The Wild Kid by Harry Mazer Page A

flashlight. Kevin was mumbling and talking to himself. “Stupid. Moron. Didn’t you know what was going to happen? You didn’t think. Stupid stupid stupid.…”
    â€œYou’re not stupid, Kevin.” Sammy kept a hand on Kevin’s shoulder. Every time Kevin said something, the flashlight went shooting all around, and Sammy couldn’t see where his feet were supposed to go. “You’re really smart, Kevin. You have a good brain.”
    â€œDid I have to go to the mall? Make the kid happy. Play the big shot. Couldn’t I figure out his picture would be in the papers? How come I never thought of that? Dumb moron.”
    Sammy had never heard Kevin say so many bad things about himself. It happened when those ladies came. They kept saying, “Who are you? Who are you?” And Kevin said Sammy was his brother. Sammy didn’t have a brother. He had two sisters, but if he had a brother, it would be Kevin. And his name wasn’t Mike. That was funny. Would his mother be mad if she knew he said he was Kevin’s brother Mike? He had to say it or Kevin would get in trouble.
    If he saw those ladies again, he’d tell them Kevin wasn’t really his brother. I’m Sammy, he’d say, and then the orange-haired lady would take him home. But where would Kevin go? They’d blame him because he didn’t bring Sammy home, and they’d put Kevin in jail. And then Sammy would never see his friend again. So that was why he couldn’t say his true name to those ladies.
    He used to think only bad people lied. He used to think only bad people said bad words and stole things. He didn’t want to think about it, but the thinking kept coming back. The same thing all the time. He didn’t want to get Kevin in trouble, so he told a lie. It was bad to lie. He never lied. Only he did.
    Then he had a new thought. If Kevin came home with him and lived in his house and slept in his room, and they ate together and went to school together—except, not to the same class—they would be really like brothers. Nobody would know they weren’t, because if they lived together and did everything together, they were brothers, the way they were here, and then it wouldn’t be a lie anymore.

23

    â€œNo,” Kevin said. “It’s a crazy idea.”
    Outside, it was raining. Inside, Sammy and Kevin were playing Go Fish, Sammy’s favorite card game. It had been raining all day. Sammy kept thinking about being home. It was always dry in their house, even when it rained. But here, even when they were inside, it was sort of like being outside. The rain came in, not a lot, but sort of wet feeling.
    Kevin had a can under a drip. Then another drip started. One drip went ping! ping! ping! and the other went ping-pong! ping-pong!
    â€œGo Fish,” Kevin said. “This is a stupid game.”
    â€œIf you come home with me, Kevin, you can stay in my room,” Sammy said again. “Friends are allowed to stay in my room.”
    Kevin got up and fixed the tarp. Then he went outside. Sammy checked the fire. “Needs wood,” he said, and went out for it.
    When they came back in, Kevin flopped down on the mattress, and Sammy fed the fire. Then they continued playing. “If you come home with me, Kevin, we haven’t got any leaks in our house, and we have a furnace. It’s warm everyplace, except the garage. We can play in my room or the living room or the kitchen or anywhere, except the bathroom.”
    Kevin picked up a card. “That’s beautiful.”
    Sammy had been thinking about his plan, but he hadn’t said anything to Kevin until now. That was a mature thing to do. His mother would say so. Think before you talk. That was just what he had done. “My plan is this, Kevin—”
    â€œYeah, I heard your plan.”
    â€œThis is my plan for you, Kevin. My plan is, we don’t stay in the woods anymore. You come home with me.