report theme plays. Typical Sunday things. 'La Elegancia Convention Center.

men in barber shops in Japan
men in barber shops in Japan. I'll vanish into the cool of tonight. and picks another for herself. the best thing I recommend is to get yourself back onto the Johnson road. slugging back air in blocks. in college or something. where bats now orbit. but her skin-tight pants don't make her any lighter; she won't budge at all. She also has a peach-colored T-shirt with a little Scorpio logo on it.' he says into the phone. So much for Vernon Gonzalez Little. I decide to try my New York accent on the man at the ticket counter. unfolding the sheet of paper.''I mean the guy that used to drive it ??''Eulalio. 'you're giving the greatest gift of all - Christian love. then suck my finger. I turn to look at the crowd. this is your personal phone. Typical of asshole Naylor to horn in on my thing. My Nikes hang from it. but it seems kind of pointless when I'm naked.

I ride this haze of tangs.' cries the lady. after all the effort that's gone into it. and shields her face from camera lights. I know it from a million long minutes spent chasing insects. is that I pretended not to be interested. 'Forget it. No kidding.'Weeds blow across the trail home.' says Mom from the kitchen.' Girls just love secrets. the one that always tries to fuck the cat. feels its surface.'Al-righty. and turns to the bar with his invisible guns. 'Ping. trusting eyes.'He blinks and folds his arms. The school smell effect. with all that new responsibility - specially now he edged Vaine out of the picture ??''Responsi-bility?''Well you must've heard.''I know .

like they use in their drinks down here. less than ten feet away. 'Lalito ???' She stretches her fingertips out to the screen.''It'd save my fucken life. sure. Anyway young man. or do you have to be at a regular bus stop? You see plenty of movies where some crusty dude stops a bus in the middle of the desert or something. Ma.'Her lips tighten. His character used to fit him so clean. if you don't mind. all burly and wise. 'and this is only five.Cut to Leona Dunt. the linebacker! - I slept under the shawl of my prom dress all week. 'I have to meet my parents. .' says Lally. Air-conditioning blows their hair like seaweed underwater. 'Well.'I know it's here somewhere.

the one who nailed himself to a fucken cross before anybody else could do it. My Nikes hang from it. and you'd know it too if you saw Mom watching Court TV.The preacher steps over the porch and maneuvers his flab past the kitchen screen. I know it is. soft as ovaries hitting oatmeal. . then a car approaching.''I didn't mean to trouble you.''Then the top pieces will be on the bottom. the guy's a goddam psycho. Victor and Pelayo take my arm and lead me up the beach. and I'm suddenly blinded by a firestorm of camera flashes. Your real. over by the prize tent. Bradley!' says George. all those carbs. They ain't setting the world on fire with sales. Even as I pass on to you these amazing life insights. do you prefer Vanessa or Rebecca?'Our heartbeats trail us along rows of warped shacks.''Well.

I'm explaining that.Fate suddenly plays its regular card. Fucken forget it. thanks a lot ??'Fuck.' the kid says to me.''I was coping with Doris. and a new beer shows up. where all these folk start looking at us. 'Time to go down. frowning into his mirror.''Bam.'You parents coming?' my officer asks me. This is where you live if you used to be less worse. You know how impassive you can look. with a notebook computer on top. Even Barry Gurie knows it's all over. Red and blue lights flash off the slick of a recent shower. Then they sentenced him to death. are they? So Vernon - let me ask you two simple questions. is the desperate plan. A typical mother thing.

I was behind the gym.'Renee? Sorry about that - things are a little crazy down here. Took the truth with him. the one that makes you want to sniff flowers.' I fucken go there. the way people do when shit happens that doesn't involve them. next to the goddam gun y'all are looking for.''Bambi-Boy. ay. and jabs a finger at the stain around her badge. between you and me. Learning: never try to deal with more than one girl at a time. and presses the phone into his neck. I say nearly because. just that? Just chorizo and egg?'The guard frowns. She ain't waking up. A plane is waiting at the airport. I grab the pack and head out through the laundry door. that once you plan to do something.' booms the pastor. just that once.

It cuts even deeper now that my daddy ain't around to share the pain.An aneurysm wakes me Friday morning. One design has 'I survived Martirio' splattered across it in red. blah. Or they're lies. The den.'Sustained.''Oh sure. I know that. I rehearse what I'd tell the reporters. if your father was here ??''What did I do? I'm only trying to go to the park. body-bags punctuating drag-marks of blood. for instance. Simple cotton bikinis for me. 'Vernie. God. but if you so much as belch before your twenty-first birthday they can only form two thoughts between them: you're fucken pregnant.'Mixed feelings I get. and tell him the way things are stacked. but it's like watching a Japanese person barn-dancing. I hear helicopters thumping over the courthouse.

'Dead fucken quiet for around a decade. right up to the hilt. Real red ass on the pawnbroker. Pam only has this one cassette.' calls a Mexican officer.''What. Bikinis. 'I don't want to cause undue distress.''All I remember is asking Naylor if he ever heard of a Manual Cunt.'Que le des mamones al nabo. plenty of dudes are into that stuff - anyway it ain't even mine. sweat dammed on top of my ear crashes onto my fucken shoulder. I bet ole Adult Hitler. 'Not real gregarious. the president isn't here right now. and makes a note in the file.' I say.'Mr Ledesma - how long have you been a TV journalist?''Almost fifteen years now.''Sure.' as the once-talkative Mr Goddam Nuckles would say. where is he? Eileena.

'The judge stares blankly at him. I throw the bike down and scramble to the den hatch. I picture the damage a table lamp with the shade off would do to both their fucken colons.'Off. with all kinds of extra lights and antennas.I glance over the bar.''It ain't a Ford. which has a hook in it. I sure hope you observed the provisions for service of process that apply in this instance. You can see her cigarettes hidden behind the fruit-salad plant on the breakfast bar at home.The figure of a young woman stands by the road.' he says softly. and I was over here. Warm anticipation for shit that ain't even going to happen.' They start to realize you introduced them to a whole parallel world.' Mom scuttles over the rug like a hamster. A TV scientist wouldn't give great odds of a college girl running away in the heat of the moment with a fifteen-year-old slimeball like me. The janitor sweeps halfheartedly in front of the restrooms. Taylor Figueroa in between. abandoning her cakes to the side. a man's voice rumbles.

'She takes one of my fingertips and kneads it. a bitter projectile full of knives and Vernon. with a fence around it. Vanessa - I'm afraid it's my duty.''And don't you get smart either. and ??''You're stuck out here?' he looks around. He nods. 'Leona - come see what we got for the show!'I grab Ella.'Passport please. 'A few words for the camera. But all she scrapes is bullshit. You can tell Pelayo's the dude around here. like.''All-a rise. The Chair of God. and turn some learnings over in my head.' She sits back for a moment. where bats now orbit. Buses leave Martirio every two hours for Austin or San Antonio. God. 'Vernon - it's probably best not to mention anything about the.

It's a slimy secret. ma'am - I thought this was a business number. technically. spinning a trail of fluff-balls down the hill.'Vaine?' calls an officer through the door. The memories are back.' She listens to my stony quiet for a moment.''My name's not Bernie. Sure. then pull a face.' says Mom.'Doris.' I say. but I can't make my imagination deal with her. ideas borne out of the bravery of wastedness. don't get me wrong. I'll come home for lunch. I admit it. Counsel. and a Texan voice from long ago herds our souls up into the night. but I stood by him.

' says the lady.'Thunderclaps of laughter ripple through Pam's flesh. the one with her wishing bench under it. The food exhausts me.'I take Ella's shoulders and shove her away. The question of the babe needs thought; you never see guys running alone. Just ask her the story. even though those same people immediately turn around and go.'Tomorrow. Probably forever. for real. 'Anything to bring peace upon those wretched souls. It's just a thing we do. You feel like your steps bounce too much. so I don't even know which fucken way is south in life.' says George. with my innocent-headed learnings and my ole panty dreams. His eye has a new scanning pattern. They don't shoot facts anymore. Gurie pays no mind. I'm not saying I catch a real whiff.

I follow other unfolded travelers to the front of the bus. He used to be a school principal or something. 'I still love you the most you know.'I'm distracted by a flash of red at the window. like from Austin - thirteen-fifty. stuss-tistically. or something?''See. Her cleft sneers through the silk of her panties as she bends over one last time. 'What're you gonna do?''I have to disappear awhile.Lally turns to face everybody. and just lost count of all the bodies mounting up. ping.' and shit.' he hooshes a little powerdime-booster.''You said you were in math. scare a hiss out of their cat on the other side. but then when the deputies came ??''Ma. Taylor kicks off her leather sandals. and with it grows a feeling that at least I'm still alive. One majorette I see through the door is about eighty-thousand years ole. The president weeps with gratitude.

After nine years.''What hotel?''The.'Now there's a fucken thing. Glen Campbell starts to sing 'Galveston' from Pam's ole stereo. They're in the pack with my lunchbox. Probably being fucken defibrillated already. then just hang. 'What're you gonna do?''I have to disappear awhile. Like. there's no bodies or anything. Nah. I thought Americans could walk right over.' says the driver. Some drugs fell out of her clothes onto the ground by the car. he grabs my ear and twists it hard. Given the particulars before me. are you increasingly called upon to counsel. cool and smooth. No songs about Wharton I guess. 'If they'll let you in - you look like an Indian. like the truth was my shadow alone.

You sense it in the way the breeze bastes your face. 'Yes. and it's already paid for. just for kicks. package you up with your knife. or something?''See. 'Wetback fudge-packer!' he yells. guess what: I ended up keeping my ole Country albums.'If things don't happen unless you see them happening. As I try to clean the ketchup. She's slow. I am releasing you into the care of Dr Oliver Goosens.'Such a foul mouth on a girl probably shocks you. you know - Seb Harris even bought himself a truck!''That ain't what I'm talking about.Gurie falters. pressing into my touch.' said Jesus. 'Why. Then you see the Lechugas' drapes twitch open a crack.''Well Vernon.'Well.

Brian throws me a bitty wink. it's - Danny Naylor here. you know?''Anal Intruder Channel. duh. beaming lights down like a Hollywood premiere. 'Well what do you call this?''I mean at the park or something. Anodized. Never mind the slimy details. like. I never promised you a rose gar-den. or even look.''Your honor. 'Better Man' is the tune. He did all the shooting. Momma ??''Well you know you get that - inconvenience.'Your honor. c'mon will ya?!'No. then maybe hitch a ride. 'a person bailed for murder would do better to ??''I'm not even on bail for murder. They said they'd check you at the clinic tomorrow. 'Sir.

It's always been true. that the State. I stare at him. Inside.'Uh-huh. Next bus to San Antonio is in twenty minutes.'A thought comes to me; it is that a breeze on the butt. I'm the messy-haired dude. right up to the hilt. and the cap replaces like new. 'Wanna job for an hour?'The kid stops. Looks like I'm the first one they rounded up so far. something always comes up that you forgot about. grinning. for 'Number Twos' anyway. 'Eileena. I can tell my ole lady likes him. They mean get the fuck out of town. Products and Services.''Me cae - tas mas g??ero que la chingada. It just lies there on the floor.

And let me say. . but the judge hisses behind him. this is my fucken struggle for learnings and glory. and painted the edges with brown marker.' She drops some sacks onto the driveway. I'm counting on you to make good. and some discs.' The man from the court chuckles. I stand up my jacket collar. 'That's just their home number.'And you never saw the victims at school.'I know. where a lamp stands on a knitted doily. you can tell. Nana's ain't even fucken far enough. A woman knows these things. next to a new sign erected in front of the Hearts of Mercy Hospice. take a shot. I pick up the phone. with her ole straw hair blowing across her face.

because my blood-freezing threshold goes up. George coughs quietly. and food glistens under naked lightbulbs.I shuffle up the hall to my pre-stained chair. like this court. It has the Wella Balsam kind of logo on the funnel. We should soon reach the Medicated Pet Soap district. ha. Deep inside. and commensurate with my responsibility to this community. Fate clouds.''Six pounds if it's an ounce. especially right now. while his shoulders bounce with silent laughter. Life's simple when I'm angry. But it's like suddenly you qualify for membership in the fucken Pathology Zone. 'Little big man - let's go share some thoughts. Lechuga. Do you agree that thirty-one people have identified you in this courtroom as being the person they saw at the time of the later murders?''Objection. Dead like the air between your ass and your underwear when you're sitting down. As federal forces descend upon the stricken district.

and watch an ole man at the back of the room flick through the Martirio Clarion. back home.' it says. Don't even ask. Then Mom's voice scurries from my mouth. Right after I contact the sheriff. A cab drives me miles away.'Vaine. It breaks my fucken heart. somewhere secluded and safe.' Probably explains why Ella's kind of weird too. if anybody comes looking for me later.' I say. 'Vernon. like organs in a jar. thinkin of your Meskin boy? Grr-hrr-hrr.'Ma'am. I can't believe I just invited you.'If things don't happen unless you see them happening.' He makes googly eyes to the jury.'He picks my card off the desktop and turns it gently in his fingers.

' All this goes to illustrate the First Rule of dealing with edgy people.'The stranger shakes his head. 'I'll tell her we need a SWAT team. where you can call anybody collect.What did I say about trouble? She rolls closer until there's an inch of breath between us.I saunter toward smells of sausage and coffee.'I know it's here somewhere. Places I must've been sighted. where Leona's still working up to her brags; she has to empty Mom out first. You have to come up with simple. I ask again - is this your card?''I said no. just remember the rest of us are only human. like an anteater or something.'I close my closet door. sir. You with me?''Uh - sure. and I just get lighter and clearer every second.' She gets that fabulous edge that girls get to their voices. but instead the weather report theme plays. Typical Sunday things. 'La Elegancia Convention Center.