Chapter Twenty-One

                                    

                                          
"And they actually had a real water balloon fight. Even though Frankie's arm was probably broken. They didn't even take him to the hospital until after the match. Jack and Bella's team won, by the way, but I don't think it was fair with one of their opponents injured."
                          
Johnny smiled back at Carter from across the table. It was past library closing hours and it was just the two of them in there. Even Mrs Lewis had gone somewhere. 
                          
"Where was your stepfather in all this?" Johnny asked.
                          
Carter rolled his eyes. "Keeping the scores," he muttered.
                          
Johnny snorted. "And your mom?"
                          
"She was working," Carter answered. "She has to work some Saturdays."
                          
"Was Frankie okay at least?"
                          
"Oh, yeah," Carter waved him off. "It wasn't actually broken. Or it was, like, a mild fracture. He doesn't even have to wear a cast, just a sling."
                          
"I'm starting to see why you feel your home is like a war zone," Johnny mused.
                          
"What about you? How was your weekend?"
                          
Johnny smiled slyly, playing with his pen. "Finished my book report for English class, even though it's not due until the end of the semester. Then I read up on what NASA's been up to for the past week. Then I re-watched the entire first season of How I Met Your Mother."
                          
"Sounds fun," Carter said lightly.
                          
"It was a crazy weekend," Johnny agreed sarcastically.
                          
Carter laughed, letting Johnny's bright gleeful eyes hold his gaze for a second. Or a few of those. 
                          
"You're really into NASA," he eventually said.
                          
Johnny nodded. "I am. NASA is awesome," he stated. 
                          
"Is it, like, your dream job?" Carter asked. 
                          
"NASA isn't a job per se," Johnny said. "But I guess. I want to be an aerospace engineer. NASA is kind of the goal employer." 
                          
"Have you always known that?" Carter asked curiously. "Like, when you were little and all the boys said firefighter and police officer, did you always say aerospace engineer?" 
                          
Johnny breathed out a soft laugh. "No, I used to say astronaut," he admitted. "But then I learned that's more of a physical job and decided engineer was probably a better fit for me. I guess what I always knew is that I really wanted to work with space."
                          
"Why space?" 
                          
"Because it's everything," Johnny said, unable to contain a small smile. "Literally. There's so much about it we don't know and I love it. I can't imagine a job that would give me more satisfaction that helping explore the deep void everything."
                          
Carter grinned. "What's so appealing about the deep void everything?" 
                          
"What isn't?" Johnny shot back immediately and Carter relished in the dreamy smile on his face. "Everything out there is so big, it makes everything here look completely small. It's sort of comforting, knowing all this shit we care so much about, like school dances and dates and homework, is completely insignificant compared to the immensity of space. One relatively tiny rock a few meters off and it would all just stop existing."
                          
Carter raised his eyebrows without ever letting his smile waver. "That's comforting to you?"
                          
Johnny laughed, biting his lip like he always did whenever he noticed he'd been rambling. Last time it happened, it had been over the soundness of Newton's laws.