Deception

We sit around Zack's room awkwardly, looking at each other. "Thanks for the stuff, guys," Zack says, reluctantly, motioning to the red roses and chocolates. "It was nice of you."

Alex and I look at each other.

"We should go out and celebrate!" Miranda shouts, jumping up. Jack tries to get her to sit back down, but she refuses. "We've got to show that we're happy, single teenagers, and that Valentine's Day is an overrated 'holiday' businesses use to guilt trip men into buying women things they don't need!"

Jack makes a face. "Sweetie, that's great and all, but we've got a problem." He points at her. "You're not single."

"Stop ruining my moment, Jack."

If Miranda is like this sober, I would hate to see her drunk.

Miranda motions to the door. "Who's with me?" The rest of us follow her up the stairs and out to our respective cars. "To the mall!" Miranda shouts, pointing forward.

"Do you know how many couples will be prowling the mall?" I ask Miranda who's texting. "This'll probably disappoint Zack rather than help him."

She gives me a look. "Do you know how many sad, single ladies there'll be at the mall?" I shake my head. Whenever Valentine's Day rolled around, Lori, Riley, and I would watch shitty chick flicks while eating chocolate at my house. "There'll be loads of girls after Zack once we announce he's single." I roll my eyes.

This will not be a confidence booster.

Alex and Jack head for the food court as Miranda and I pull Zack toward a group of girls. They giggle at Zack's bashfulness, or maybe it's his biceps. "This is our good friend Zack, and he is a very lonely boy on this day, Valentine's Day." The girls spark a conversation with him, and Miranda and I walk off, watching Alex and Jack stuff their faces.

"Can you believe those two?" Miranda asks, sitting down at the table. "What would your mom say if she saw you like this?"

"She'd ask whether or not she'd need to go to the grocery store," Jack replies. "We're two teenage guys, Miranda."

Alex offers me some fries, but I refuse. "So, I was watching TV the other day, and there was a woman who ate ridiculous amounts of junk food in order to gain weight. She currently weighs around 600 pounds, and she's planning on gaining more," Alex says, looking at me.

"That sounds unhealthy," I answer, frowning.

"Could you imagine watching someone scarf down an entire box of Twinkies, inhale six bags of chips, and dive into several things of chocolate-coated Oreos?" Alex crinkles his nose.

"Hey, we watch you guys do it all the time!" Miranda replies snarkily, high-fiving me.

"You people," Jack grumbles, pushing his tray aside. He crosses his arms.

Zack comes back, looking half-triumphant and half-embarrassed. He waves a handful of paper scraps. "Looks like I'm set for a while," he says, grinning awkwardly. "Thanks for leaving me with a pack of wolves, Kaleb and Miranda."

"Hey, you needed some alone time," I say, reaching for Alex's drink.

> >

At home, Liz asks me if I want to rub her ever-expanding stomach. She's eaten half the pot roast and the chocolate Dad brought her. "C'mon, Kaleb. I know you want to!" she cries joyfully.

I look at Dad. "Just do it," he mouths. I place my hands on her stomach and pat it gently.

"It wasn't so bad, was it?" Liz asks excitedly. "Now we'll be a family of four!"

I check my phone as it buzzes in my hands:

gurl, u busy? meet me at the grocery store roof.

I purse my lips.

k.

"Dad, Liz, I gotta go--Miranda and I are doing a project for sociology." I grab my purse and fumble with my keys. "I'll see you later."

"Don't be out too late!" Dad shouts. "And don't let her invite boys over!"

Miranda helps me onto the roof once I get there, and she hands me a golf club. I grab a rock from the bag. "Liz is pregnant, and my bathroom smells like shit." My rock flies in the night sky.

Jack and Alex climb up, golf clubs in hand. They unbutton their dress shirts. "Busing at a fancy restaurant is obnoxious; those people told us we weren't clearing their tables right," Alex grumbles, winding up to hit the rock. "Those stuck-up assholes."

"I'm failing math," Jack shouts. His rock soars across the parking lot.

"I didn't get accepted to Penn State. Those elitist bitches!" Miranda's bounces off a lamp post and shatters on the sidewalk. "Why does it matter where you get accepted to college? Shouldn't you have a celebration when you get accepted somewhere?"

Alex and Jack shrug. "We're betting on the whole band thing to work," Alex replies. "That's about the only thing I'm really good at."

"That's not true." Alex looks up at me. "You're good at a lot of things."

Jack laughs. "Kales, an old lady called him out for doing a shitty job busing her table."

"That was very motivational. Thanks, Jack," Alex mutters, smacking another rock. "I hate you."

Jack pouts and wraps his arms around Miranda.

"I don't think I'll ever find love." My rock bounces off a brick wall across the street. "I think the only thing I'll ever find is a nice piece of ass that might stick around."

"I think that love finds you when you least expect it to." Alex's rock almost smashes a car window.

"...Do you think it exists?" Miranda asks quietly. We all lay our golf clubs down. "Do you think love exists?"

"Miranda, you make it sound like we're searching for Narnia or something," Jack replies. She smacks him.

The four of us laugh, our voices echoing across the night sky. Tonight, even the moon can hear our catharsis.