The Silver Sphere Read Free

of the
school, no doubt looking for any students left from band or soccer practice.
    Zach shouldered the door open and he and Adrian slipped out of
the building unnoticed. Once outside, he guided Adrian down to the green lawn. He
dropped the heavy bag of books and wiped a layer of sweat from his brow.
    "Did you pull the alarm?" asked Adrian, eyeing Zach
as he fixed his glasses. One of the arms had been bent and he struggled to straighten
it.
    Zach nodded. "Yeah, I... I didn't think I'd find teachers
quick enough."
    Adrian smirked. The smashed lip looked only half as bad when
he smiled. "Thanks. I'll have to remember that one."
    Zach plopped down beside him, the grass cool and soft. "No
problem. Is your mom on her way?"
    "Not for another hour. Math club today."
    "Wanna go to the five-and-dime?" Zach eyed the school.
If Gordie and his gang found them out here, he wouldn't be able to pull a fire alarm
to escape. "We can get some ice for your eye."
    Adrian picked at the lawn, snapping blades and dropping them
in a neat pile. "I dunno, Zach. I might just head home."
    "I'll walk with you."
    "You don't have to."
    Zach noticed the tears welling in Adrian's eyes. The other boy
wiped them away as his mussed brown hair whipped in the breeze. He looked miserable.
    "I want to. You're my bro," said Zach. "I'm not
going to have you go home alone. Come on, I'll carry your bag."
    Adrian stood. Zach offered to let him lean against his shoulder,
but Adrian shook his head.
    "I'm good. Just a little freaked out."
    Zach hoisted the book knapsack over his back. "No problem."
    They paced in silence for a time. Zach considered teasing his
friend, but nothing sounded right. Being beat up was terrifying—Zach had suffered
his fair share of bullying.
    Cars zoomed by on Harding Boulevard. They lived a good three
miles from the school, but by the time they reached his neighborhood, Adrian started
chatting again.
    "I did buy a new fatpack," he said with a smirk. "I
didn't think I'd do enough chores. Forty dollars down the drain!" He laughed.
    "Did you open it yet?"
    "Oh, of course. And you'll never guess what I got!"
    "Which series?" Zach asked. He didn't immerse himself
into Magic the way Adrian had, but he understood the game well enough. Sometimes
they'd play together. Zach liked his Sliver deck. If he pulled the Sliver Queen
out, almost nothing stopped it.
    "New Phyrexia, duh," Adrian said with a snort. He grinned,
then winced and touched his split lip. "Anyways, I got Karn ! The Planeswalker !
Can you believe?"
    Zach shook his head. "I never understood Planeswalkers.
They seem to break the game."
    "Nah, you have the Eldrazi to balance everything."
    They reached Adrian's place, a ranch style, red brick house with
a sprawling front yard. A single cottonwood stood sentinel in the center of the
lawn. The tree was already dropping cotton across the plot.
    "We'll have to play a game. You gonna be okay?" Zach
stuffed his hands in his pockets.
    "Yeah." Adrian shrugged a frail shoulder and took his
bag. "Thanks again, Zach. You're a good friend."
    "No problem. Take care, bud."
    "Hey, want to come in and play a quick game, like the old
days?"
    "Nah. I should have been home by now."
    "You sure? Come on! It's not like they would even notice."
    Zach glanced at him.
    Adrian pushed his glasses back into place, but the arm was still
crooked and they kept sliding down his nose. "Umm, I didn't mean that."
    "Cool." Zach sauntered off and waved.
    "See y-you tomorrow," Adrian stammered, then jumped
inside his house.
    The stroll to his house relaxed Zach. Late afternoon sunlight
beckoned the rich gold of early autumn. Long, purple shadows cascaded across the
sidewalk and street. A picket fence sent lengthy spikes over the tarmac of the road,
spearing the lawns on the other side.
    Soon, he left the smaller neighborhoods behind, and sighed. The
homes where he lived stood too uniform, lacking character and warmth. His house
appeared more box-like than all the rest. He hiked