Train Wreck Girl by Sean Carswell Page B

slept through the last hour of Tommy or The Wall.
    2:59 P . M . Knock on the front door of a duplex. Your friend Rick used to live here. When an elderly woman answers, understand that Rick no longer lives here.
    3:13 P . M . Knock on the last front door that used to belong to a friend. Find a third stranger opening the door. Decide to give up.
    3:21 P . M . Pull up a stool at Sullivan’s Tavern. Order a screwdriver. You may not feel like drinking, but the bartender will actually squeeze fresh orange juice into your drink. That alone will make you feel better.
    3:22 P . M . Think about your brother Joe. He was a regular at Sullivan’s. Raise your drink to Joe. Ignore the strange look from the bartender.
    3:27 P . M . Stop thinking about Brother Joe. Notice that there’s an arcade basketball game behind you. Don’t turn to look at it. Just listen. Someone will be playing the game. Listen to ball after ball sink into the net. Hear the computerized voice repeating, “Three, three, three,” for ten seconds. Realize that the guy playing just won a free game. Listen to his next game. A minute of balls dropping into a hoop. Remember your old buddy Bart Ceravolo, the hometown basketball star. Remember when Bart had been the next white hope, playing Division I college hoops at the University of Tennessee, only six foot tall and slow, but with a killer outside shot and enough three pointers to make the all-SEC team two years running. Wonder what’s become of Bart. Wonder if he’s still drunk and broke and homeless like he was when you left Cocoa Beach. Wonder whose couch he’s sleeping on tonight.
    3:29 P . M . After listening to two more games of arcade basketball, ask yourself how many basketball stars Cocoa Beach has produced. How many of those basketball stars became drunks? How many of them would be in Sully’s at 3:29 in the afternoon, playing an arcade basketball game and winning so many free games that he can play all day on three quarters? Decide to turn around.
    3:30 P . M . See that it is Bart playing the arcade basketball game.
    3:31 P . M . When the next game ends, stand behind Bart and say, “Look at you. A man your age. Drunk every day by noon. Why don’t you get a job?” Hope he gets the Barfly reference you’re making.
    Bart will say to you, “I got a job: killing the cockroaches in that place of yours.” Understand that Bart did get the reference, but wonder for just a second if you and Bart are still friends. He’ll turn from the basketball game with a serious look on his face. He’ll ask you, “What’s up, Danny? Are we cool or what?”
    Remember that things were left shaky with Bart. There’d been a lot of backstabbing and sleeping with the wrong people. You were implicated. So was Bart. So was Sophie. And, of course, Helen. But that was four years ago. Too much shit has gone down since then. You can’t worry about all that. Give Bart a smile. But not a fake smile with all your teeth showing. A genuine one. The kind that starts on the left side of your face and stops halfway to a grin. The kind of smile that says, “Are you fucking kidding me?” Let the smile do your talking.
    Recognize the look in Bart’s face. He’s either gonna be macho and punch you in the arm or he’s gonna be open and hug you. You’ll root for the punch. Bart will opt for the hug. Don’t be surprised. Or be surprised, but don’t let it show.
    3:32 P . M . Withstand a barrage of questions, like, “What are you doing back?” and “Where have you been?” and “Have you talked to her?” and “Have you heard from him?” and “Did you know this or that?” The questions will come at you fast. Don’t worry if you don’t answer them. Hold tight until Bart asks you, “Where are you staying?”
    Tell him, “Nowhere, yet. I was thinking about getting a hotel room