1 Death of a Garden Hoe by Gale Borger Page B

get it that Bean liked them. They thought he was just playing them. Bean looked at Spaz. Especially her, she really thought he was slumming . If she only knew the truth.
    With Spaz in the lead, followed by Pone, Shroom, and Bean, they slowly walked down the filthy alley. Hundreds of hidden claws scratched as the alley vermin scrambled for cover. A rancid odor made Bean choke. Taking another step forward, Bean stopped breathing through his nose. He covered his face with his T-shirt. He could still smell it. His eyes watered. His belly clenched. The horrible stench welling up from the muck covering the ground was enough to gag a maggot. Bean stepped on an old pizza box. Something squished beneath his feet and he slid. His legs split and he looked like a cheerleader going in for the kill. "Whaaa!"
    Shroom grabbed his arm and pulled him up. "It's like walking through a mine field, Beaner. Step around stuff, never on, man. Ya never know what's underneath all that slime, Yo."
    Suddenly Pone and Spaz stopped. Shroom and Bean bumped into them from behind, and Pone and Spaz pushed back. Pone began to make gagging noises and Spaz just stood there, stiff as a board. Pone stumbled away, leaning one hand against a building. He opened his mouth and tossed his cookies. Shroom looked at Bean and grinned. "Hope he didn't spend too much on lunch, cuz it's now part of the scenery. Let's go see what made him hurl."
    Bean swallowed hard. His eyes blurred his vision. His stomach flipped. He swallowed again, praying he didn't do a Pone and puke on his shoes. He wanted to run but didn't want to be a pansy. "Uh, okay Shroom I'm r-r-ready, let's go."
    They stepped around the dumpster and stopped. Lying among the rotten food and other disgusting garbage was a girl. A dead girl by the looks of her. Bean never saw anything dead before other than a bird or cat. She was a sick sort of grey-blue. She didn't move. Her head was split open and her fingers and ears were chewed on. One unblinking eye stared at Bean. He thought he was going to faint.
    Shroom flipped a piece of paper covering her knee off with his toe. Maggots by the hundreds bubbled out and wiggled in a huge open wound. Bean didn't think, he didn't move. He just bent over and threw up on his shoes. The only thing that kept him from total disgrace was he heard Pone still puking behind him.
    Shroom sighed and said, "There goes dessert."
    Spaz almost smiled. She turned back to the girl. Oh God, she knew that face.
    Stomach empty and sweating like a mother, Bean stood focused on a shoe hanging off the dead girl's foot. He breathed through his mouth and tried to be cool. If he looked anywhere else, he'd lose it again.
    Shroom was the only one able to form words. "I wonder who she is."
    They all stared at the dead girl. She was sprawled on the ground, her legs at an odd angle. There was a gash on her forehead like someone hit her with an ax. A tight little mini skirt was hitched high above her hips. Her underwear was around one leg. She wore a pink halter-top, but the straps meant to tie behind her neck were wrapped around her throat. What was left of her face was heavily made up. One high heel was teetering off the toes of her left foot, and the other one was missing.
    Bean felt the bile rise in his throat–again. He swallowed against the urge to puke all over himself–again. That would be the last nail in my coffin with these guys. Oh, Bean, that is so not funny. Buck up and breathe, two, three Slow down and breathe, two, three, breathe. Wow, that crap they taught me in group really works!
    Looking through blurry eyes, Bean saw Shroom stomp out of the alley. He heard him say, "Did I tell you people not to come in here? Did I not say there was something dead in here? Did anyone listen to me? Nooo ! No one listens to the Mexican! That's why I'm Shroom. You keep me in the dark, feed me sh –crap and ignore me the rest of the time!" He punched the brick wall and paced the alley. "Now what are we gonna