Read Something Like Spring for Free Online Page B

said.
    Peter nodded. “All he has to do is clean his own room and bathroom. Personally, I think that should be the rule for us all, but whatever.”
    They took their time with the rest of the house. When they were finished, they helped Amy carry trash bags to the garage. The reward portion of the day was much nicer. Mrs. Hubbard took them out to a Mexican buffet, where Jason stuffed himself. Afterwards they drove to The Galleria, a massive upscale mall where they were each allowed to pick out something. This meant waiting as Amy built her own teddy bear at one store, followed by a number of clothing retailers for Carrie. Peter already knew what video game he wanted, which just left—
    “What would you like, Jason?” Mrs. Hubbard looked him over as he drew a blank. “You could use some new shoes.”
    That was true. At the first store they visited, he found a lime green pair of Converse he was crazy about. “Size ten,” he said holding them up. “And they’re on sale!”
    Mrs. Hubbard swatted his arm and smiled like he was being silly. “Those won’t go with many outfits. Or any at all. Let’s find something more neutral.”
    Jason held on to the shoes as she shuffled through the store. When she picked up a pair of boring white sneakers and asked the clerk to bring them in his size, he gave up and left the lime green shoes behind.
    “Go ahead and lace them up,” Mrs. Hubbard encouraged. “You can wear them out of the store and we’ll throw away the old ones.”
    Jason felt like throwing something all right, but then he thought of Michelle. He wasn’t attached to his old shoes anyway. He soon began to miss them though. Walking down the mall corridors, he was mortified as his new shoes squeaked with each step, sounding a bit like a farting duck. His cheeks were burning with embarrassment and anger when Peter started laughing. Somehow this made it funny, and Jason and Amy started laughing too. Mrs. Hubbard just shook her head, as if they were being unreasonable.
    Dinner time was nearing when they got home, so Jason helped out in the kitchen. Caesar showed up briefly at the dinner table, flashing him a smile, but then his phone jangled and he was out the door. Of course someone like him wouldn’t stay home on a Saturday night. For Jason, weekend nights were just like any other evening, aside from not having to worry about school in the morning. He watched television with the family, then let Peter show off his favorite video game. Jason could see the appeal of living a virtual life, but he didn’t have the desire to be an elf who spent too much time getting drunk in imaginary taverns. Peter seemed very amused by this though.
    Eventually, Jason excused himself and went to his room, took his guitar out of the closet, and practiced holding chords without strumming the strings. He yearned to play but didn’t want to attract attention, enjoying this rare moment of privacy. Maybe tomorrow would be better. Even the most organized foster families cut their kids slack on Sundays. The day of rest and all that. Maybe Jason could take his guitar and find a nice big park to play in. People usually thought he was trying to earn money, which was enough to scare them away. Yeah, a nice day in the park, a light sunburn on his nose, and sore fingers. Grinning at the idea, Jason flopped on his back and closed his eyes.
    * * * * *
    “Everyone in this family goes to church,” Mr. Hubbard said, his gaze hard.
    Beside him, Mrs. Hubbard was still frowning, just as she had been ever since she stalked off to fetch reinforcements. Now that her husband was here, Jason supposed he had to explain himself all over again. Sitting on the edge of the bed, still not having gone to take his turn in the bathroom, Jason crossed his arms over his chest.
    “I don’t believe in God,” he said. The truth was, he hadn’t really made up his mind, but Jason had enough experience to know he didn’t believe in church.
    “You don’t have to believe in