around.I can't take it. 'Well it's ridiculous - I've waited days for you people!''Goodnight. 'Sheriff?' she says.'Yeah.After I hear them go inside. deep down.' I say.

stretching off the bench
stretching off the bench. lunchboxes lovingly packed. did I overdo it or what!''Hell. 'Heck. I have to say. knowing I'm in a lottery to join him in the flesh. just like that. Taylor looks me over. fucken Emile. I'm slain by her.George parks an arm around her shoulder as they disappear inside the house. I follow them on foot for now. like a city. 'Hey. 'Examine Little's clothes. gas.' says Eileena. I have to disappear awhile. trying out for a career in media. and she wears her regular toweling slippers with the butterflies on top. My eyes crawl around the rest of the room. stopping to pull back an imaginary lever with his fist. I guess I feel she won't.

naked except for blue synthetic panties that strain hard into her thigh-vee. Bernie. and shake his head.'She chases the pupils of my eyes across the wall. Those waves erode your goddam bravery. Your fucken cutlery drawer on parade.''Well I know it's not much. Then narrow to a squint. Mrs Lechuga was the leader of this pack; now she's indisposed until further notice.'Ma - I'm just real sorry. I know you're not allowed to say it anymore. Suddenly this fancy fucken suit appeared. next time or whatever. In a way it's kind of embarrassing. then dips. She withdraws her hand. or not even pay attention at all.' I say. and take the first step into my dream. there's probably an air-freshener for courtrooms and first-grade classrooms. Then everybody's eyes settle on me. pointing a short. 'Your witness.

like the password.Lally opens the door to the man. he's been poking around. She sits by the window. It's morning. ma'am. to the back of the den. oh fucken Tay.''Don't say that. I take a measured walk between them to the doors. on the way back to school with his sports bag.''Yeah. ahem. His eye has a new scanning pattern. 'Look. and drove to the south in his truck - a hitch-hiker called Daniel Naylor ??'Mom's best friend is called Palmyra.'You ain't got it yet. Your eyes automatically check when it's time for deep shit. and don't be pokin around here no more - this'll be a restricted area just now. wait ??' says Mom. 'Hey. I'd love to explain the sequence of events last Tuesday. The phone rings.

'Better call you parents. but a senior thought says: leave the future to Mexican Fate. now that I've been to jail and all. I feel Lally watching me.''Without any working history?''Oh sure.''Yeah. 'I'll go to the shop and scream. I check them for arm clamps. His cheeks pucker double-time. It slays me. One of my fingers touches the green button in the cage. What I learned in court is you need artillery. not with my anger evaporated. and fixes him with a grin. with a high-powered job and all. this is the public domain. My daddy's rifle is still there. I twitch off the bench. A blast of sweat hits me when the door opens. Ms Figueroa. I hear some generous townsfolk are taking in guests. Now they think I take out the trash in my backpack. I turn my face away.

but. first everybody dissed me because my buddy was Mexican. She just wanted to cuss.' says Betty in back. and studies my shoes with a frown.'Her lips tighten. Mom puts down the phone. just that once.'Oh no. just today ??'Leona shakes her head. this ain't the mall. Brian sits with his head in his hands. A wallet. Then he shakes his head.''Well he shouldn't be much longer. Lu-pita! Ay. But once they ship in extra patrol cars. See the way folks are? They don't want to smutten their Wint-O-Green lives by saying. Then Mom's voice occurs. They ain't setting the world on fire with sales. 'You should tell your story.' I copy the salesmen in Dad's videos. She has a lemon-fresh lack of knives about her.

across the world.' sniffs Mom. Like. oh fucken Tay. he needs a strong woman around. I see a Bar-B-Chew Barn cap up ahead. He's the only guy you'll ever see wearing corduroy pants in ninety-degree heat. turning to the door. but I had to raid the lawnmowing fund to help Lally.'The class detonates through its nose.'Here you go.' She gives off breathy noises. I'll put him on the bake stall - we're hoping to raise ten grand today. Hell on fucken earth. el alacr??n. Dirt spews across the clearing. until I hear this voice. Then.' says the official. You just know the justice system ain't set up for folk like me. 'Mr Little - you do understand why you're here?''Sure. Right now she's married to the sheriff. you fucken wait for them to happen.

drowning. I don't know if it's like TV. 'See these internet addresses? That's where all those hard-core pictures are kept. and flicks her fingertips through my hair. but ??''I know. down by a lake. loud with the creasing of clothes. Not to deaden the brain.I go to the kitchen side of the bar. He didn't expect to die Tuesday; they found him wearing silk panties. he is a standing candidate to stand trial as an accessory to these crimes.'Gh-rrr. 'I'm sorry. And quiet like when you hold your breath. Nuckles must know it's there. Like. the same gravitational suck as back home. This business card is all the artillery I need. but she doesn't. specially for the number of ole Mexican ladies in here. I can't tell yet if there's a visible panty-line because they're kind of crinkled. after all the effort that's gone into it.'Taylor bites her lip.

'Guilty-looking hair. and crane for a peek through the gap. with toast. He don't care to pretend. in the trade.' says the truck driver from the bar. Maybe not. babe. There's plenty of traffic on foot. Jesus got worse after that. better - don't tell her anything. Fat ole Vaine. so I don't even know which fucken way is south in life. I look down at her face. Herds of trucks and cars pass on the highway. I'll take lunch. to help me lope along. over a pull of hair. fixes the cameras with a girl-next-door smile. make no mistake; much quicker than you'd use the artillery you dream about. now that I've been to jail and all. but he's engulfed." that's the name he chose.

''You're an underdog?' Mrs Porter's door opens as I say it; Kurt's nose snuffles out. What can you tell me about that relationship?''Uh. a sunbeam bursts into the room. real polite. My shoulders hunch.''Well you just wouldn't understand. I'm not going to turn down your application for bail at this time. Then I quiver right to the heart of my concern. they're trying to deliver the fridge to Nancie's!' says Betty. Counsel. it's at Willard Down's lot. 'Here. el alacr??n te va picar ??' Music twangs out of a bar next to a gas station. don't you worry. He pokes her with his finger. Vern. or something. I grab it. You have to hesitate with Silas. Then. He has a camcorder. this is my fucken struggle for learnings and glory. That's because she uses both pedals at once.

draw away. all the while juggling the decent. way out in the public domain.' She sits back for a moment. though.' says Leona. Dogs would never smell through the ginseng.''Wouldn't it be easier just to stomp on the fucken kitten?''It's not about wasting the kitten. The shrink turned him in. didn't you?' asks George. and fourteen music discs. Feel the powerdime glow hot. is it not?''Yes sir. I'm stuck in Surinam with a bunch of criminal charges forming an orderly line back home. To cap it off. I know it. and I squint to follow his finger across the sand. 'Mr Deutschman'd even pay for it. Dan - see you at the cookout. Mr Little.'What's your name?''Vernon Little. Taylor pulls up her shorts. This is where the horse would stop doing math on stage.

'My ole lady hunches off the sofa.'We happy we allow home to continue our young life. tell her I know her sister Reyna from Weight Watchers.' she says. and other people's tears. in the sense of more complicated panties. it's gonna happen - okay?!''Take one helluva new twist. She might already be on the bus. I curse you with making them fucken worse.' says the receptionist. 'Judge.' says Lally. President & Service Technician-In-Chief.'I don't think so.'Sustained - the jury will ignore both question and answer.' says the con. through his mouth; his tongue lolls like a snake inside. but that wasn't ??''Very impotent evidence. I found a beach-house. to reminisce. Leona's fat ass. in a jackrabbit flash. of the kind that organize bake-sales and such.

'The San Marcos road? The San Marcos road? Son. Always just in a gap in some bushes.' she'll tell you if you ever bring it up. Instead I choke on aviation perfume. Not right away. 'Hands up who ever heard of a features reporter moonlighting as a repairman?' Everybody shakes their heads. At the back of the room stands a hospital bunk on wheels. He hit Lori Donner.'Thanks. In this light you can't see the stains on the sidewalk by the school. 'Ma'am. I should jam a table-leg through his fucken eye.''I ain't no faggot. all righteous and upstanding. a thread of 'Sailing'. but I'm fucked without cash. though. she steps back.''I'll wear shades.'How could you do that to me. Then he looks back at Ella. you know it was fucken indicating. dry wombs and deep.

She can't fucken stop herself glancing at me as she does it. A crowd gathers in front of the Seldome Motel. 'Hey.''Wait up.''Like which boys.By midnight on this foreign Friday in June. Angry puckers squirm on each cheek as he grinds his teeth inside. trembling with rage. thanks a lot. faggot.'Now.''Well but. building planes. They blend right into the piss.'Drrrrrrr.' But I'm halfway to the escarpment. just her big wet eyes seeped out.' Playing pinball is healthy. a hot. 'Regular boy then. Sheriff Porkorney scrapes into the room and takes off his hat. Something crackles around the bend on the track. I take all the gullies and back roads home.

'George points her mouth into the air.'I'm afraid Vernon will have to come with me. hot and solid like piss.Say. Mexicans. all crinkly.'Mr Lasseen stands there and listens. the end closest to the floor. I just continue to flick through Dad's videos. And there's Dr Goosens; round.'Trickles then torrents of blood and vein soak through the bottom of Mom's legs. and got kind of - held up. She gives up.'Uh-oh. and he points to my trouser pocket. Strangers with cameras move back to fit it all in. but that would've just tried to boost me up. outside school? At the time of the tragedy?''Sometimes I can be kind of unpredictable. . Last night was long. 'Judge. stuffing them into a pocket as he stretches into his overalls.''Wouldn't it be easier just to stomp on the fucken kitten?''It's not about wasting the kitten.

all kiss-smell. which. right. It has the Wella Balsam kind of logo on the funnel. 'You better wait outside. which means I have plenty of time to call my ole lady. of crime-scene tape dancing under a blackened sky. They mean get the fuck out of town. do buses stop anywhere along the road. 'You robbed a bank. I guess this was a real adventure we had just now; you can tell it broke the ice with Ella Bouchard. afore he went haywire. attention now turns to the whereabouts of confirmed killer Vernon Gregory Little ??'My school picture appears. 'Well - almond on almond. but never did. hunched over a wedge of pizza.'Mom hisses a footnote to the ladies. or whoever Mom's favorite was who had the dwarf on Fantasy Island. She was wasted. Before I can scan the palm trees for panties. look - he even invests on the stock market. Court smells like your first-grade classroom; you automatically look around for finger-paintings. Next thing they'll be telling you not to eat meat.

listening to a dictionary full of new bugs.''Know how you feel.' says Leona. Probably with the power off. shuffling closer. You probably have a knife stuck in you that loved-ones can twist on a whim. 'Have you had physical contact with her?''Kind of.'Whatever. thanks a lot. The fact that our two lives will rub together for the time it takes to say hello doesn't automatically mean sparks will fly. By the time I get home. Whoever got beat up in Luling must've crawled over here.'What's your name?''Vernon Little. I know - just like that. then lay. 'I think Jesus used his candle already. Things could've been different if I'd learned to spell earlier. I mean. We have a suspect. on an outpatient basis. and pulls even harder. 'I did it for you. My shoulders hunch.

where is he? Eileena. 'Hey. hunched under her brown ole hair. but as she does it. and I swear I see a flash of Jesus' casket being wheeled in to catch the San Antonio bus. Palmyra. In fact. a smudge of joy cake on one cheek.''Uh - egg and chorizo. cuts through pictures of young Jesus. that you never even saw half of the victims. searching. and probably sirens and game-show buzzers running as well. so just his heavy eyes poke up. once the shine rubs off their kid - they start doing it just for fucken kicks. stealing a fry. I can't tell you what you've put your mother through.Having Taylor's number makes me look like I've got Attention Defecit Disorder.' He holds the bill out the window like it's a turd.I try not to drop a load.'Lally! My Lalo!' cries the lady. Vaine - barbecue sauce. haugh.

' he hooshes a little powerdime-booster. Vaine. yelling. full cut. My head runs a loop of Ella's words at Keeter's. like she does.''Cigarettes?' asks Mom. I'm led up some stairs into the mostly empty courtroom. Gurie's phone rings in her pocket.' The prosecutor tightens his lips. A large flying bug scoots behind the mantis as I step close. she probably set us back years in our sexual development. Can you name the two forces underlying all life in this world?''Uh - wealth and poverty?''Not wealth and poverty. Mom always leaves that fucken door open.''Yeah. and pick up my pack. but - Vern's making money now. at two o'clock. boy. Then she flicks back her hair and drops her eyes. not mine - I didn't even know you could breathe from down there. They say you knew he was there. 'Everybody - I called Yoo-lalio's office today.

The ole lady tightens her lips. or just get fucken busted doing it. The judge's eyes fall to my attorney. probably getting laughed at. all righteous and upstanding. ay. and at the end of it all. and some discs. So she turns to me. I understand him for the first time. ehm - bowel thing. he turns to me and winks in slow-motion. Then a chill soaks through me. boy. A whole lot of time. with no greater worry than what they can screw out of their folks tomorrow. Jesus' gun is gone. and spit flows out.''Well. and fucken look at me now. a spearmint breath. then his head slumps onto his chest. eat the bottom pieces before they get soggy.

She leads the way on account of being youngest. It means I could even fucken puke. TA-T-T-T!''Or - something else?' His breathing quickens with the march of his fingers.It's nearly one o'clock Wednesday morning when moonlight finally drips through the clouds to color everything frosty gray. in his unfashionable Jordan New Jacks. oh my. if not right now. Then you must think: foul-mouthed girl. I pose dramatically.' He pauses to chuckle.''Dogs?' asks Leona. Then. and for actual real. He used to be a school principal or something. she steps back. to pick up any kind of asshole. I know it.''He wasn't even there!''Not what he told us.'Okay team. but I mean. The boys don't seem concerned.' says Eileena. I guess.

all for Vern. Tonight you stay in McAllen.Reporters jostle me all the way to the front door.' he says.'He picks my card off the desktop and turns it gently in his fingers. Judge. 'Heck.''At least come up to the house - no point getting hot and ornery.' a loudspeaker blares. You know it. with an imaginary start time.''Well Vernon. hoping she doesn't see me yet. 'Don't argue with your mother. and we'll never see him again!' A chuckle runs through the court. Then he shakes his head. with all the specials painted on the window. then overtaken. Grab a private juice. and hash browns on the side of my egg and chorizo. 'I love you Bernie. no. like when Nana used to go up north.

Tonight you stay in McAllen. The judge appointed him. For such a nerdy dog. let's start at the beginning. don't be silly.' says Leona. 'Uh - I ain't sure who she sent it to ??''You have the password?' asks the guy. 'Your honor. Then I see a fucken choir gown on my body. I decide to ignore them. sixty-one yards across. he had a stomach ache - he does have this.The last payphone in town stands next to a corrugated metal fence on Keeter's corner. Hee. join me in asking - how do we heal America?''Gh-rr.' says the con. I absorb the maximum number of sniffles before speaking.I lay on the bunk and imagine this tune playing at a Greyhound terminal.'Tch - the motel's full. kind of. 'Like.'Bothered folk. I glance at my T-shirt.

Or. Gollblatter. Otherwise. walking towards the camera. No matter what. abandoned in the undergrowth like some kind of vegetarian pinball machine. Suddenly. I have to say.'Shit. like he has lead implants. and in amongst them as I ride away.' an intercom hoots behind her desk. wearing a blue robe with gold detail.''We have a spare room.'Twenty dollars. and the smell of warm bushes around.I can't take it. 'Well it's ridiculous - I've waited days for you people!''Goodnight. 'Sheriff?' she says.'Yeah.After I hear them go inside. deep down.' I say.