Page 93 - Demo

%u00a9Jack Fritscher, Ph.D., All Rights ReservedHOW TO LEGALLY QUOTE FROM THIS BOOKWhat They Did to the Kid 81when you drive. I%u2019m nineteen.%u201d He pulled open my passenger door. %u201cYou tried to kill us. You can give us a lift.%u201d%u201cBeat it,%u201d I said.%u201cGet in, Kenny,%u201d Rip ordered. Kenny, playing Tonto, climbed into my passenger seat. Rip yanked open my driver%u2019s door, shoved my seat forward, and jackknifed himself into the backseat. My little Bug rocked under their weight. I sat stock still, kind of scared, kind of thrilled. Kenny sat next to me, with Rip behind me where I could keep an eye in the mirror on his face and his red flattop.%u201cSo like drive on, James.%u201d Kenny leaned in and dropped the brake release. They both smelled beery.%u201cYou owe us. You near killed us,%u201d Rip said. He rolled a cigarette paper like a farmer, licked it, stuck it in his red goatee, and lit it. %u201cHang a U-ey, Bug man, and drive us to the general store three miles back.%u201d%u201cI%u2019m going the other way, toward the Dells,%u201d I said.%u201cLike tough nuts,%u201d Rip said. The evergreen forest stretched for miles on both sides of the road. They were drunk boys and they were in the car and I didn%u2019t know them and the world seemed exciting because I didn%u2019t know them the way I knew everyone I knew way too much.%u201cYou want a ride. I%u2019ll give you a ride.%u201d%u201cThe kid sees it like our way.%u201d Kenny double-beat the dashboard like a riff on a bongo drum. He punched on the radio and twirled the dial through fast blips of sound to a station he liked. %u201cHey, man, you know %u2018Lullaby of Birdland, da da dee%u2019?%u201dI whipped the car into a U-turn that threw Rip against the rear seat. They both started laughing. I started laughing. %u201cFirst you try to kill us, then you try to kill us,%u201d Kenny said. %u201cMe and Rip were gonna hike the beer trip. Da da dee. You%u2019re like a lifesaver, Bug man.%u201d%u201cWhat kind of a name is Rip?%u201d I said. %u201cIs that%u2013like%u2013a Hollywood name like Tab and Rock and Troy?%u201d %u201cHis name is like Ripley,%u201d Kenny said. %u201cBelieve it or not. Ha ha ha. Da da dee.%u201d He turned the radio up louder. At Misericordia, I had longing fantasies about disappearing into the real world like a real person instead of like a seminarian, so I could see what real life was like. %u201cLullaby of Birdland%u201d filled the car. Doo wat da doo doo doo wah da. It was summer. The Fourth of July. I was free. Doo wah. Real.