over the bucket and twisted the long bunched up strings with my hands the way I once saw my mom do it. Cold, brown water dribbled into the bucket.
“Not like that, you ugly freak.” Bobby ripped the mop out of my hands. He put it into a metal thing in the pail and pushed down on a short handle. Brown water gushed through holes in the metal thing and splashed into the pail. “Got it now?”
I took the mop. Nothing Bobby said could hurt me. Nothing he did could hurt for long, neither. I’d heard it all before. Been hurt plenty all my life. Like when my mom used to say I was a mistake she wished never happened. She had all those kids and no money and she got fat and men came and left. The men would leave and she couldn’t hurt them so she hurt me instead. It was something grown-ups thought they had a right to do. When they got angry they could find some kid, someone smaller, and hurt him or her. What could a kid do? Nothing, except run away.
Rainbow finished cleaning the counter and mirrors about the same time I finished mopping the floor. “Aw, hell, I can’t stand watchin’ you two anymore,” Bobby grumbled. “What a crap job. Look at the streaks on those mirrors. There’s still dirt all over the floor. I’m gonna have to redo the whole thing myself. Get your clothes and get the hell out.”
Rainbow and me went back to the handicapped stall. Our dirty clothes were lying in a damp heap on the floor. Who wanted to put on wet filthy clothes that have been lying next to the toilet? But we had no choice, and slowly pulled them on. They smelled awful. Hard to believe I smelled that bad when I was wearing them. But I guessI did. Rainbow pulled her leather jacket on over her wet, dirty sweatshirt.
“Get out.” Bobby went to the bathroom door and unlocked it. The chubby security guard was outside. He stared at Rainbow and me in our soggy, stained clothes. We headed for the front.
“Not that way,” Bobby hissed from behind and herded us to the right, past the guard and toward a door that said LIBRARY PERSONNEL ONLY. The door opened to a hall. It was some kind of storage area, lined with shelves filled with books and videotapes. At the end of the hall was another door with a big red exit sign over it. Rainbow and I pushed through the door. The chilly gray air outside was sudden and unexpected. I guess for a little while I forgot it was winter. Now the cold air cut through our wet clothes and stung our faces. We were in a small parking lot behind the library.
I felt a hand in the middle of my back. Then I was sailing forward. I hit the asphalt and skidded on my face and hands and knees. I heard a grunt as Rainbow crashed to the ground beside me. Burning pain burst from half a dozen places on my body.
Next to me Rainbow let out a cry, then lay still on the cold, rough parking lot.
“You think this was bad?” Bobby said. “I see you two here again, you’ll
really
be sorry.”
We slowly got to our feet. A long scrape ran from Rainbow’s cheekbone to her jaw. The tiny beads of blood were spreading and running together. My faceburned and I knew I had a scrape like that, too. I could see the scratches on my palms and feel the ones where the knees of my jeans had torn. The cold air crept in through every buttonhole and sleeve and tear, coiling inside my wet clothes like a snake. One more thing that wanted to hurt us.
NINE
Now that Country Club was dead, OG got a little brown puppy with long floppy ears, white paws, and a white streak like a bolt of lightning on its chest. OG called him Pest. Pest only wanted to play tug-of-war. He bit the legs of our pants or the sleeves of our sweatshirts and pulled and growled playfully.
OG and me sat on the sidewalk in front of the vegan bakery with Maggot, who was spanging with a cardboard sign that read:
MONEY FOR MARYJUANA
Grrrrrrrrrr!
Pest’s little teeth were clamped on the rope OG used as a leash. The little dog growled and shook his head, pulling as hard as he could.
“Not like that, you ugly freak.” Bobby ripped the mop out of my hands. He put it into a metal thing in the pail and pushed down on a short handle. Brown water gushed through holes in the metal thing and splashed into the pail. “Got it now?”
I took the mop. Nothing Bobby said could hurt me. Nothing he did could hurt for long, neither. I’d heard it all before. Been hurt plenty all my life. Like when my mom used to say I was a mistake she wished never happened. She had all those kids and no money and she got fat and men came and left. The men would leave and she couldn’t hurt them so she hurt me instead. It was something grown-ups thought they had a right to do. When they got angry they could find some kid, someone smaller, and hurt him or her. What could a kid do? Nothing, except run away.
Rainbow finished cleaning the counter and mirrors about the same time I finished mopping the floor. “Aw, hell, I can’t stand watchin’ you two anymore,” Bobby grumbled. “What a crap job. Look at the streaks on those mirrors. There’s still dirt all over the floor. I’m gonna have to redo the whole thing myself. Get your clothes and get the hell out.”
Rainbow and me went back to the handicapped stall. Our dirty clothes were lying in a damp heap on the floor. Who wanted to put on wet filthy clothes that have been lying next to the toilet? But we had no choice, and slowly pulled them on. They smelled awful. Hard to believe I smelled that bad when I was wearing them. But I guessI did. Rainbow pulled her leather jacket on over her wet, dirty sweatshirt.
“Get out.” Bobby went to the bathroom door and unlocked it. The chubby security guard was outside. He stared at Rainbow and me in our soggy, stained clothes. We headed for the front.
“Not that way,” Bobby hissed from behind and herded us to the right, past the guard and toward a door that said LIBRARY PERSONNEL ONLY. The door opened to a hall. It was some kind of storage area, lined with shelves filled with books and videotapes. At the end of the hall was another door with a big red exit sign over it. Rainbow and I pushed through the door. The chilly gray air outside was sudden and unexpected. I guess for a little while I forgot it was winter. Now the cold air cut through our wet clothes and stung our faces. We were in a small parking lot behind the library.
I felt a hand in the middle of my back. Then I was sailing forward. I hit the asphalt and skidded on my face and hands and knees. I heard a grunt as Rainbow crashed to the ground beside me. Burning pain burst from half a dozen places on my body.
Next to me Rainbow let out a cry, then lay still on the cold, rough parking lot.
“You think this was bad?” Bobby said. “I see you two here again, you’ll
really
be sorry.”
We slowly got to our feet. A long scrape ran from Rainbow’s cheekbone to her jaw. The tiny beads of blood were spreading and running together. My faceburned and I knew I had a scrape like that, too. I could see the scratches on my palms and feel the ones where the knees of my jeans had torn. The cold air crept in through every buttonhole and sleeve and tear, coiling inside my wet clothes like a snake. One more thing that wanted to hurt us.
NINE
Now that Country Club was dead, OG got a little brown puppy with long floppy ears, white paws, and a white streak like a bolt of lightning on its chest. OG called him Pest. Pest only wanted to play tug-of-war. He bit the legs of our pants or the sleeves of our sweatshirts and pulled and growled playfully.
OG and me sat on the sidewalk in front of the vegan bakery with Maggot, who was spanging with a cardboard sign that read:
MONEY FOR MARYJUANA
Grrrrrrrrrr!
Pest’s little teeth were clamped on the rope OG used as a leash. The little dog growled and shook his head, pulling as hard as he could.
Similar Books
