The last time Yusuf saw Abhijay, it was in the abandoned house at the end of Turnmaple Avenue. Thanks to nature and the kinds of teenagers who made sure they hung out in atmospheres mirroring their internal architectures – torn up floors and cracks in the ceiling – the place was more like a child’s sketch of a house than the real thing. All outlines. Usually the hangout was reserved for weekend nights and passels of teenagers who didn’t know the meaning of the word, so Abhijay saying to come in the middle of a Tuesday, alone, meant something special.

“Oh, my God, man, you stole it?”

“Hey, hey, hey,” grinned Abhijay – the kid who’d dropped his two-letter nickname two years before for obvious reasons. “It’s only stolen if Trent notices it’s gone.”

“The Hummer,” Yusuf marveled, running his finger along the flag-red shine of the classic motorcycle’s front fender. “This is crazy, man. How’d you get it over here?”

“Rode it,” Abhijay said as if it were the most natural answer.

“How?”

“Brett Lincecum brought his moped out here a bunch. Were you too busy literally sitting at Mindy Poolman’s feet to notice?”

Abhijay’s disapproving comments had increased proportionally with the phenomenon itself, but this was the one that twisted something in the back of Yusuf’s head. “Sorry I was spending more time hooking up than touching engines with one of the Bretts.”

“Hooking up. Yeah, okay,” Abhijay scoffed.

“No, no really. I’m starting to assume that you’re jealous, man. Of Mindy,” Yusuf insisted, using his fingertips as punctuation.

“Whatever, dude,” Abhijay said, mounting his stepfather’s motorcycle.

“You wanna make your name official? Come on and put your mouth where your mouth is.”

Abhijay’s last words to his childhood friend were a curse. The largest of many things he would never do. “Grow up.”

Months later, Yusuf had another day off school. He was standing in the ground floor of the Turnmaple house before he realized he was walking there. He cast around desperately for something else he could destroy, but the building was all beams and concrete. No walls left to tear down, and not a pane of glass anywhere in the house.

x

Year 6, Day 2

April 5, 2019

Prompt: Incorporate lyrics from the song “Life Lessons” by Rain Check

That song is below. I believe it to be very good.