Every time he took a step the pants made swishing sound. He liked taking steps with these pants. Felt breezy. His mom would go crazy when he walked around the house in circles just to hear the swishing. "Go outside!" she'd say.

It was summer. Not much to do in the house anyway. Nothing good on TV. So Jay had no protests when his mom told him to go outside.

Out there his pants made less noise. Or made the same amount but he couldn't hear the swishes as well. Bird songs and cars driving off in the distance, rubber wheels against the road. There weren't many kids Jay's age in this neighborhood. He'd have to walk at least a mile for that. His mom didn't like when he went that far. But today Jay figured it was worth it. It seemed like she wnted him out of the house anyway.

So he began walking. It would be about 20 minutes or so in the heat. He was already sweating. But when he arrived at Ryan's house, he was sure that he'd have a cold popsicle for him. His freezer was always filled with stuff like that. Drumstick ice cream, popsicles, ice cream sandwiches, klondike bars. Ryan's mom was rarely home but she kept their kitchen stock full of snacks.