At 12:23 the bus pulls to a stop in front of
the Chester Meadows shopping center. The only “meadow” anywhere
near the place is the empty stretch of land beside the parking lot,
overgrown with weeds that come to CJ’s knees. Among the straggly
grass, mounds of yellow dirt stick up like tiny islands and thick
tread marks crisscross the field where some of the older kids go
dirt biking after dark. From his seat on the bus, CJ can see the
concrete pipe like the mouth of a cave in the shade of Harrison’s
grocery, but no one’s riding over the cracked surface. Maybe he’s
early. He hopes to get in some good moves on his board before
Richard shows up.
Retrieving his skateboard, he heads to the
front of the bus. As he starts down the steps, though, people are
already pushing on and he st
