heard He and Doug wouldn’t live with both his parents at the same time They were going to move away to Banff And also New York Danny looked around the room again For the first time he understood why all the moving boxes were there What about our house he said What about my room The house is going up for sale tomorrow his father said We’ve got your room packed up already But you’ll have a new room You’ll have two new rooms But I like my room I don’t want to live in two places And what about Thwack Thwack was their dog Danny had named him when he was little because Thwack would get so excited that he would run straight into a wall Thwack Come to think of it he said Where is Thwack Danny’s mother looked at Danny’s father He’s at his wonderful new home On a farm Danny stood up You gave away my dog Now he wasn’t just your dog his father said At least I don’t have to walk him anymore Doug sniffed How can you say that Danny cried Thwack was part of our family He turned to his parents Would you give
me away Now you’re being a little ridiculous his father said But it’s understandable his mother smiled In Banff we can get a new pet Something small and easy to take care of Maybe a hamster I don’t want a hamster Danny shouted I want Thwack I want my room and my park and my school I want my two parents sitting at the dinner table not just one of them You didn’t ask me You didn’t consult with me Well thanks very much but I say no What said his father No no no Hey Dannio said his brother It’s not that big a deal Danny sprang from the chair He had never felt so angry in his life Who did they think they were What about parental responsibility What about kids coming first He wanted to run around and smash all the lamps in the house He wanted to throw his mother’s cake dishes across the kitchen and toss his father’s opera CDs out the window as if they were Frisbees But what he did was run
2 Falling AND RUN HE DID Across the room down the front hall Then he grabbed his backpack and ran out the front door He ran across the lawn up the sidewalk around the corner Without stopping he struggled to put on his backpack He ran past Essex Street Winkler Avenue Nordheim Boulevard He ran past Gornick’s Pharmacy the Strong Brew Coffee Shop Frida’s Clothing Exchange and the Blue Skies Credit Union When he reached Harlow Street he paused to catch his breath leaning his hands on his knees His heart beat fast His breath came quick and shallow What right did they have to wreck his life Did a kid have to put up with any sort of behavior from his parents No he did not But what could he do about it Danny didn’t know All he knew was that he had a terrible energy inside him If he didn’t let it out he would explode So he started running again He ran up Harlow and across the park where some little
kids were being pushed on the swings by their parents Sure you’re happy now Danny wanted to cry out But look out They’re going to turn on you They’re going to go off to fulfill themselves He passed a plaza of small shops shoe repair bagel bakery discount eyewear Then a row of low apartment buildings that he didn’t recognize His chest hurt and his legs were starting to ache but he kept going He passed an unfamiliar school and then an office building Next to the building was a construction site NEW DELUXE CONDOMINIUMS LUXURY LIVING There was a fence around the site but the gate was open and Danny stepped through He saw some bulldozers and other construction equipment on the chewed-up ground No people were around probably because it was late Friday afternoon Danny ran across the site He had to jump over wooden boards and dodge piles of bricks He picked up speed lengthening his stride He saw a broken pipe in front of him jumped and felt Air Instead of landing Danny began to fall And he kept
