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down just like I did when I was skating over an extra-bumpy stretch of sidewalk. The only other thing I let myself think about was what I’d do with the money I was earning. Maybe the movies … or a new pair of kicks … I’d definitely get some music. As the day got longer, the grass got shorter.

    I was mowing the last few feet of grass, down by the road, when I saw it. Someone had taken an empty soda can, twisted it so the metal was bent, and then crushed it flat. Then they’d just dropped it on the lawn. A few feet later, someone had kicked a little hunk of grass up. Next to that, there was a candy wrapper hanging from a bush like a chocolate-smeared earring.
    The sidewalk was just a few feet away, but whoever did this had kicked up this guy’s lawn anyway. And there was a trashcan on the corner, but they’d used the lawn for that, too. I threw out the wrapper and the crushed-up can. Then I put the little wedge of grass back in place and pressed it down, just like the golfers do on TV. I decided not to tell my dad. I knew it would just make him mad. No need to ruin a good day.

“H ey, hey, can you drop me off here?” I said to Dad as we turned the corner in his truck. We were headed home after finishing up the job, and we’d already dropped the other two guys off.
    â€œWhat, right here on the side of the road?” he said, and then he saw them too. “Those your boys?”
    â€œYeah,” I said.
    We were rolling right up on Mike and Deuce as they walked down the sidewalk.
    â€œYeah, all right,” said Dad, but instead of slowing down, he started speeding up. When he pulled up even with them, he mashed his hand into the center of the steering wheel.
    BREEEEEEEEEP!
    The truck’s horn was really loud. Mike jumped about two feet in the air, and Deuce froze like a rabbit caught out in the open. Dad was splitting his sides laughing as I climbed down out of the truck, and, okay, maybe I was laughing a little, too.
    â€œMan, you guys,” I said. “You should’ve seen your faces!”
    I imitated Deuce’s, making my mouth really tiny and my eyes really big.
    Then they both got to work insisting that I hadn’t seen what I just saw.
    â€œNah, nah,” Mike was saying. “I was just a little surprised, that’s all. I definitely wasn’t —”
    But Dad beeped as he pulled away, and Mike jumped again.
    Deuce and I both started laughing at him, and he just slumped down.
    â€œCan’t believe I did that,” he said, shaking his head.
    Once the sound of the big truck faded away, the street was quiet and the three of us were just standing there.
    â€œYou definitely know how to make an entrance,” said Deuce.
    â€œAll my pop’s idea,” I said. “Where you guys headed?”
    â€œBig baseball game going on over in the park,” said Deuce. “Left you a message, but I guess you were getting your mow on. Timmy told me about the game. I think it’s mostly his crew.”
    â€œSounds cool,” I said. “That what’s in the backpack?”
    â€œYeah, a couple of gloves, a ball, and some other things,” said Deuce. His blue backpack was stuffed extra full today. It made him look even smaller than usual.
    We headed straight for the park and took all the shortcuts we knew, but the game had already started by the time we got there. Home plate was a flattened-out cardboard box, first base was a Frisbee, and second was an old T-shirt. I pointed to the metal fence post they were using for third. “I hope no one slides in,” I said.
    â€œSeriously,” said Mike. “Think I’d take the out.”
    Timmy was Deuce’s cousin. He called time when he spotted us, and came over to talk. The first baseman doesn’t usually just call time-out like that, but then first base isn’t normally a Frisbee either.
    â€œHey, cuz,” said Deuce.
    â€œHey, Big D,” said