When Fortunes Change

Ned searched frantically around the pool. Maybe he could find enough change to buy an ice cream, at this point anything would help. He stole a quick glance back to where his best friend was sitting wrapped in a towel. Asher was shaking despite the warmth of the day, it didn’t look like he was going to stay conscious much longer. Ned kept up his desperate search, wondering how things could have gone so wrong.

****

The morning had started just like dozens of other hot summer days. Ned rose from his bed a little past nine in the morning and found the AC already hard at work. They were into the fifth day of an expected ten-day heat wave. Despite the early hour the thermometer on the porch was already up over 90 degrees, guaranteeing yet another triple digit day. He didn’t even bother checking his parents’ room as he walked into the kitchen, the door was left ajar as a sign they had already left for work. Instead, he poured himself a bowl of cereal as he waited for Asher to call.

After a marathon session of video games and cartoons yesterday, Ned and Asher made tentative plans to ride their bikes into town today and cool off at the local pool. Asher promised to call him in the morning so that he could make sure he had enough saved up to cover the admission fee. Ned didn’t even bother offering to pay for it, they’d been friends since kindergarten and money was always a sore subject for Asher. His mother was a house keeper and his father was the custodian at their school. They both worked long hours and managed enough to provide a roof over their heads and the essentials for them and their children. The Gunderson family was a prideful family that refused “charity” as Hank Gunderson was known to call it. He was of the mindset that if they couldn’t afford to pay for something themselves they weren’t going to burden those around them, an attitude that his sons adopted as well.

Thanks to his family’s wealth Ned possessed many of the things the kids in his class coveted. Early on this lead to many forced playdates, though anyone that came over soon discovered they could not stand being quizzed about the innate intricacies of Ned’s many obsessions. Asher was different. When they met they quickly bonded over their mutual love of board games, comic books, Star Wars, and eventually video games. Pretty soon it was almost exclusively the two of them hanging out at Ned’s house.

Ned had been to the Gunderson family home on a few occasions and seen how their lives differed from his. Asher shared a room with is three brothers and was the youngest of the bunch. Almost everything he owned had once belonged to his brothers and few things of value survived the abuse that three older siblings put them through. Ned could still remember the pride on Asher’s face when he had managed to buy his very own bicycle. Through a combination of saved allowances, birthday cards, and recycled cans it had taken him nearly a year and a half to amass enough money to buy a bike from the neighborhood secondhand shop. The bike was plain and had a few dents in the frame, but you would never have known from the way Asher displayed it in Ned’s driveway like a prized show car. Ever since then, they had spent their days riding around town when they got bored with being cooped up inside. 

As he set his bowl in the sink he heard the phone ring. The caller ID screen said Gunderson House when Ned went to answer it. 

“Morning Ash, are we on for the pool?”

“Yeah man, just got done counting out the cash. Looks like I have enough for the pool and maybe a few snacks as well.”

“Awesome! Let me just finish putting my bowl in the dishwasher and I’ll meet you at the school.”

Ned hung up the phone and prepared to leave. His father had left an envelope on the counter for him. Inside were two crisp ten dollar bills and a note. 

Ned,

Here is some cash. I know Asher is stubborn and won’t accept it, but you never know when having a few extra dollars will come in handy. You have the number to the office, if you need anything give me a call. I’ll try to wrap up early so I can come pick you guys up.

-Love,

DAD

Ned placed one of the bills in the front pocket of his backpack and left the other in the envelope. Though his dad meant well, he severely underestimated how even a few extra dollars could sour Asher’s mood. Ned had discovered this last summer when he offered to split his allowance with him so they could both get Slurpee’s on the way home. Asher had acted as if Ned had slapped him and rode off. No it was best to take just enough for the entry fee and a small snack, that way they were on equal footing at the pool.

Their school was a perfect mid-point for them to meet. Ned coming from the east and Asher from the west were separated by only about four miles each way. The school was the only one in the area and forced all the local families together. Ned could likely have attended the private school in the next town over, but his parents opted to send him to the local school as it had been good enough for them when they were kids.

As he approached the school Ned found Asher leaning up against the front flag pole, a smirk firmly planted on his face. 

“What took you so long?” 

“Sorry, couldn’t find my helmet,” Ned racked the top of his helmet with his middle knuckle.

“Alright, well let’s go. I’d rather get in the pool before the real heat starts.”

With that Asher sped off ahead of him. The ride into town was easy. Having made this commute countless times they were well versed in taking the dirt trails that lead into town, allowing them to avoid the busy roads and clueless tourists. Even with a vast knowledge of shortcuts it still took them nearly thirty minutes to reach the pool. They were both sweating profusely as they removed their helmets after locking up their bikes. 

“You ok?” Ned asked, noticing a slight tremor in in Asher’s right hand.

“Yeah man, don’t worry about it. I probably just need to drink some water,” Asher reassured him as he pulled out his battered water bottle from last year’s Walk-a-Thon. “How much did your pop leave you this time?”

“Just ten,” Ned lied.

“Nice of him,” Asher replied as he pulled out a tattered zip lock bag stuffed with bills and various coins. “I got the same here. I was a little short last night, but managed to find a few extra quarters in the sofa this morning.”

Ned nodded and watched as Asher drank some more water. They made their way to the little admissions desk at the front of the pool. On the chalkboard behind the counter was the new price for single day admission, $10. Ned and Asher stood frozen for a moment. They’d been going to this pool since they were little and the price had never increased. When they had first been allowed to start riding into town they quickly figured out that with ten dollars in their pocket they could pay for admission and still have enough left for at least an ice cream from the Snack Shack, a small concession stand near the locker rooms. For a moment they stood rooted to the spot, deciding what to do next. Ned finally broke the silence. 

“Man forget it, let’s ride over to the arcade. We can get some food and just play until we run out of quarters.”

“No, all we’ve done this summer is play video games,” a sheepish smile spread across Asher’s face as he weighed the bag in his hand. “I’m up for a swim. Besides I already ate at home, I’ll be fine for a few hours.”

Without a backwards glance Asher headed to the lady behind the counter and handed over the jumbled heap of bills and coins. After Asher’s money was counted and deposited in the register Ned followed suit and handed over his lone bill, kicking himself for leaving the remainder at home. 

The morning flew by in a haze of laughter. Shortly after they started swimming Asher’s crush Vanessa arrived with her friends Madison and Carly. Asher enlisted Ned in his attempt to impress Vanessa, and as a result they spent the morning doing ridiculous stunt after ridiculous stunt. A contest to see who could hold their breath longer, check. Asher won by stomping on Ned’s toe. Underwater wrestling contest, check. Though in retrospect this was a dumb idea, as they later realized no one was actually able to see what they were doing. Cannon ball contest into the deep-end, check. This did manage to get Ned a small flirty smile and wave from Carly. However, by the end of their last stunt Asher ended up being forced to watch the girls leave as they went to catch up to a group of football players heading towards the town center.

“Ugh, I almost had her attention this time.”

“Face it, we are nowhere near their radar. It’s just you and me until we start high school my friend.”

“Don’t give me that, I saw Carly looking at you.”

“Nah, she was probably just laughing at how ridiculous we look.”

“Alright, whatever you say. Although, I think you got a shot there.”

Ned blushed as he got out of the pool. When they reached the chair that housed their towels and backpacks Ned looked down at his watch, nearly two hours had passed since they had arrived at the pool. He looked over at Asher and noticed the same tremor in his hand from earlier. 

“Hey man, are you sure you’re doing alright.”

“Yeah, I’m fine. Damn hand is just cramping from swimming.”

“Stop messing around, when did you last eat?”

“I’m fine, seriously,” seeing the concern on his friend’s face Asher continued offhandedly. “I ate some of the fruit snacks I packed the last time you went to the bathroom.” 

“Are you sure you’re alright?” Ned asked again, eyeing Asher suspiciously. “My dad’s office is nearby we can go pick up some cash and get lunch if you want…”

“I don’t need you and your rich daddy to pay for my meals, alright!” Anger flashed across Asher’s face. “I’m fine, I’m just tired from swimming all morning. Just let me get some sun and warm up for a bit and then I’ll come show you that new front flip I’ve been working on.”

Unconvinced Ned stared at his friend. The twitch in his hand seemed to be getting worse. In an effort to avoid an argument he decided to let it be and give Asher a chance to settle down. As Ned walked away Asher leaned back in the chair and draped a towel over his face and shoulders. 

Ned spent the remainder of morning going down the large water slide a few times before a shrill whistle cut through the air.

“Adult swim!” A tall lifeguard with sandy blonde hair and deeply tanned skin yelled out from the other end of the pool.

Ned made his way out of the pool and walked over to Asher. He was fast asleep in the chair when Ned approached. 

“Hey Sleeping Beauty, what happened to showing me your awesome front flip?” Ned asked as he shook Asher’s shoulder.

When he didn’t immediately respond Ned got worried. It took a few shakes before Asher woke up. 

“What…what’s ups?”

“Are you ok? You didn’t answer the first time I tried to wake you…” Ned paused as he stared at Asher. “Why are you shaking?”

“I… I don’t know,” Asher responded sluggishly as he emerged from beneath the towel. 

Ned gasped, the color was steadily draining from his friend’s face. 

“Tell me you brought your test kit with you.”

“What?” Asher brain worked to make sense of Ned’s question. “Oh. Yeah, it’s in the front of my bag.”

Ned bent down and grabbed Asher’s backpack. Fumbling with the zippers he managed to open it and extracted the machine from the small black carrying case. He handed it over and watched his friend fit a test strip in place with practiced movements, pricked his finger and gathered a blood sample. They both held their breath as the machine conducted its analysis. The numbers on the screen made little sense to Ned, but Asher’s response confirmed what he suspected. 

“Crap!”

“That bad?”

“Yeah, real bad.”

“It’s alright, we just need to get you a snack,” Ned began to upend Asher’s bag. “Do you have any more of those fruit snacks? They should stabilize you until we get more food.”

“I uh…” a long pause stopped Ned in his tracks. “I lied about the fruit snacks.”

“What?”

“I didn’t want you to worry about me, so I lied. We’ve gone longer without stopping to eat, so I thought I’d be fine.”

“This is serious,” Ned was horror-struck. “I didn’t pack any extra food and we don’t have any more money.”

He looked at Asher and saw that he was shaking worse than ever, seemingly unable to control his body. He had to act fast before it was too late. 

“Alright, here’s the plan.” Ned walked over to Asher and wrapped the towel over his shoulders again. “I’m going to go try to find some money. I guarantee some of the tourists have dropped enough change for both of us to get something to eat. I’ll be back before you know it.”

He flashed Asher what he hoped was a reassuring smile. Asher returned a feeble smile and gave him a thumbs up. 

****

Ned lost track of how long he’d been searching the grounds around the pool, but so far he’d only managed to collect thirty cents in assorted coins. His hopes that the other patrons would be willing to help were quickly dashed. They had all ignored his pleas, many grumbling under their breath about how young panhandlers where in this town. The lifeguard had left for a break and it seemed like there was nowhere to turn. 

In the distance he saw the Snack Shack. A part of him couldn’t help wonder if they would help once he explained the situation. Again mentally kicked himself for not bringing the extra money he started walking over to the concession stand, this was exactly the situation his dad had hoped he could avoid by giving him a little extra spending money. Steeling his pride he was ready to beg if the situation called for it, anything to prevent his friend from going further into diabetic shock. Once he got Asher stable he would call his dad’s office and ask for help. 

When he arrived at the concession stand he found that the grated metal door had been slid down, a small sign with the words “Back in 10 Minutes” sat on the counter. Panic coursed through Ned’s veins, who knew what kind of state Asher would be in if he didn’t find a solution soon. Anxiously he searched for another option. As he scanned his surroundings he noticed the padlock on the door to the back store-room, it looked like the attendant had accidentally left it unlocked. Slowly he crept towards the door and pulled at the lock, it swung on its hinge and confirmed his assumption. He took another look around him and verified no one was watching. In a series of quick movements he removed the padlock and pushed the door inward as he walked into the dark store-room. Around him was an assortment of ice cream sandwiches, gummy candies, chocolate bars, and several other snacks. Though he had prepared himself to beg the attendant for help, he never dreamed he would have to steal to help his friend.

The image of Asher shaking on the edge of their pool chair flashed across his mind, he knew what he had to do. With a final deep breath to harden his nerve, he grabbed the biggest candy bar he could find and turned to run back out the door. A foot from the exit he saw a tall man in a candy-striped outfit approach the shack. 

“What the hell are you doing in there?” The man yelled as he blocked Ned’s only escape. 

“Please, it’s not what it looks like,” Ned said self-consciously as he backed away from the man.

“Not what it looks like, huh,” the man’s eyes narrowed as he saw the candy in Ned’s hand. “Looks pretty clear to me that I caught a little thief.”

“Please, it’s not for me. It’s for my…” Ned didn’t get a chance to finish his explanation as panicked yells from the edge of the pool caught the man’s attention. 

Ned took advantage of the chaos and ran out the door, the candy bar still clenched tightly in his fist. The bright sun momentarily blinded him as he emerged from the store-room. Before he could get away he felt an arm wrap around his waist, the concessions attendant held him rooted to the spot. Now that he was outside he could hear what everyone was saying. 

“Someone get help!”

“He’s not waking up, call an ambulance!”

Struggling to get free Ned watched as a lifeguard sprinted to the spot where Asher lay face down on the ground.