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it was cool that Garrett wanted to hang with us again.
    We started talking about the only thing that mattered: girls at school. Garrett started the conversation and suggested we name names of different girls at school who we’d want to hook-up with. Brody jumped right in and went first. He surprised us by naming Cell Phone Girl. I guessed Brody wanted to figure her out as much as I do. Aaron went next, naming Debbie, the never-seen girlfriend from Detroit. But we pressed him to name someone that the rest of us knew, so he offered up the name of Terri White, who was Nicole’s best friend.
    It came to my turn, but before I could even answer, all three shouted Nicole’s name. They enjoyed watching my face turn scarlet in embarrassment, but saw it change to red-hot anger when Garrett said, “If Nicole was my girlfriend, I’d do it with her until my dick fell off.”
    â€œWell, at least I have a girlfriend,” I shouted at Garrett. He didn’t need to know Nicole and I hadn’t done anything, nor ever would, thanks to her “purity pledge.”
    â€œMy turn. You know who I’d love to do,” Garrett said, then pointed at me like he was calling me out. “Your mom. I tell you, Mick, she’s one hot MILF!”
    â€œDude, that’s so wrong,” Aaron said, breaking his normal code of silence.
    â€œWhat, it’s true, isn’t it?” Garrett shouted at Aaron, but he was looking at me.
    â€œShut up,” Brody shouted.
    I was angry, yet strangely paralyzed, unable to move in defense of my mom. When Garrett started laughing, I doveinto him, and we rolled through the remains of the fire. I threw punches, and at first, Garrett covered up and kept laughing. The smack of my hand against his head was ineffective, and he rolled on top of me. I got my hands up, but Garrett was quick with a punch, splitting open my eyebrow. The sound of Garrett’s fists bouncing off my skull crackled like crossed wires. Sweat mixed with blood flowed down my face like a raging river. But before Garrett could land the knockout punch, Brody ended the fight, with a hard stiff kick to Garrett’s face. Garrett went down flat on his back like he’d been hit with a ton of bricks. “Let’s go,” was all Brody said, as I pulled myself off the ground, dusted the black ash from my shirt, and wiped the blood from my face. Aaron quickly followed Brody, and the three of us left Garrett’s big mouth and probably broken nose behind.
    Garrett and I never spoke again, exchanging only angry looks at school. Like ex-Dad, he wouldn’t admit fault or say he was sorry. When Mom asked why I wasn’t friends with Garrett, I just grunted, but I wanted to say,
I don’t see Garrett anymore because Garrett said he wanted to fuck you. I stood up for you again. I’ve stood up for you twice, so when will you protect
me?
    My eyes were closed as memories flooded my mind until I heard Mr. Rice say almost into my ear, “
Tiene bueno siesta Señor Salisbury
?”
    â€œMucho bueno.” I picked my heavy head up off the desk, waited until Mr. Rice turned around, and then swallowed down two more aspirin. In a few hours, my headwould stop hurting from drinking too much, and in a few weeks my heart might stop hurting from missing Nicole. But as I looked at my bandaged hand, I wondered when my life would be healed.
    What was the worst day of your life?
    Before November 5, it was June 18. That’s the day that I destroyed my family. It was just a few days after school was out; I’d just finished fifth grade. Brody’s mother took him, his two brothers, and me to the mall. Brody’s brothers went one way, we went another. What if we would have gone with them to the food court instead of the arcade? What if we would have been there an hour earlier or an hour later? What if I wouldn’t have seen my father and a woman who was not my mom come out of a jewelry store