Mudminnow River and basically, i wanna know

zephyr smiles, or at least, tries to smile, and whittaker flashes back a toothy smirk, like he's on the verge of a fistbump. he's starting to whistle— a disjointed, off-tune melody, when a question juts out in between them.
he has to open and close his mouth a few times, searching blindly for words and the structure for a sentence that won't be completely incomprehensible. what comes out of him is a passable attempt at doing so. just, y'know. he kicks at the ground and scuffs up dirt. passing.
his head ducks down in something like embarrassment. what had really happened involved an exasperated mother and her taking away the keys to his own house, but zephyr didn't have to know all that shit. he looks back up. you?