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“Every day, it’s-a gettin’ closer, going faster than a rollerco-” static buzzed from the radio as the shopkeeper changed the station.
“Dude, they’ve got Doom Patrol here! Way’s stuff!”
“No way, gimme that. There’s no way there’s actually more than one volume here, too, that’s crazy.”
“They never have Doom Patrol anywhere, that’s awesome. Why haven’t we been here before?”
Cain Warren is a sophomore at Blue Valley High School. Every day after school, he and his best friend, Mick Roberts, bike to either a bookstore, music store, or restaurant.
“Way’s the My Chem guy, right?” Mick asked.
“Yeah, he’s the singer. His brother’s the bassist,” Cain answered.
Wake up, school, shop, home: the usual routine for the boys. As they bade each other farewell at the stop sign later, the two rode off in different directions. Cain felt a sense of dread creep up on him, churning in his stomach as he cruised towards his street. It was late. He didn’t have a set curfew, but he knew that when he came home late, his dad was mad.
Cain took a deep breath as he reached for the door. The house was silent as he cautiously walked through it to his room.
“And where have you been?” He was stopped in the kitchen by a voice coming from the couch.
Cain hesitantly answered, “Comic shop downtown. Doing homework.”
“You weren’t there alone, were you? Probably with that fag friend of yours,” his father replied with malice. “Why were you out so late?”
“The usual road was closed.” There was silence before his dad opened his mouth, but Cain cut him off before he could speak. “Why do you hate him?”
“What?”
“Why do you hate Mick? He has done nothing to you, but you’re always talking shit about him,” Cain responded. “You were fine with me being friends with him in middle school, why do you hate him now?”
His father opened his mouth again to be cut off by his son. “And why do you care about me being out so ‘late’? The sun has barely set, and I got to bed at ten, but God forbid the streetlights come on.”
Cain was about to make another quip when he saw his father red in the face as his arm came up.
After it came down, Cain couldn’t feel or think of anything other than the sting in his cheek. After a moment, it started to hurt as he choked, only now registering in his head what his dad had done. Cain fled to his room and went to bed unable to think of anything but the pain.
The next morning, like any other, Cain got up, walked over to the closet, and got dressed. Brushed his teeth, meticulously styled his hair just for it to look exactly the same. He grabbed his bag and walked out the door, his dad sleeping like a corpse.
“Can I stay over at your house tonight?" Cain asked Mick as they walked out of fifth period.
“Sure, man. I’ll let my mom know. My dad's out of town for the weekend." Mick knew something was up; Cain never spent the night unless there was, but he knew he wouldn’t wanna talk about it.
After their afterschool routine, going to a usual burger joint today, the two rode off to Mick’s house.
“My mom’s making burgers for dinner tonight,” the blond smiled as he opened the door. Mick’s mom welcomed the boys in as they headed off to his room.
That night after dinner, the two spread out on the couch watching Doctor Who until they passed out from the day’s activities.