Martin

When I enter the kitchen, the atmosphere feels both heavy and poisonous. Something has happened; I know this because Mom is talking to Aunt Elizabeth in a hushed voice about something, and my aunt looks pretty upset. Nobody seems to notice me when I walk in, so I go past them and retrieve some milk from the fridge. Then I sit down next to Alex.

"What's going on here, brother?" I whisper. "Did somebody die? Because it feels like a fucking funeral in here."

Alex gives me a look; a subtle movement of his eyes that tells me to shut up. Then I notice something that should have been obvious the second I walked into the kitchen. "Where's John?"

"He already left."

What? Without me? That doesn't make any sense. We always walk to school together.

Alex finishes his breakfast and takes his stuff to the sink. Then he excuses himself, interrupting my mom and Aunt Elizabeth. "I'm leaving now, so I wanted to wish you a safe trip, Aunt E."

"Thank you, Alex," our aunt says, pulling him into a quick hug. I gulp down my glass of milk; if Alex leaves before I'm done breakfast, I won't know what the hell happened here. I signal for him to wait for me and empty my glass. Then I give my aunt a quick farewell and follow Alex out of the kitchen. He's starting up his bike when I catch up to him.

"John got in a fight with Aunt Liz," he tells me, putting on his helmet. It's hard to hear him over the noise of the engine. "Do you know what's wrong with him? He looked so angry."

"Beats me, brother."

He gives me a curt nod. "Need a ride?"

"Nah. I'm fine."

"Okay. I'll catch you later then."

We bump fists and he's off. I check the time, knowing well enough that I need to get moving if I want to be at school on time.

I'm hardly a block away when I hear the 'ping' of an incoming text. I fumble with my phone, and will my feet to walk faster. The message is from Vee.

Where are you guys? We're gonna be late.

I call her right away. "Hey there, Vee."

"Hi, Martin. Are you guys close?"

"I'm just leaving home. John left without me today."

"What? Without you? That's weird."

"Yeah. I thought he'd be with you by now." I try to piece whole situation together, but I can't seem to focus. There's too much to process, and it's too early in the morning. "Have you tried calling him?"

"I texted him earlier, but I guess he's out of credit or something. That's why I texted you." There's a slight pause on the line. "He hasn't replied yet."

"This makes no sense at all."

"What's going on, Martin? Are you guys okay?"

"Wait for me," I tell her. "I'll sprint my way there."

I hang up and haul ass, trying to think where John might be. If he hasn't picked her up yet, there's a chance he's either skipping classes or purposely evading us. I rub my temples. Geez. I can't think in the morning. I need Vee for this. Sure enough, when I reach her, five minutes later, she's waiting in the usual spot

"Whoa," she says. "You sure broke a sweat there."

"John's... not here yet?" I bend, hands on my knees, trying to catch my breath.

"Pretty obvious that would be a no." She looks around, as though willing him to materialize. "Now, what's going on here?"

"I wish I knew." I stand up straight again, checking the time. We need to get moving or we're really going to be late. "John got into a fight with his mother earlier this morning, but I wasn't there when it happened so I don't know the details."

"What?!" She's already getting her phone out of her pocket and punching in John's number. "Come on, John. Pick up!"

But, as I expected, he doesn't. He's clearly avoiding us, but it doesn't stop Vee from calling him over and over again, pressing her phone to her ear tightly, her face crumpling when she always ends up with his voice mail.

On the millionth try, she finally leaves a message. "John, it's me. Martin told me you got into a fight with your mother this morning. I understand you might be upset and probably want to be alone, but I'm going to look for you if you're not at school." She pauses for a second, looking at me. "Please. Don't make me skip school over this."

She sends the message, and stares at her phone's screen like she's expecting John to call back any minute.

"You think that's gonna work on him?" I say.

"Yeah. He's not that selfish. Even if he's upset, if you show him some consequences, he'll do the right thing. And, to be honest? I'm worried about him."

Man, I wish he'd been straight with Vee, especially after last night's conversation.

She starts walking and I fall in step beside her. We're quick on our feet because we want a few spare minutes before the bell rings, to look for John. Vee, for some reason, is certain he's at school. As luck would have it, we actually make it to school with three minutes to spare.

"You check the cafeteria," Vee says. "I'll check under the stairs." She moves effortlessly through the crowd, already leaving me behind, but when she's half-way down the hall, she stops and turns around. "If we don't find him, meet me in class, obviously."

I give her my best mock salute. "Sure thing."

This bossy girl...

I make my way to the cafeteria and confirm the obvious: John's not there. Vee's right, though. If there's anywhere in school he would decide to hide right now, it would be where Vee is headed.

And though I really want to know what's going on with him, I follow Vee's instructions and head to our classroom. If John is under the stairs, he's in good hands.

When our teacher arrives and Vee doesn't, I know. I know that she's found him, and something shitty has happened. At least John is in good hands, now.