Pizza Rats

[frogue†]

Johnny bumped the fist held out to him, and watched as Caleb walked off.

He remembered not knowing what to make of the tall sullen boy, when first they'd met. It was some bullshit with his twin, Johnny had decided, made Caleb act the way he did. Johnny had never spoken to his friend about it, but he had a theory that the reason Caleb dressed like his dad worked at a truckstop rather than a bank, the reason he smoked his spook cigarettes and hung out with trailer trash, was to be as different as possible from Andrew.

If the boys were similar, people might make comparisons, and if people compared them Caleb just might not measure up. To Johnny's mind it was stupid. Like some ugly clothes and an ugly friend were ever going to stop people comparing you to anyone. It was what people did, it wasn't like you could stop it.

Johnny tried not to judge people. You weren't supposed to cast stones unless you hadn't sinned yourself. Johnny didn't think he was all that bad, but he certainly wasn't perfect.  

He kicked at Caleb's cigarette on the pavement, sending it skittering into the gutter. It slipped between the grates of a drain and fell out of sight.

[Johnny Ray McKay continued in People II 2: Still Peoplin']