Dylan unlocked the door to his family’s apartment and threw his back pack across the living room and almost made it through the family room door. He had not really talked to Howell the entire way there, but he had made sure his cousin followed him. Too many weird things had come up at school for Dylan to just let it all drop.
“So, care to start explaining?” Dylan finally asked as soon as he assured that his mom and step-dad were still at work.
“What?” Howell asked weakly.
“Well, let’s start with your name?” Dylan suggested. “I can understand AshLee not being a manly name, but why do your teachers all think your last name is Jones?”
Howell blushed as he sat on a kitchen stool. “I messed up filling out the forms my freshman year.”
“You messed up and put Howell Jones rather than AshLee Howell?” Dylan scoffed. “Surely one of the secretaries noticed when they ran your information. Didn’t they call your parents to verify?”
Howell shook his head and Dylan thought about the situation. It actually made a bit of sense. His cousin’s parents were, well, they were psych ward escapees. They had vanished with their son five years ago. Dylan had never known if his cousin was all right or not until Howell had showed up the following summer vacation.
“Okay, fine,” Dylan said. “I’ll let that go. It’s a good thing I already call you Howell. But what did the red-head mean when she suggested your house?”
“Jordan
“Do they know where you live?”
“No.”
“Can I know where you live?” Dylan asked.
Howell sighed and looked away. “I live with my parents in Camern City
That was the only answer Dylan had ever been able to get out of his cousin. But Dylan let the conversation drop. His cousin could be such a walking mystery sometimes. He was incredibly smart and wanted to work in a museum, but the nerd factor was shadowed by Dylan’s imagination as to Howell’s actual place of residence and crazy parents. Sometimes Dylan wondered why his cousin could not understand that they wanted to help him.
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