Today was weird. Sage walked up after school and asked, "Hey, can I borrow you for a second?"

"Sure. What's up?" I answered.

She moved in close to me and buried her head in my chest. "I just need you to hide me. I'm not a pretty crier."

"I don't think anyone is. Why are you crying?"

"I don't know. Hormones probably." I wrapped my arms around her.

"Hormones do that?"

"Yeah. That's why guys are always so angry and moody. Testosterone tends to that. Estrogen on the other hand makes you sad and snappy. Quick to judge. It's affects are different depending on who you ask. Everyone's different."

"Why do we have them?"

"Has nobody taught you this?"

"Nobody taught me how to shave either."

"Why not? Hasn't your dad-"

"My dad's gone."

"But still you'd think that even from a distance he would-"

"He'd be talking to me from the grave."

"Oh..."

"Yeah..."

"Your hormones help your muscles grow at a fast rate and prepare you for reproduction. At least, that's what I've learned. My hormones make me weepy, more susceptible to breast cancer, and prepare me for reproduction."

"Dude, your hormones suck."

"Meh... so do yours. I've just got more of them. Yours make you angry and irritated at times."

I started to rock on my feet side to side. She followed my movements. In time, I shuffled her over to a quieter spot where she wouldn't be bothered by everyone asking her if she's okay. Every time they asked she would cry harder because she couldn't answer the question and they kept prying.

Eventually, she had stopped breathing irregularly.

"You good?" I asked.

"Just give me a few more minutes. Aw, crap! I'm so sorry! I'm keeping you from your brother!"

"Naw. It's okay."

"Okay. Don't run away when you see my face. How do I look?"

"Uh... Um... You're right. You're not a pretty crier."

"Shut up!" She punched me in the shoulder playfully.

We left to go pick up Cooper. We had our run and split just as we always did. But this time, when I turned the corner, my mom was there waiting in her car. I walked over to it and put my stuff in the back. Cooper was already in the car.

"You're late," Cooper said.

"Yeah, sorry," I said.

"You're never late."

"I forgot something in my locker."

"You mean besides a clean shirt."

"Basil, as usual I appreciate your observational skills and intelligence but shut you trap, please."

"Who's the lucky gal?" my mom asked.

"Why do you assume it had anything to do with a girl?"

"Just a shot in the dark."

-—-

"Birch. Birch. Birch! Push pause on your sex dream for a minute," Birch's mother whispered.

He groaned turned over and rubbed his eyes. It had been a phenomenal dream but he had little time to ask his mom how she knew that. She was sweating and her eyes were wide.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"I don't know. There're things everywhere!"

"Mom, you're just seeing things."

"No! Look! They're everywhere!"

"Mom, there's nothing there I swear to you. How long's been since you've had a drink?"

"A few hours since my last sip."

"That's a new record. There's nothing there, Mom. It's going to be okay."

He stayed with his mom until she fell asleep. He went to bed and had a fitful night of sleep.

The next morning was the same as any other morning. It was a weekend so Birch woke up early to take Cooper to football practice. Birch woke his mother by accident.

"Where are you two going?" his mother asked.

"Football field. We're gonna go practice," Birch replied. He started to walk away.

"Birch! Honey, wait!" Birch walked back. "Let me talk to you alone. Ms. Schultz called. She said we should have a doctor take a look at him."

"There's nothing wrong with him!"

"No, honey... why shouldn't we tell him?"

"I told Ms. Schultz why. Ask her," Birch replied after noticing Cooper in the doorway. "C'mon, Basil!" He rubbed Cooper's head.

They left the house.

"What were you and mom talking about?"

"You."

"Why?"

"She wanted to make sure you were doing alright in school."

"Your lying."

"Damn! Basil strikes again! The great detective!"

Birch swept Cooper up onto his shoulders.

"Oh, great detective, do point the way to the football field," Birch said.

"That way!" Cooper pointed.

Birch nodded galloping forward and letting Cooper pretend to control him like in the movie Ratatouille, which he had recently seen.

While Birch was at the football field, he ran into some players from the varsity team.  They all played a game of two-hand-touch football. Cooper owned it and so did Birch. They stayed after their new football friends had left. The junior varsity team came out. The three people Birch had beaten up were there. They came up to me and Cooper.

"Hey, Birch! Who's this lil' guy?" their leader asked mockingly.

"I'm Cooper! His brother! You guys must be some friends of his."

"Yeah, yeah. We're friends of Birch. I'm Alex, this is Tomas, and that's Ramon," he said.

"Your part of the field is that way," Birch said.

"On my way over. But, first, can I borrow you a sec?"

Birch asked the other football players to keep an eye on Cooper and went under the stands where the three were.

"What?" Birch asked.

"You owe us. Big time. We've got a package for you. Just get it from point A to point B."

"Or what?"

"We know that girl your always hanging out with and your brother. Someone'll get hurt."

Birch moved forward aggressively and one of the boys kept him from continuing forward. Another had to join him to hold Birch back.

"Settle down, cupcake. Just deliver the package. Are you in or are our friends gonna have a word with your friends?"

"You're lucky I don't break your nose, again," Birch replied through clenched teeth.

"So you'll do it?"

"Just this once and we're even, right?"

"Right."

"When, where, and what?"

"East side, edge of town, under the highway overpass. You know the one?"

"Yeah."

"At 10 o'clock tonight."

"What's in it?"

"That's for us to know and you to find out."

"Next time don't be dicks," Birch said.

"You're lucky my mom didn't sue you."

"I don't owe you anything."

"But you owe your friends and family everything. You in or out?"

"Fuck you."

The leader of their little clique, Alex, came forward and pushed Birch. He shoved Birch into a wall so hard that his ears rang and his vision went black for a moment.

"Listen... very... very closely," he growled to Birch. "You don't have any power in this decision."

"Birch?!" Cooper yelled.

"You do it or he gets hurt."

"Fine," Birch spat. The guy let go and Birch shouldered him as he walked towards Cooper.

"Are you okay?" Cooper asked. "That seemed like a hard hit!"

"I'm fine."

"Hey!" Alex yelled. "Aren't you forgetting something?" Alex tossed a small box at Birch. He caught it. "You'd better not bail."

Birch was silent.