SKYYBOUND

Skyy muttered as they walked toward the front door, “Why do I always get the shitty chores?” They slammed the garbage bag into the new screen door to open it outward. Its hinges creaked and groaned as the door closed rapidly behind them.

Still mumbling and not being cautious, they stumbled over the white bag, causing the red plastic tie-up top to give way. They went, ass-over-teakettle, across the driveway with about as much grace as a drunken penguin.

“I really hope nobody saw that,” Skyy said aloud as they dusted off the scuffed knee of their vintage black jeans.

“Well, I saw it. Pretty damn funny, too,” said a high-pitched voice that came from behind Skyy.

Thrown off guard by the voice, Skyy disregarded the garbage bag, now tilted to its side with a sticky brown residue seeping from its top opening.

“What? Um, who are you?” Skyy asked the girl who was peeking at them from beside their parents’ minivan.

“Hi. Sorry we had to meet this way.” She gave a grin, showing a single missing canine tooth. “I’m Tabitha, and I just moved in next door. Well, I’m not moving in until tomorrow, but my parents wanted to come take measurements.” The girl slid her hand back and forth on the car’s hood, making dusty circles. Tabitha continued speaking rapidly, “I just came out here to get a lay of the land and see if there was anything cool.”

Skyy took a jagged inhalation, still trying to recover from the spill they took, while attempting to disguise their anxiety. “We, I, well, we, live here in this house. I moved in about six weeks ago. My stepfather is the land developer for the houses in this subdivision. Even though it’s really called Shady Pines, my family has always referred to it as ‘Fairy Land,’ on account of all of the fireflies that hang out here at night.”

“That's cool. But it’s so dang quiet out here for a weekend summer day. Where is everybody?” Tabitha brushed her dingy hand off on her khaki carpenter shorts. Her speech hadn’t slowed yet.

“Aren't many of us here yet. Only half of the houses have, I guess they’re called ‘closing dates,’ and the other half aren’t sold yet. So, yeah, it’s probably gonna be quiet here for a while.” They pointed across and down the street to the units that had been sold and those that were still for sale. “Actually, I didn’t even know your house sold yet.” Skyy thought hard for a moment. “Nope, didn’t know.”

“Eh-- my parents needed someplace in a hurry. My two brothers, the twins, went off to college a few years ago, so we moved to a two-bedroom house. But now they need to move back home to go to Old Dominion University for the last two years. Mack, the youngest twin, is bringing his girlfriend, so it would be crowded if they kept our last house.” Tabitha motioned over Skyy’s right shoulder to a few blocks away. That's where I grew up. When they moved to Yorktown two years ago, I was the ‘new kid.’ Thankfully, this is still in the school zone I used to be in, so I’ll get to see most of my friends. What’s your story?”

That was a lot in just a couple of breaths, Skyy thought. “Like I said, I’ve lived here for about six weeks. I, uh, I dunno what my story is. What I do know is that the house on the other side of me has someone moving in too—next week sometime, I think. That's a four-bedroom house, so there's probably gonna be kids living there. I just don’t know what age, or if I’ll even like them.”

“So, even though you’ve been here a while, doesn’t that still make you the ‘new kid’ at school?” Tabitha raised a single eyebrow.

Skyy lowered their chin, “Yeah, sucks to be me, I guess.”

Tabitha reassured Skyy, “Eh-- it won’t be so bad, if you stick with me.” She smirked. “I’ll be returning as a junior. How about you?”

“I’ll be in eleventh, too.” Skyy had some mixed feelings about this. On one hand, they could shadow Tabitha until they got their feet wet. On the other hand, Skyy would be limited to whatever cliques Tabitha was already a part of. “Maybe we’ll share some classes. Have you picked your two electives yet? I took Mechanics and Information Sys--.”

“Information Systems,” Tabitha nodded, her striking jet-black bob shaking across her shoulders. “Yeah, same. My mom also convinced me to take Home Ec... well, it’s called ‘Life Studies,’ but it’s basically the same. They include boys now more than they used to. We girls are a given for the class.”

Skyy was a little offended by Tabitha’s gender assumption but had grown accustomed to what they had to say next. “Actually, I was labeled a female at birth, but I’m non-binary and go by ‘they/them’.”

“Tabitha blushed and covered her mouth. “I am so sorry. I don’t usually make assumptions like that.”

Skyy was the one turning colors now. Rose cheeks lit up their freckled face. They felt bad for snapping at Tabitha. “Really, it’s all right. I get it at least a few times each week.”

“You sure?” Tabitha asked.

“Yeah, no worries.” Skyy reached out and patted Tabitha’s hand, which she’d already placed back on the dirty minivan. It suddenly dawned on Skyy that they didn’t even know this new neighbor’s name. “I’m Skyy, by the way.”

Tabitha reached out with her right hand. “And I’m Tabitha. I think I said that already. I go by she/her. It’s nice to meet you. And again, so sorry.” She let out a nervous snicker.

Skyy took Tabitha's hand and at once noticed how soft it felt. They quickly shook and let go, recalling that they’d made a New Year’s resolution-- there would be no love life this year. They were going to focus on school and extracurricular activities. This year was going to be different. They had had enough of getting tangled up in a relationship during the past two years of school. That had been an epic failure they didn’t want to re-explore.

“Well, I should go see if my parents need me to hold down the tape measure or crawl into a cabinet.” She turned herself slightly away from Skyy before swinging her bobbed head back over her shoulder. “I’ll catch you tomorrow, New Kid, probably.”

“Yeah, see ya’.” Skyy raised their arm instinctually before it dawned on them that they were probably eternally to be known as ‘New Kid.’

Skyy leaned over to pick up the garbage bag. They weren’t entirely paying attention when they grabbed it by the red tie at its top and got a handful of amber goo all over their hand. “Gross,” Skyy said, swiftly hefting the bag into the large green trash can. “Shit. Better clean that mess before anybody sees it.”

Skyy’s father was killed while serving in the Marines overseas. They lived with their mother, Josie, and stepfather, Scott, and considered both of them their legal parents. However, they often reminded their stepfather that he wasn’t truly their father and, as such, wasn’t due the respect their father would have deserved.

Scott was generally kind and considerate. That is, when it pertained to anything other than the house. If it were home-related, he could be a bit anal retentive. Skyy took about ten feet of water hose off the stand and brought it over to the stain on the ground. They used the sprayer equipment on the end of the hose, aiming at the beginning of the stain, which lay closest to the garage. But when they pulled the trigger, only a fine mist poured out, blowing back onto Skyy’s jeans and soaking their thighs.

“C’mon!” Skyy groaned as they turned the dial to the high-pressure option. This time, when they pulled the trigger, the hose obeyed their command, and a forceful stream emerged from the sprayer. They aimed it at the mess, following the path the goo made until nothing was left but frothy water.

Skyy’s mind wandered as they hung the hose back on the stand. That Tabitha was something else. She talked so freakin’ fast. She’s got to have ADHD. Cute...but hyper...but cute, they thought.

Skyy wanted to kick themselves and shook their head. “No. No! I’m not getting involved with anyone else. Fernie was enough for a while. I won’t get my heart broken again like that.”

They shook off the notions and headed back inside, stopping for a moment to glance over at the beige house next door. Skyy wondered if they should’ve offered help with the move the next day. They decided to wait until a truck, or possibly an overloaded vehicle arrived before making that decision.

Skyy pulled on the handle, and the door creaked open outward. They used their hip to hold it open while standing still and momentarily staring at the yet-to-be-occupied house to their right. They went inside, letting the screen door slam tightly behind them.

“Garbage is done!” Skyy shouted in the vacant air. They knew their parents were somewhere in the house, other than the family room, just beyond the foyer where they stood, but weren’t sure of the location. Their siblings were tucked away somewhere in the house, likely attached to their screens. They knew how to scatter when it was time to do chores.

In addition to their parents, Skyy resided with their two siblings. Skyy was the middle child. Their stepsister Di started at the community college in the fall. The youngest was Skyy's half-brother, Michael, who’d be turning six soon. They called Michael the “Bonus Brother.” Skyy wasn’t particularly close to Di, whom they essentially tolerated on most days. But Michael was adored by all and was Skyy’s partner in crime.

Di, who was nineteen, aspired to be an internet celebrity. She’d call herself an influencer, but anyone who checked out her MyWay account would quickly tell the opposite by the modest number of followers she had. Di was a long-legged blonde, having nicely proportioned features and a flashy smile. Skyy was envious of those physical attributes on some days. On others, they were glad they didn’t have to deal with the bullshit that it could lead to.

Skyy was a mix of spunk and solace, alternating their personality as the wind blew. They could be light and airy or gothic and angsty. They boasted a head of thick dark red hair, currently cropped short and dyed blue, had tons of freckles, and was of average height and slightly above average weight for a seventeen-year-old.

Michael shared Skyy’s speckled skin, but his hair was a bright orange. That set him physically far apart from the rest of the family. So did his blue eyes, as everyone else’s were deep brown. He was excited to start first grade in the fall, and Skyy felt he’d do great, given his curious and apparent genius mentality.

They went up to the kitchen and peeked into the living room of their cozy little four-bedroom, tri-level home. There sat their parents. The television was turned on to a rerun of an older police drama. They assumed the siblings were in their bedrooms,

“Did you hear me say I did the garbage?” Skyy asked.

Their mother looked up from the tablet she was working on. “Yes, I did. Thank you, honey.”

Skyy gave a half smile, not expecting their stepfather to respond, which he didn’t. He was a great provider, and nice enough, but Skyy always thought their mom settled in the personality department when she married Scott.

“I started the dishes, but they need to be put into the dishwasher still. Would you mind terribly?” Their mother addressed the smart home system, fondly known as Nancy. “Nancy,” she paused briefly, waiting to hear the chime signifying that the system was ready for her command. As soon as it went ding, their mother continued her train of thought. “Please remind Di to walk the dogs.”

“Sure. I’ll remind Di to walk the dogs.” Nancy rang back.

Skyy was relieved they weren't going to have to be the one to wrangle two large German Shepherds on a walk. They loved the two dogs to pieces, but they were not well-trained. Walking them was a far more challenging task than doing the dishes or taking out the garbage.

Skyy’s mom spoke to Nancy again. “Nancy, please tell Michael to pick up his toys.”

An exacerbated groan came from upstairs a few moments later. Clearly, Michael had wanted to spend his summer afternoon doing something other than chores.

“Do it now and you’ll still have time to go into the pool before bed,” Skyy’s graying, ginger-haired mother shouted; her mom’s head was in the direction of the staircase, and Skyy could see a thinning spot on the back of it.

“Okay,” Michael’s tone changed quickly.

A dip in the pool sounded perfect to Skyy. “Hurry up, I’m going in with you.” Skyy hurried into the kitchen to load the dishwasher