Page 51 of Switch!

“Turning eighteen doesn’t change anything. Do you really believe that another week will make a difference? I’m nearly three times your age, Caleb, and you’re arrogant enough to think that you know better than me. Well, you don’t.”

“You’re right,” I spit. “I don’t know jack, because you’ve never let me think for myself! How am I supposed to learn anything when you’re so freaking controlling?”

“I’ll teach you a goddamn lesson!” Major McCain throws the tape measure on the ground, freeing his hands, and I know I’m in trouble.

I stand my ground, but only after taking a step back. “I’m joining ROTC.”

“Not if I tell them to reject you, you disrespectful little shit!”

He swings at me. Not with a closed fist. It’s always a swat on the head, usually around the ears, but these slaps aren’t gentle. He doesn’t hold back. I can remember the pain, even though I haven’t experienced it firsthand. Yet.

I raise my arms to deflect the first blow, flinching when he keeps striking. I finally drop my guard, but only so I can grab one of his wrists. The major comes at me with his other hand, and after a few attempts, I manage to grab that wrist too. He tries to pull away, but I don’t let him. Only then do I realize how much taller I am. Younger and stronger too. Major McCain is in good shape, but as he said himself, he’s three times my age.

“I’m joining ROTC,” I repeat. “If you make it so I can’t, then I’ll find some other scholarship. I’m going to college one way or another. It’s up to you if the Air Force is part of that. The rest is my decision. It’s my life and I’m going to live it the way I see fit.”

“You think you’re so grown up?” Major McCain growls. He’s still trying to pull himself free from my grasp. “You think you’re a man? Fine! An adult is self-sufficient. You’re on your own from now on.”

Is he kicking me out? I finally let go of him. “What do you mean?”

“The truck is in my name. You want to go joyriding with your friends? Buy your own vehicle. I’m done pampering you. Maybe you should find somewhere else to live too, because if you haven’t noticed,I’mnot mooching off my parents. That’s what it takes to be a man, Caleb. Spend your birthday on the streets and then we’ll see how grown up you feel.”

I can tell he wants to take another swing at me. Instead he picks up the tape measure, walks to the shed in one corner of the yard, and slams the door behind him. I go inside to my room and sit on the bed, wondering if I’m supposed to be packing. I text Sarah, but she’s working, so I don’t hear back from her. I should have waited until my senior year was over. Now I’ll have rent and bills to worry about in addition to getting Caleb’s GPA up to snuff, and that’s assuming Sarah is still willing to let me live with her. What if that doesn’t work out? What if we break up?

I tense when I hear a knock on the bedroom door. I relax again when my mother asks if she can come inside. I leap up to let her in.

“Just do what he says,” my mother says, wringing her hands as she stands there with tears in her eyes. “It’s the same plan, Caleb, just a different way of getting there.”

“It’s not the same,” I say. “I want to experience college, not an online equivalent.”

“I know but…” She shakes her head. “Please. Do it for me.”

This is an entirely different sort of pressure, and I’m not equipped to deal with it. “I’m tired of him controlling our lives.”

“This is his house.”

“It’s yours too,” I point out.

When she looks away, I move to the closet and start grabbing clothes out of it. “I guess I should pack.”

“You don’t have to,” she says. “I spoke to him.”

“So itisyour house,” I reply.

I swear she nearly smiles. “You’ll have to apologize, Caleb. Please. I can’t have you at each other’s throats for another year. Make peace with him. For me.”

I nod, hoping that it doesn’t count as a promise, because at this point, I no longer know what I’m going to do.

— — —

I might not be living on the streets, but I spend a lot more time walking them, now that I no longer have a truck. It’s still parked in the garage at home. I don’t think my father intends to sell it. He only wants to teach me a lesson, so he took the keys away. I’m not sure if I’ll ever get them back. I try not to let this bother me, because he’s right; owning a vehicle is a luxury that neither Caleb nor I earned on our own.

And it’s not like I really need the truck. Tacoma has a sprawling public transit system. I can get most places by walking to the nearest bus stop. The trip often takes longer than it would have if I was driving, but the feeling of independence is worth it to me. I only feel differently when having to ask Sarah to pick me up for our next date. My need to prove that I’m more mature than the average high school student is seriously undermined by having to explain that I’ve been grounded from the truck. The humiliation is enough to make me want to give in to Major McCain.

I don’t though. Instead I begin shopping for a new car. I’ll need to save up if I don’t want a complete junker, but I’m hoping to have my own wheels again before winter blows in. And starting tomorrow, I’ll finally be old enough to use a ride sharing service, although I mostly plan on sticking to public transit since it’s cheaper.

“You ready?” Eddie asks when I open the front door. He peers at me critically. “I told you to get a haircut!”

His own is freshly buzzed. Mine’s not that much longer and just starting to get shaggy, which I like.