Authors: Shannon Kennedy
“
What’s going on here?” Herphy Murphy glared at me, then at Irene. “Who started this?”
Irene tossed her braids. “Ask the cracker.”
Herphy Murphy looked at me and I shrugged one shoulder. “Ask the mixed race bitch.”
Liz tightened her hold on me. “Don’t talk to your friend that way, B.J.”
“
She called me names first.” It was hard to act whiny when Irene winked at me. “Bust her, why don’t you?”
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We can’t,” Ted told me. “’You’re our responsibility, not her.”
The little kids had scattered like they usually did when there was trouble. It was the first thing we taught them. But I knew they were already spreading the news of our fight around the center, just like I planned. After her trip to the infirmary, Irene had to be itching to reestablish her reputation.
Herphy Murphy ignored us and turned a glare on Gabe and Terry. “What about you two? Why were they fighting?” he demanded.
Gabe shrugged and Terry didn’t say a word. The older cop looked at me and then at Irene. “You two start something else and I’m filing a report. You’ll both be in Juvie faster then you can blink, and I’ll see to it you aren’t together to watch each other’s backs. Got it?”
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Threats don’t resolve racial issues,” Herphy Murphy told him.
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They do for me when I know how tight these two are. They’re playing you. Don’t judge by appearances. If they hated each other, Irene wouldn’t have saved B.J.’s butt last month.” The old cop started for the door and his partner followed. The old one paused to pet Guard on the way out and the younger told Terry to get a first-aid kit. She followed them out of the room.
Herphy Murphy scowled at us before he glanced at Ted. “Even after such a display, it sounds like you still want B.J.”
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Of course we do.” Liz picked up my hand, studying the knuckles. “Children don’t fight without a reason. B.J., you’re bleeding.”
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Yeah, well I hit my hand on Irene’s teeth.”
Ted smiled at her and held out his hand to shake hers. “B.J. told us about you, Irene. She really respects you.”
Irene grinned at him. I smiled, too. Ted was weird all right. The head of the rent-a-cops couldn’t be fooled, and neither could Ted. As for the other adults around here, only a few of them realized how close Irene and I really were. Even Carol offered to move me to another room.
“
Despite what the security guards might think, your B.J. is a racist,” Herphy Murphy raged. “In case, you haven’t noticed, Irene is black. And you just heard her call Irene a derogatory name.”
I shrugged and let Liz put an arm around my shoulders. Herphy Murphy said that all the time. I figured he had racial issues on the brain, if he had a brain. He just didn’t get it. If a white girl messed with my stuff, I pounded her, too. We all knew the rules. Living in the youth center was a matter of survival.
“
Lay off, man,” Gabe said. “You’re the one into wearing bed sheets and running lynch mobs. B.J.’s not.” He walked over and handed me Guard’s leash. Then, he picked up the beer can. Drinking the beer, Gabe strolled away.
Herphy Murphy went after him, yelling about rules, and I silently thanked Gabe for playing bait. Terry came back in and handed Liz a first-aid kit. After that, Terry started straightening up my bed. She also made the evidence disappear at the same time.
Carol hurried in the door. “I heard you two had another fight. What was it about this time, girls?”
Irene and I looked at each other, but we didn’t say anything. It wasn’t any of Carol’s business.
Carol eyed Terry. “What happened?”
Terry looked at me, then at Irene. She shrugged. “Beats me. I was just told to get a first aid kit.”
I couldn’t help smiling. Terry was finally starting to grow a spine and I was proud of her.
“
I’m disappointed in all three of you,” Carol said. “B.J. is moving out, but I will see Irene and Terry in my office, right after school, before your interviews with Dr. Murphy. And there will be consequences, girls. You and I will talk about this on my next visit, B.J.”
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Whatever, Carol.” I watched her storm out before I slid away from Liz. Yeah, right. By the time, I saw Candy-Coated Carol again, she’d have something else on her tiny mind and she’d have forgotten all about this. I hoped.
I picked up Guard and he swiped my cheek with his sloppy tongue. His ability to love unconditionally still amazed me. I glanced at Liz and Ted. Liz’s mouth was drawn in a frown which didn’t quite reach her eyes while Ted winked at me. My fear of an impending lecture dissipated.
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I’ve never had Carol mad at me,” Terry said. “What should I do tomorrow?”
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Tell the truth about what happened?” Liz asked. “That’s an option, isn’t it?”
All three of us rolled our eyes at her. Irene glanced at me. “Does she smoke crack or something?”
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No. She and Ted have weird rules, but they’re okay.” I hugged Guard tighter. “All you have to do is cry, Terry, and say how sorry you are. Irene will get it in the neck because she’s a known troublemaker, and Carol can’t stand her.”
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Shows what you know, Cracker. I’ll just blame it on you since you’re not here,” Irene told me. “And I’ll tell Skervey how racist Carol is. That always works. The two of them will be yelling at each other before he can give us dish duty, Ter. Don’t sweat it.”
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I don’t understand.” Ted went over and sat down on the edge of my bed. “Since you and Irene fought, why is Terry in trouble?”
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Because she kept her mouth shut,” Irene said. “If she ratted us out, she’d be dead meat.” Irene gave Terry a warning look.
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So, it’s one of the unwritten rules here, too,” Liz said, nodding. “The kids in the 4-H Club have the same one about tattling.”
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They’re strange,” I said. “Like they’re not from this planet. Maybe, the whole town’s been taken over by those pod people like in that stupid movie Gabe tried to make us watch.”
Irene went over and cleared the junk off a chair. She pushed it forward for Liz. “You can sit down while you wait for B.J.” Then she sat on her own bed, leaning back on her hands. “Is that right? Are the kids in your town like perfect little emotionless zombies?”
Liz sat in the chair and proceeded to answer all of Irene’s questions. Terry took the cigarette butts into the bathroom.
Carrying Guard, I followed her. “Are you and Irene getting along now?”
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Sort of,” Terry admitted. “One of the other girls at school tried to push me around because I was from Evergreen. Irene offered to rearrange her face. Gabe’s been teaching me how to survive here. He said no crying unless I want something or if I’m in trouble. He also explained about snitching.” She flushed the cigarette butts down the toilet. “Irene hasn’t been on your bed all weekend. She just did that because you were back. She said that if you two had a big fist-fight, the geezers wouldn’t take you away and you could stay with us.”
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Yeah, I know.” I smoothed Guard’s black fur. “This home probably won’t work either, but I’m going to try it for a while.”
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It might,” Terry said. “They seem nice. At least, they didn’t yell at you in front of Murphy and Carol. Though you might get chewed out later. That was the way my mom did it before the scumbag moved in and ruined everything.”
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This whole thing is totally strange,” I said. “And so are they.”
Terry frowned then closed the bathroom door. “So, the truth. What’s he really like? Does he come in your room?”
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No. I have the flashlight Irene gave me and believe me I’d use it in a heartbeat.”
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What does he do when he wants to talk to you?” Terry asked in almost a whisper.
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He usually talks to me in front of Liz, but if it’s just us, he stays about ten feet away,” I said. “So I have room to run.”
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Does he come in the bathroom when you’re showering or using the toilet?”
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I didn’t shower there till he went to work today,” I said. “There’s no lock on the door and nobody to stand guard. Don’t worry, Terry. I’ve been in foster homes forever and I’ve known about guys like that even before you told me about your stepdad. I’m not cutting Ted any slack.”
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Okay then.” She hugged me and Guard gave her a puppy kiss. “I think you’ll be okay.”
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If things go down the toilet, I’ll be back here with you guys,” I said. I went back into the room, put Guard down, and started to pack up my stuff.
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Are you ready, B.J.?” Ted asked when I zipped up the duffel.
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Yeah.” I started to pick it up, but he came over and took it for me. So, I scooped up Guard instead. Liz stood and headed for the door with Ted in tow.
Irene and I stared at each other. We’d been together for a long time, off and on for close to a year. “Stay off my bed and take care of Terry until I get back.”
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Okay.” Irene hesitated. “Liz said Terry and I can spend the night when you get settled.”
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Really?” I turned and stared at the older lady where she waited in the doorway for me.
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Of course, B.J. I don’t say things I don’t mean. Your friends are always welcome in your new home.”
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All right!” I took a step closer to Irene. “Did you want to hold my dog?”
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No way!” Irene shook her head. “I hate dogs. And I thought you did, too. Remember when we crashed in that abandoned building for the night? The cops sent in those Dobies. I thought the big one would rip off your face.”
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So did I.” I held Guard close. He opened his mouth to yawn. His baby teeth glittered. “That was scary, but my puppy’s nice.”
Irene slowly reached out to touch his head. Guard licked her fingers. “He is cute.”
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He’s a total crybaby,” I said.
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He’ll toughen up,” Irene said. “You did, so you can teach him.”
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He’d better learn fast or the system will kill him.” I took a step toward the door then hurried to the doorway. Tears burned my eyes, but I didn’t let them fall. “Hang on,” I said. I gave Guard to Liz and ran back across the room. Irene grabbed me and pulled me into a hug. “Take care, Cracker,” she whispered into my shoulder, trying to muffle her sob.
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You, too,” I said, and blinked away the tears. “See ya!”
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You got that right,” Irene promised. “And it’ll be before we head to Vegas.”
I collected Guard and we headed down the hall to the lobby. I heard the familiar clamor coming from the rec-room and realized the little kids had returned to watching TV. When we reached the main doors, Gabe came out of Murphy’s office.
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Are you okay?” I asked him.
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Sure, babe. No muss, no fuss.”
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Right.” I didn’t believe him for a second. Gabe saw that and laughed, but it wasn’t happy. It sounded angry.
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I’ll take B.J.’s stuff,” Gabe told Ted.
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Thanks.” Ted handed over my duffel. “I’ll gladly leave the heavy lifting to someone younger and stronger.”
We were outside in the parking lot when Liz said, “I admired the way you broke up that mishap in B.J.’s room. Your strategy worked perfectly, getting Dr. Murphy to focus on you instead of reprimanding the girls.”
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Not really,” Gabe said. “It only delayed them. He’ll find a way to make B.J. pay when she comes back.”
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She isn’t returning.” Ted opened the trunk and Gabe tossed my pack inside. “She’s staying with us.” He slammed the trunk shut.
“
It’s what you’re saying now,” Gabe told them. “You’ll change your minds when she has a melt-down or fouls up. Foster homes never last. All of us know that. This is only temporary.”
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Thanks a lot, Gabe,” I said. I really didn’t want to hear it, especially since I knew it was true. “Just let me go, okay?”
“
Yeah, but I have to pick up the pieces when you’re a mess, babe. You know I’m joining the Marines as soon as I can. What happens if they keep you around ’till after that?”
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Maybe I won’t blow it this time.” I knew I would, but I didn’t want to think like that. “It could happen.” Yeah, when pigs fly. God, who was I trying to kid anyway? I knew it, Gabe knew it, and it was only a matter of time before Liz and Ted knew it. And I’d only agreed to stay for eight weeks. That wasn’t a lifetime.
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You know we want to adopt you, B.J.” Liz stroked my hair. “That means nobody is going to move you. I don’t believe in foster care. I watched what happened when my neighbor took in two little foster kids. Once they got attached to her, and she to them, the state moved the children. It hurt my friend a lot. I’m not going through that.”
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Hey, it’s how the system works.” Gabe took a step closer to me, then put his arm around my shoulders, and held me tight. For once Guard didn’t growl or snap. “You better call me, babe.”
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I will,” I said. “Do me a favor. Keep Carol busy so she won’t have time to hassle me.”
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You got it, babe.” After one more hug, Gabe went back inside.
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He’s a nice boy.” Ted unlocked the car doors. “I hope he comes to visit us soon, along with your other friends. Then, I can tell him about the Marines.”
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Yeah, sure.” Tears filled my throat as I got in the back seat. Guard must’ve realized I was upset because he whined softly and then covered my face with sloppy kisses. For as long as I could remember I’d been told that Gabe and Irene were bad influences. That if I knew what was good for me, I’d sever all contact with them. Yet, now they were both allowed to actually visit me and Irene could even spend the night.
As Ted headed through the city toward the freeway, Liz switched on the radio to some elevator music. I just sat in the back seat holding Guard and staring out the window. I really was leaving with Liz and Ted. How was it possible to feel happy and sad at the same time?