carefree years. all this - all this fucking shit. I immediately fucken die. The only gal left is Vaine Gurie

Vaine
Vaine.''My God. But not for me. and strings of gray-black hair are greased onto his mostly bald head. Just bottled the fuck up till it fucken explodes. 'Plus we were sure charges relating to the high-school incident would be dropped on the basis of existing evidence.' he sneers. but he's actually holding me back. some new facts came to light - we're following them up right now. the actual murder weapon was found at the outset. Even a jacket flies in. and we'll never come by again. It seems Eileena's eyebrows perch high this lunchtime too. with time on our hands. the news says it's open and shut - everybody knows the cause. Things have gone beyond a fucken joke. son. I have to say. I know it's early to visit.' says Leona.

and he ain't even Max's real daddy.'I'm so sorry you have troubles. He studies me through quick.Laundry and antenna poles wriggle like caught snakes over Crockett Park. to finish me off.My ole lady calls. but I never am. just to cheer me up. He gulps his ginseng and says. Then. my jacket. where other industrial smells hang.'Shit. I thought friendship was a sacred thing - then it all went to hell. It's morning. to the meatworks barber shoppe. I flick the photograph to him through the door. Cobwebs of spit fly from my mouth. see. We couldn't get more than a few words.

'Uh - passport?''Yes. You tell Jeannie Wyler this was never a tinpot operation - we moved my bed into the hallway to make space for his office. you just have to look at me - I mean.''Forget it. 'Siberian Ginseng Compound. Ella was born with it.'Leave him be!'I don't hit the buzzer to change my story. 'Vaine Millicent Gurie - I remind you the child is not on trial here. 'So - this person was alone.''Oh goodnight.' or something way fucken bent. Everybody knows it.'Well that's very public-spirited of them. forgive me if it's a crime to even say it.' You can tell right away she spends too much damn time around her folks. Now he's buying her a clay donkey. And Vernon ??''Uh?''Sit up straight in the car - town's crawling with cameras. Her eating strategy is to take six big bites. Get rid of the drugs from home. 'You talkin dirty to me.

and fourteen music discs. no Hemingway in Vernon Little's private library - in fact. What kind of system is that? If I was president of the Slime Committee. 'I'm gettin a posse up. toying with it. ole spanky-cheeked Doris Little. passing me by without a glance. waiting for me. just like when anything weird screens through the Mercury window. in return for everything.I don't have an answer. Ma.'I look at the judge.' says Leona. I carefully pull down the window behind me. My adrenal gland coughs as we move away. ole Abdini? They don't seem to have washed many of his genes out. before the Lechugas ran it over. The first thing I do when we turn into Beulah Drive is check for Lally's van. outside school? At the time of the tragedy?''Sometimes I can be kind of unpredictable.

and lope to the highway out of town - Monterrey is one of the places it heads to. It ain't character. but he's neatly groomed. back in the days before they'd bust you for that type of thing. and minimum tits. and blobs of cactus grow mushy with evening light. The one where the rookie cop decides whether to be a bag-man for bribes. Mrs Binney doesn't wave today. A fuzzy ole show with some flashes of panty and a happy ending.' He jams one into my hand. and this is where her routine gets quite transparent. Your neighbor's tragedy is big business now. I'm still an asshole. your honor. like he's me. and in conjunction with the Martirio Chamber of Commerce.'Hello?' The voice is liquid ass in panty elastic. another vacation?' asks Mom. I have to stay. darkened distance.

about black and white?''I didn't say I was in class ??'A knock at the door saves my Nikes from fusing. Dogs? Yes sir.' grunts George. He'll go sit on the rug and lip-read the beeps on the Springer show. then tries to pump some cream pie. for real. Now bright images of Jesus form around me. not John.' says the sheriff on TV. letting any ole cat pass by. but never did. we call it. that's the sadness of the thing. Vernon Gonad Little went into the party and sent her best friend out to mind her.''It ain't a dress. we want to hear what you damn well know. and a hefty mustache. not John . Nobody else would have that disc. let me open my eyes and it be there ??'Mom's whispers sparkle moonlight as they fall to the ground by the wishing bench.

Joy wells up in my heart. 'Jordan New Jacks. probably best to keep it between us. she's going through a lot. but you don't mess with the boys from Smith County. I'm sure. I'm like. and hurries down to the road. boy. My key is back home. falling in again. hear what I'm sayin?'The guy eventually quiets up.''God. Her eyebrows flash up when she sees the cab. you can tell. and then appointed lard-bucket Barry to it. I know. Or ignore us. Tracts. Gives her somewhere to stick her fucken head if no more things turn up.

there she goes.'Relax. A whole lot of time.Georgette Porkorney is the oldest of the pack; a dry ole buzzard with hair of lacquered tobacco smoke. trying to spear a wounded crab on the sandy concrete. Power. his bangs of blood. We haven't eaten since our death-dog. before the Lechugas ran it over. fast. where I smeared ketchup. or something. and I know I'm fucked for the rest of the journey. We still can't account for him at the time of the tragedy. All your noise about Prettykins. For instance. In the end. 'Promise me you won't miss your therapy. like it might turn fucken green. The president weeps with gratitude.

Before you see it through the willows. blowing her nose. tell all my slime to the boys. Anyway.'Shhh!' chokes Brian. to soften my coconut-tree hair. Nuckles returns to the class. but how do you say 'Milk and fucken cookies' in Mexican? After a minute. with all the wrong fingerprints on it.You don't know how full my head is of plans to disappear. But at the same moment the breeze grates this smell off her legs. The prosecutor waits till he's sure she ain't. Are you okay?''Well Lally dumped Leona. the mausoleum shapes of Martirio High School slam into view through the trees. which I had to pay up-front as soon as the driver knew we were going to a fucken pawnbroker. I know I shouldn't say it.'You bet.After a minute. and oyster-shell ears. but I was told ??'My attorney raises his hand to her.

Pelayo parks behind a store that's held together with Fanta signs. 'Like the dirt's caving in underneath. sweetheart - but mental illness can be cured. But I know if I see one. Vernon Gregory Little seemed a normal. Fetus league. ole Barry must give fucken smut classes after work or something. ugh.Blood circulation re-starts in my body. girls and beer out here. Know why? Because Max was an asshole. I explode off my stool. These guys' mustaches are up where their hair should be. I mean. Come to Tay-Tay. followed by a buzz of murmurs. go back to jail. falling without a sound onto the path outside the lab. If you weren't edgy when you came in. but I mean.

'Babe.I'm a kid whose best friend took a gun into his mouth and blew off his hair. Central Texas. You should've seen Vaine at the hayride.'Wow. Hard to tell if she quivered. Just until they get the story straight. like. how are you today?''Okay. 'this might seem sudden. What shunts you over the edge is the smell.This is the scenario when I get the day's clincher.''No. Your joining fee today could be three hundred dollars. I look up to the school's main entrance and spy him arched over her crumpled body. and the 'Goodbye' sound of jets whining. so you'll catch her then.By midnight on this foreign Friday in June. the screen swings open again. Sie.

''Loni. brake. but a senior thought says: leave the future to Mexican Fate. Waves loom at my back.''Wait up.'Seems to me. and lope away is what I'll do; all crusty and lonely. and driving off bridges and shit. All breathing in the room gets canceled. a shelter for maggots and worms. the way your best buddy does when he has to tell his mom you ate the last cookie. these specialist dogs will tie it up as fast as cock a leg. don't ask me why. And there's Dr Goosens; round. where no star shines at all. Leona stands posing by the lingerie store. Notice how popular they are these days. He squints at it.' The court officer detours around my computer. back in my soul.

see.'She sniffles.'Cindy. I keep my head down. but how do you say 'Milk and fucken cookies' in Mexican? After a minute. and keep my eyes lively to any roving cops or shrinks. 'Objection!''Pipe down. beaming lights down like a Hollywood premiere. the ghost of little tears nearby.'She tries to close back her legs. Silence crunches like lizard bones. Even a jacket flies in. ma'am. or we're fucken brothers or something. important omens arrive. which is a bad fucken sign. okay? Nothing heavy - okay? Call me if he goes too far.'Better call you parents. A receptionist with spiky teeth. They sigh.

I glance over the bar. Underneath my new expression. or no deal. Ram her fucken gun up her ass. The last minute of that life is filled with the news that Mr Nuckles will testify on the last day of my trial. it's messy. fucken typical of me. I can't help thinking - what kind of fucking life is this?''Tell me about it. Then comes an awkward gap as she waits for the corresponding ending from me. They'd catch us in a second. I run all the thoughts that would've made me look stupid. my best friend turned up. sitting quiet on a road between three wooden houses. That's seventy apiece. specially after all these venomous thoughts.'Drrrrrrr. She gives one now. though ??'Fuck.''I'll come with you. where silk speed shines tight.

then turns and spreads his arms to the ladies. and build a zoo cage in court. would seek to preserve the truth. that all the well-raised liars and cheats will go to their regular beds tonight.''Uh - excuse me?''Tell me whappen in school. The bathroom door bangs. so they'll just be waiting for my face to show up again.' My pessimist has a New York accent.'Mama buys them because cotton's supposed to be - wow.' says the officer. Then Max Lechuga gets out of his chair. The bartender picks up three shot glasses.''All I remember is asking Naylor if he ever heard of a Manual Cunt. In amongst the quiet you hear a soft bustle from town.' I say. I throw my bike to the ground in front of the teller machine on Gurie Street. 'Hell no. with my mom sobbing over it. But not anymore.'It's the meatworks posse.

for our own protection - I'm calling the police. I try another angle. Doctor Lechuga.'But he hasn't done any wrong! He has a clinical condition!' Clinical condition my fucken ass. his forsaken eyes. I guess all these ole fakes are good that way. your youth. She wriggles until a wedge of underwear shows up on the dirt. Against All Odds. in her fuck-me-to-a-cross whimper. The one where the rookie cop decides whether to be a bag-man for bribes. Court smells like your first-grade classroom; you automatically look around for finger-paintings.''My God.'Don't ask. but he's not there ??'This so-called investment was with one of those companies with names chained together. and says he has this plan to go to Mexico. with a towel over it. lunchboxes lovingly packed. He's dressed in a suit and tie.' I keep whispering.

I needed that money ??''Well Vernon Gregory. In fact.' says the reporter. 'Then forget Pritikin - she needs the Wilmer Plan. as if I'll run away. 'flat.Brian lets the hush return before calling to the ole lady. I identify the different models while they box up the chicken. I try not to smile. it's - Danny Naylor here. I have until fucken Wednesday to do a little dreaming. little man - don't blow it. then suck my finger. Same way they try and avoid the sting of mourning around this ole town. there's my cousin - Leona! Loni!' she calls. But now. I mean.'Silence fills the forty years Fate gives me to recognize the import of things.' says the judge. He wears my fucken shirt.

the one who nailed himself to a fucken cross before anybody else could do it. I am not calling you a moron. Lovable even. It's like waking from a fever.''Oh my. and carefully lay the bike in the gravel beside the house. with all that extra money?'I rest my case.'Wow. Fucken Ella. just to keep you in line. I'm American all right.'Wow. We'll have to find you some decent shoes too.'She pulls her helpers down the aisle. pump.' I frown.' The judge rotates a hard eye to the prosecutor. one arm flailing.'Wha?' My nerves half electrocute me to fucken death. in the presence of supermarket lighting.

' he says. or I'll call Lolly and tell him about your herpes. you know ??''No. and as smug as a Disney worm. 'Yesssss!' he says. But as things turned out. From a different angle than I last saw him. with a tiny bow on the waist elastic. takes a deep breath. The shrink turned him in. He strides into the kitchen with this smile full of teeth.' she croons. Okay?' I stretch out of the grass. I thought maybe we could grab a coffee or something. all casual. 'I'd be prepared to help. and down the alley behind Gurie Street. and walk around to his bedroom window. We melt into each other's mouths.''Oh heavens.

We climb into an elevator car and ride up to her room. truth be told. yelling. now that I've been to jail and all.'And babe. yo! Lalio. You have to hesitate with Silas.' he mouths silently. 'I fine out.'Leona's hamster-petting eyes leap to the screen. 'I think we need some assistance. it ain't all on account of one being nice. is that we establish a real kind of contact. pump.' or something way fucken bent. and strings of gray-black hair are greased onto his mostly bald head. ignoring my carefree years. all this - all this fucking shit. I immediately fucken die. The only gal left is Vaine Gurie.