Read Up High in the Trees for Free Online

she was lonely in her big house. Mother and Dad were sitting in the front seat, listening to talking on the radio. Leo was leaning forward, trying to hear the news.
    Sebby, Cass says. She rolls onto her back. Hi, she says.
    Hi, I tell her.
    Cass is quiet and still again. Then she sits up. Her clothes are wrinkly.
    Is it time to go? I ask her.
    Soon, she says.
    Cass walks over to the big egg-shaped mirror by the door. She stands close and stares at her sleepy face. She touches the sharp bones under her cheeks and then moves her hand away. Her eyes look too big and the freckles on the tops of her cheeks are darker in the mirror.
    I’ll say bye to Emma, Cass says. You get ready to go.
    I sit on the end of the bed and swing my legs. I watch them and it’s like they’re moving all by themselves. In my head I count because counting is better than waiting.
    Okay, Cass says, let’s go. She’s standing in the hallway.
    I stop my legs and slide down off the bed. At the front door, we sit down to put on our shoes. Mine feel hard and stiff from getting so cold.
    I follow Cass out to the car.
    Why do you always have to walk behind me? she asks.
    I don’t really know why. I take fast steps and try to walk next to her.

    Dad’s waiting for us in the kitchen. He’s sitting with his elbows on the table. Between his elbows, there’s his black coffee mug with steam twisting up. I walk over to him. Dad grabs me and holds me against his loud chest. I put my hand over his heart and feel it beating. Dad stands up with me. He walks in circles around the table.
    Goddamn it, he says. He sets me down and looks at me with his hands on my shoulders and then he hugs me too hard.

    Mother used to put her hand on my forehead and say, My son, you’re going to live for a very long time—I can feel all of the life inside of you.
    I closed my eyes and I could feel it, too. I could feel my chest getting warmer and warmer and that was the life inside of me.

    In the morning, Dad asks me if I want to go to school. I can stay home with him since he’s not going to his office today. In his office, Dad’s writing a book about music.
    Okay, I say, I’ll stay.
    Dad’s hair is messy. He’s wearing his pajamas, a xgreen T-shirt that says KISS ME I’M IRISH , and gray sweatpants.
    Hop on, Dad says. He gives me a piggyback ride down to the kitchen.
    I sit at the table and watch him make eggs.
    Your teacher called, he tells me. Dad doesn’t turn around. He keeps cooking the eggs.
    I stare at his back.
    Do you have a note for me? he asks.
    I tore it up, I say. I say the words fast to make them go away.
    Dad still doesn’t turn around.
    Well, he says, I made you an eye appointment this afternoon because your teacher thinks you might need glasses.
    Dad turns off the stove, but the eggs keep sizzling. He tips them out of the pan and onto my plate. Now the eggs are quiet.
    I need a haircut, I say.
    Dad rubs his face with his big hands and sits down at the table with me.
    You want Denise to cut your hair? Dad asks.
    I look at him. He takes a sip of his coffee.
    Yes, I say. Denise always cuts my hair. Can we go right now? I ask.
    Whenever you’re ready, Dad says.
    I don’t want to eat my eggs, so I run upstairs. Cass’s door is still closed. I want to knock and make her wake up, but if I do, then she’ll stop being nice, so I run past her door and down the hall to my room. I can lay out clean clothes by myself. I pick out jeans and my light blue sweatshirt that has the mean grizzly bear on the back. I set clean underwear and socks on top of the pile. Then I’m ready to get dressed.
    My jeans feel cold when I pull them on. I have to rub my legs to make them warmer. I hear Cass’s door open. She walks by and then comes back.
    What’re you doing? Cass asks. She holds on to the wall and leans into my room.
    Nothing, I say. I’m not going to school, I tell her, and I feel happy to