Chapter 8
CHAPTER EIGHT
The smell of melted cheese makes my mouth water. I suck in a breath, catching a whiff of savory pepperoni. So good.
“Move.” Axel pushes past me to get to the table, putting the steaming pizza down. It makes his glasses fog up.
“Happy birthday, boys.” Mom puts down a box of something else, and my eyes widen when I open the lid. Monkey bread. She got us monkey bread!
Today is Friday, which is usually our ‘secret meal’ night.
It is the night when we use whatever is in the fridge to try to make a five-star meal.
We have a whole ranking system, including ratings for taste, texture, and quantity.
Some weeks are better than others, but it’s so much fun.
Afterward, Mom makes us toast with cinnamon sugar for dessert.
Fridays are the best.
But today, we got to pick whatever we wanted to eat, and of course, we chose pizza. Who wouldn’t pick pizza? It’s frozen pizza, but it’s the good stuff.
“So, tell me about school.” Mom sits at the table, smiling at us. Axel immediately starts rambling around mouthfuls of food, telling her about how his friends surprised him for his birthday by pieing him in the face.
I was right next to him when it happened and got bits of whipped cream on me.
I’m happy for Ax, but my tummy also starts to twist despite the pizza being so, so good.
It’s my birthday too, and I didn’t get pied.
After lunch, one of Ax’s friends slid me a bag of chocolate candy and said happy birthday, which was nice, because they’re more his friends than mine.
Not that I blame them. Axel is happy and funny and all around everything I should be, especially because we’re identical.
Mom is laughing at Ax’s story, which he’s now animating in exaggerated motions. She laughs so hard that tears run down her cheeks.
I like seeing Mom happy. Ax’s stories always help.
He only tells Mom the good ones. He likes to leave out that he also has a successful business where he trades little personalized poems for pieces of gum.
The love-sick boys at our school eat it up, writing their crush’s names in and leaving them in their lockers.
Ax pays me in an endless supply of cinnamon gum to not only write the poems but to keep my mouth shut about it.
Ax continues talking, and Mom continues laughing, but the pizza feels heavy in my hand.
Mom has been better since she left Dad. She doesn’t fall down the stairs as much, and I like seeing her smile.
But recently, she’s been so tired, and her face looks different.
She says she’s so cold all the time. I’m saving my money to get her fuzzy socks, a sweater, and more pants.
She said the other day her pants don’t fit anymore.
I take another bite of my pizza despite not being hungry anymore. I wonder if I had friends who did stupid stuff like Axel’s friends do, would it also make Mom as happy?
As I sit there chewing, I realize that Mom hasn’t had any herself.
“Have some.” I push a paper towel at her.
“Oh, it’s okay, honey.” She wipes her eyes, then takes the paper towel to blow her nose. “I only like the crust, you know that.”
I stare at her, and for some reason, sadness fills me. There are a lot of things Mom doesn’t like.
I wish she’d eat with us.
I finish my piece, leaving some sauce and pepperoni around the crust, and Mom eats it quickly. I get a second piece and leave almost half of it, pushing it across the table. Mom just sits back, looking tired again. “I’m sure you’ll be hungry later. We get to have this for lunch tomorrow, too.”
“Yes!” Axel pumps a fist in the air.
Mom smiles at Axel, looking less tired. I wish I could make my mom smile more.
Why can’t I be more like Axel?