”
“Pity on
him
? Why would anyone take pity on him?”
I think about how scared Danny looked when he showed up at my door. “If I found myself lost and afraid, I’d want someone to help me.”
“I can’t see him fitting in at your dad’s.”
I shrug. “So far so good.”
“So far? How long is he going to stay?”
“Until we figure out what happened to him.”
“We? If you think I’m getting involved in this, think again, Solomon. This is your trip into Loserville, not mine.”
He turns away, but I know how to win this game. “Suit yourself.” I keep my voice cool. “But when it turns out to really be time travel or body snatchers or
whatever
awesome thing, I’ll be the one getting the credit.”
“You’re totally out of your league.”
“And you’re totally in for a surprise.” I eat an Oreo and watch him simmer.
“What if he’s just having a bad drug trip?”
“I don’t think so. My gut tells me he’s clean.”
He snorts. “Your gut. The compass of all scientific reason.”
“Excuse me? Whose idea for cricket cryogenics won us a trip to the National Science Foundation youth conference? My gut’s done us a lot of good.”
He rolls his eyes. “So what am
I
supposed to do to help
your
stoner freak?”
“Talk to him. See if there’s anything that sparks ideas or connections with that big brain of yours.”
Want to win with Warren? Compliment his intelligence.
He lets out a dramatic sigh. “Okay, fine. But if he thinks he’s going to push me around again…”
“He won’t.”
“Better not.” He picks up the star gun and points it at the sky. The woman croons out the coordinates and particulars of the constellation Gemini, then silence settles again between us, only it’s not the awkward kind this time.
“Warren,” I say after a while. “I’m sorry your evening didn’t go as planned, but thanks for talking to me about all this. No one gets me like you do.” I hold out my fist. “Grok?”
“Grok.” He bumps my fist with his own, then takes off his goggles. “About time to start.”
It’s been a while since I’ve seen his whole face. I pull my goggles off, too, and our shapes blur as my eyes adjust again to the dark.
We sit in silence, waiting for the light show. Two strangers in a strange new land.
Fifteen meteors later, I walk back across the street. The guy on the skateboard I’d seen from Warren’s roof rolls toward me.
It’s Danny.
“Wow, what happened to you?” I point at his long shorts and retro robot shirt. “You almost look normal.”
“I almost feel normal.” He stops the board with one foot on the ground. “Though I keep expecting patrols to come bust me for being out past curfew.”
“We don’t have curfew around here. Well, my dad does, but that’s different. So, where did you get all this?”
“Raided the foster house,” he says, skating away. “And went shopping.”
“What about your parents?”
He flips the board and lands, skates a half circle around me and flips the board again. Either he didn’t hear the question or he doesn’t want to answer. “I talked to Warren,” I say, louder.
He skates toward me and stops. “Great. What did he say?”
“Sounds like he’s going to help. We’re meeting him tomorrow after school.”
From a standstill, he jumps up, flips the board over and lands on both feet. “God, it feels good to be out here.”
“You
are
going to
“Well, my first thought was he’s from the future.”
He scoffs. “That’s a pretty big leap.”
“I know. That theory doesn’t work, but he still isn’t who we think he is.”
“What did you tell your parents? Why is your dad letting him stay there?”
“That’s another weird thing.” I pick up a strawberry and take a bite. “The Danny we know lives with a foster family, but this Danny says he lives with his parents. Only he can’t find them. Anyway, my parents took pity on him and let him stay.”
“Pity on
him
? Why would anyone take pity on him?”
I think about how scared Danny looked when he showed up at my door. “If I found myself lost and afraid, I’d want someone to help me.”
“I can’t see him fitting in at your dad’s.”
I shrug. “So far so good.”
“So far? How long is he going to stay?”
“Until we figure out what happened to him.”
“We? If you think I’m getting involved in this, think again, Solomon. This is your trip into Loserville, not mine.”
He turns away, but I know how to win this game. “Suit yourself.” I keep my voice cool. “But when it turns out to really be time travel or body snatchers or
whatever
awesome thing, I’ll be the one getting the credit.”
“You’re totally out of your league.”
“And you’re totally in for a surprise.” I eat an Oreo and watch him simmer.
“What if he’s just having a bad drug trip?”
“I don’t think so. My gut tells me he’s clean.”
He snorts. “Your gut. The compass of all scientific reason.”
“Excuse me? Whose idea for cricket cryogenics won us a trip to the National Science Foundation youth conference? My gut’s done us a lot of good.”
He rolls his eyes. “So what am
I
supposed to do to help
your
stoner freak?”
“Talk to him. See if there’s anything that sparks ideas or connections with that big brain of yours.”
Want to win with Warren? Compliment his intelligence.
He lets out a dramatic sigh. “Okay, fine. But if he thinks he’s going to push me around again…”
“He won’t.”
“Better not.” He picks up the star gun and points it at the sky. The woman croons out the coordinates and particulars of the constellation Gemini, then silence settles again between us, only it’s not the awkward kind this time.
“Warren,” I say after a while. “I’m sorry your evening didn’t go as planned, but thanks for talking to me about all this. No one gets me like you do.” I hold out my fist. “Grok?”
“Grok.” He bumps my fist with his own, then takes off his goggles. “About time to start.”
It’s been a while since I’ve seen his whole face. I pull my goggles off, too, and our shapes blur as my eyes adjust again to the dark.
We sit in silence, waiting for the light show. Two strangers in a strange new land.
Fifteen meteors later, I walk back across the street. The guy on the skateboard I’d seen from Warren’s roof rolls toward me.
It’s Danny.
“Wow, what happened to you?” I point at his long shorts and retro robot shirt. “You almost look normal.”
“I almost feel normal.” He stops the board with one foot on the ground. “Though I keep expecting patrols to come bust me for being out past curfew.”
“We don’t have curfew around here. Well, my dad does, but that’s different. So, where did you get all this?”
“Raided the foster house,” he says, skating away. “And went shopping.”
“What about your parents?”
He flips the board and lands, skates a half circle around me and flips the board again. Either he didn’t hear the question or he doesn’t want to answer. “I talked to Warren,” I say, louder.
He skates toward me and stops. “Great. What did he say?”
“Sounds like he’s going to help. We’re meeting him tomorrow after school.”
From a standstill, he jumps up, flips the board over and lands on both feet. “God, it feels good to be out here.”
“You
are
going to
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