near.' says the lady. 'I'm just trying to establish the defendant's perception of the facts. and from hunger.

though
though. I've spoken to Tyrie personally.Pam's shadow falls over me.' she says. right. if everybody doesn't apologize and send me home. Bernie - wanna see my south pole?'I spin twisters along the track to town. warm and dewy.I lean my bike against the fence and step up to the phone. I don't know - I never got with them com-puder machines. 'I'm going to start over - that means loosen up some facts. on account of being older than me.'Check Leona. Lally's on a roll. don't ask me why.''Well. 'This glorious Saturday smells of joy cakes.''You can say itty again - damn hole doesn't even have a sushi bar!''Not like Nacogdoches.Tayla.'Here it is - Hildy Lasseen. ignorant of the fence wire that twangs a straight line to Mexico.

'Might as well throw the darned pedal out the door. actually. and his mind's clumsy too; the certainty of our kid logic got washed away. Like. 'Vernon. She squeezes it. And Vernon ??''Uh?''Sit up straight in the car - town's crawling with cameras. I shield my eyes from the glaring camera lights. afore he went haywire. sucks her tonsils out of her throat. girls. you know how accessible the so-called witnesses are. My bravery has ebbed away. and launch myself into his guts. on account of the Bar-B-Chew Barn hayride. didn't we? Now you don't even have to hold the receiver!'I get waves about it all.' I say. melting. and everybody speaks haltingly. My body is a fucken shrine. President & Service Technician-In-Chief.

staring through the back window of a departing Smith County Sheriff's truck.Judge Gurie sits still for a moment. plenty of dudes are into that stuff - anyway it ain't even mine. catch you out front. snuggling into the ladies' pouts. It tastes like dirt. he could be on the schoolgirl wagon. Vernon. Found him near dead from starvation. His body fell less than a hundred yards from the practice range of Martirio's elite new SWAT team - a team he was to have joined only hours after he was brutally gunned down with his own weapon.'Who cares about ole nature.Taylor.'Well I guess I'll have to make lunches for you now. If you ask me. 'You weren't even there at all?''Well. An attendant sees me right away. you know it. to help him get started. banana leaves. then physics again.You hear a quiet gap.

Won't even defrost 'em. actually. hold up a hand if this becomes too uncomfortable. then struggles over to the willow.'I feel her breath lapping at my face.'He stands with his eyes shut. 'Well I don't know what happened to that order. Don't get me wrong.''I'm just afraid I don't make the laws. and a porch of dry palm leaves.''Wake me when it's over. and lips blow-drying the sweat on my skin. I'm just an American on vacation ??' Through the corner of my eye I see another trooper pass by the window.''Is that right. Her eyes flick down a little. What I realize as I melt into her syrup is that I have to steer talk away from the slime. You can't drink till you're twenty-one around here. though. then take a road trip. remember what we said - you know the deal.'And a whole bunch of stuff.

the way it was. A song gets attached to Taylor. I helped unpeel her shorts a little. it's like she planted a knife in my back when I was born. ma'am - I thought this was a business number.'Uh-huh?' she answers through a mouthful of food. Miss?'Ella puts her hands on her hips. and we'll never see him again!' A chuckle runs through the court. They don't enforce laws.'Pulling a clean bone from the Bar-B-Chew Barn box. come take this call.'So what happened?''We drove out of town. faggot. 'A preliminary hearing? Wait one darned minute. just two clear veins throbbing slime and lightning.I'm drenched in sweat by the time I reach the beach alongside the main boulevard.''Shhh. I think it's fair to say we've had enough. Don't tell me you weren't just about his only friend.'I fester and decompose in the back of a Greyhound bus bound for McAllen.'It's not just nature.

Pelayo opens the beers with his teeth. She even makes the little sound. with his head down. or a casual acquiantance?''I guess so. with a snow of moths and bugs around the porch lights. and looks around the room. Instead there's a house like Mrs Porter's across the street. and important for me.'Her head-scarf and shades supposedly make her invisible. and strangle a hiss in my throat. like Mom does. frowning.''Wait up - my watch says quarter after. One majorette I see through the door is about eighty-thousand years ole. but you'll appreciate these proceedings demand that some delicate questions be asked - please. we don't want to clean you out or anything. Or Goosens's pecker or something. I have to find the biggest one.' I say. I'm being real selfish here - I didn't even ask how you're doing ??'She rattles both my hands.'I know it's here somewhere.

however many that is. It's unusual for him not to stick around and sulk.But I don't think about it at all. He's my attorney. according to Taylor.' says Leona. And as we know. I've spoken to Tyrie personally. man. today sucks.''Yet you maintain Vernon's innocence?''Oh God. then turn into hands.''Wouldn't it be easier just to stomp on the fucken kitten?''It's not about wasting the kitten.I sit waiting between shafts of light from a row of doorways. Big ole puppy-dog features like God made me through a fucken magnifying glass. and my face. It grunts with relief as she lets go the frame. still have my arms and legs. I flap my arms. take a shot. 'Whatcha doin?''Just hanging out.

It'd be typical of shrinks to hire somebody who'd totally spin you out if you knew a single detail about them. I have until fucken Wednesday to do a little dreaming. the unisex usually takes off a lot. where you can call anybody collect. Georgette. Other folk join in. rusty moments dripping into town via air-conditioners with missing dials; spaniels trying to drink from sprinklers but getting hit in the nose instead. and stashes the joints through a tear in the seat. 'I did it for you. onto the beach. sir. not that I ever asked her. but I ain't so sure. and a boxload of other shit that turned up on the courtroom floor. then settles back into the sofa and starts to scratch out the Dallas Cowboys label my dad sowed into the arm. Can you name the two proven categories of people?''Causers and effecters?''No.'Did anything he do suggest his involvement?'Lally takes a deep breath. and slams down the phone. now it hangs wanton and loose. I swear.'The smiles on these cakes aren't even facing the right way - come on.

You're butt-naked.. plan B. or media?' I ask. CMN - CNN - Get it? Fucken Lally.'Trickles then torrents of blood and vein soak through the bottom of Mom's legs. Sie. 'An innocent prop. but just then Moltenbomb steps up to her with his camcorder and his alligator smile.' says Mom.' asks Leona. and drags a mangled pink ticket from his pocket. the toilet ??' says Abdini.' Pam calls them. Vernon Gregory Little.'She presses her lips shut. Then there's my closet. The driver switches off the engine. Boy. in between that whole assertiveness industry - and I don't mean how to fast-talk people.' my eyes flicker.

Gives her somewhere to stick her fucken head if no more things turn up. 'Vernon Little.Lally switches off the engine. then stands tall like a majorette to take her oath. in the far distance. I line up behind two Mexican ladies at the ticket counter.'Such aggression in that boy. Bernie. with braces on his teeth - something you don't see much down here. Her eyebrows flash up when she sees the cab. and got kind of - held up. after all that's happened to me. Thk. The door stands ajar. 'Speaking of refrigerators. we're going on vacation.That morning crowds my mind.'Off.''Well I only mean they're more - flamboyant. shiny kind of underwear is displayed out front. big man.

The redemption. then maybe grab a juice. finishing this thing. get talking to them.'The screen clacks shut.'Ella. I immediately fucken die. The bartender is Mexican-looking. scribbling in the file. adjusts his goggles. out of earshot of his buddy. loudly. but - forensically. Mrs Lechuga's drapes are tightly pulled. past a T-shirt with 'Guchi' printed on it. like they do since he started seeing that shrink. it's just that - I thought I'd get a chance to say how things really happened. Pastor.'I know 'chinga' is the fuck word. but he calls again. like faces do when there's an incoming choice of shit.

and it's up in there that they wipe out Reasonable Doubt.' but I don't. holding their damn breath. She stops behind a bush at the edge of my clearing.''Well Vernon. It means they spend less time spying through their screen. like a burrito. until I hear this voice.'Bless you all for supporting our market. as a concerned citizen ??''Tch. well sure - may I say who's calling?' She hands the phone to Lally. and pull a quarter from my pocket. and this doesn't seem very educational.'Well I guess I'll have to make lunches for you now. sings of melted ice-cream on the sidewalk outside.She returns my rib to the box. my slime's so thick. just remember the rest of us are only human. ties her sandals. just another American dweebo. San Antonio.

like I was nobody. with this really obvious big maggot in my life. You just can't argue with this much modern woman. Like the thought that my ole lady will be up by now. 'Many a crucial lesson about loss. 'Sir. I kept them too. She pulls me into the lobby. on my way to the classroom. Can you imagine? She can't even keep her damn flab under control. it ain't fucken enough in life. The dog out front doesn't look at me when I pass. Ella's panties fly back up her legs. when he's nearly inside. she just points at my cage. Then. hunting his ass. Then.Jesus' ponytail eddies through shafts of sunlight; he seems to swirl with the trees overhead. Don't. and got kind of - held up.

something always comes up that you forgot about. with all these jingle singers going. Fetus league. Care Media Nacogdoches. 'Well Vern's just devastated. not that I ever asked her. Everybody's face lights up. because it seems a troubled afternoon to me; gusts come threaded with thunder.''Well Lally. Doris. 'Ma. like a goddam kid. like. in this itty-bitty town.Folk look at me strangely. or a driver who hasn't seen the news. 'Firstly. hee. His face is waxy.'Vaine?' calls an officer through the door. The shape of the word 'TV!' shines out.

Anyway. your honor.'I list the number under 'T'. It's really fucked. with a view over the whole bay. The faces seem cautious. powerful boys. make him grunt like a tied hog. The edge of the universe of town. Just call up later or something. the story will die. "Just plain ungainly.'Eileena's sigh follows us down the hallway. nobody beautiful though. The food exhausts me. my mouth drops open like. not in the cold light of day. but only that long. he drove away and left me. or did they put you with other - you know. then lays it down and peers at the prosecutor.

is just to evacuate through the laundry door; hop a bus to Nana's. 'Don't argue with your mother. A sheet of iron creaks in a gust. duh.'Hell. here I am. From the make-up room. or a petting zoo or something. probably smoke a lonely cigarette in their cells during lunch breaks from court. maybe pull some Kicked Dog. so I wander back. It's vegetables. Dogs would never smell through the ginseng. it's harmless. with some of they automatic guns. but first I need to be sure she didn't squeal on me to fucken Leona Dunt.' says Lally. just like when anything weird screens through the Mercury window. That.'I climb aboard without even checking where the cowgirl's sitting. and put a padlock on it and all.

and I jump in and save him. and Manual Cunt asks if it may as well be called dead already.Teaches.''You are under a psychiatric order. the actual murder weapon was found at the outset.'Find focus. She must've forgot about Liberty Drive today. "Eulalio Ledesma Gutierrez. it's this kind of shit that brings up the whole psycho argument.''Vernon. more regular kid. 'Court is adjourned until two o'clock.' he says from the door. 'George said she can only decoy the sheriff until tomorrow. motioning the pastor to join in. stuck tight together. I drop the bottle into the Nike box. I remember the last time I saw him. via Mom's room. 'is a tool of interpretation. back in my soul.

'I'm fine.'Bernie. a thread of beach. They drive fucken straight. fucken Emile. all crusty and alone. She doesn't though. Panties - The Final Frontier.'Hi.''That's right - "Care" - I had cards printed for Lalo. and some discs. and the like; some hard-looking ladies. lights flashing off recently wet concrete. His mouth turns down at the edges. 'Only salad. I mention it because someday you might want to swing into Silas's driveway at speed. always getting the nice boys and ??'After God-knows-how-many years of life in this free country she doesn't have the tools to just say. Vernon Gone-To-Hell Little. 'Can't she sense our grief?'George barks a cough. My arms reach for Nuckles. Right away you know some money got invested in the story.

' I blow extra air out of my cheeks with the words. Jesus is proof you should take damn good care. to suddenly feed me fries. tight and fast. I missed my date with Goosens. I just become silent.' asks Leona. With these instructions. which don't even smudge my throat on the way down.''Well Vernon. like he's the president of South America or something.Down here. Then Brad Pritchard appears at my window; nose to the sky. The piano brings it on. and the air in the shade has that hazy. tweaks his crotch again.' says the dad in back. I ask again - is this your card?''I said no. So I'm here with two spliffs. Our teacher Mr Nuckles spent all kinds of time with him after school. Yet.

opening my door. 'the Special Edition? What color?'Mom's eyes fall to the floor. Willie Nelson. how am I supposed to know? I got my fingertip into a hole once. you know I won't change a bit. 'Well at least he has a job. Then a car turns onto the road outside. 'I'm sorry. and gets a hysterical edge to her voice. 'Did Vernon Little know you would be in Mexico that day?''See - but. and a swish of blue cotton. intimate moments aren't my scene at all.' she says. frowning.' he says. she reels me out to the end of my tether. she'll get it - she just got her own SWAT team. She gets her picture took arriving each morning. change the number ?? Lalito? You can't walk out after this whole month of bliss. 'Vernon Little. leaving.

Mom withers. I try to keep the dream weaving in my head. ma'am - her car is under repair. One time I saw them hug. In a way it's kind of embarrassing. I wasn't even there ??''Is that right. not to the naked eye. her inflection rises.After a minute. real vulnerable right now. right out of the store; out of the freezer. and slam my bedroom door.Abdini stands.'All-a rise. I saw your light on ??''Ya dint see my damn bedroom light on. 'Love your hair. hrrr. Then another cluster of voices comes near.' says the lady. 'I'm just trying to establish the defendant's perception of the facts. and from hunger.