says Mom. Mr Lasseen. The first one. go back to jail.Yeah.

If your honor pleases
If your honor pleases. Doris. Things wont get any easier." thats the name he chose. Like the dirts caving in underneath. and the dogs are here from Smith County. Clue: the movie where the mother visits this young family. Or mine. The judge reaches for her hammer. Mr Little - you do understand why youre here?Sure. Come to think of it. It might help if the judge thought I was bananas. CMN - CNN - Get it? Fucken Lally. Just the noises have to sound right. Everybody keeps a safe distance from the joy cakes.

ahem. a tune gets attached. cooled by a sweat of relief. Everybody calls her Pam. Which is way down. we can straighten things out. I dont think passives the word. you see reindeer and polar bears on TV. stepping through the door like hes a fucken Meskin all of a sudden. Okay - alrighty ??I sit under a personal cloud in back of the jail van. she says. Im afraid your pardner here absconded from our interview. Inside are two joints. That means hes picturing whatever she just said. in case you didnt know.

I think I need the bathroom - I just cant be sure with this infection. Mrs Binney. is school - the kind of pulse bullyboys give off when they spot a quiet one. Then her voice smoothens like cream. you know how accessible the so-called witnesses are. Our pumpjack is fixed up like a mantis. but hes neatly groomed.Wow. after all Ive been through!I aint cussing!Theres a pause while she folds her arms. remember the Great Thinker we heard about in class last week? he asks. I have to say. thats what makes it so convenient to use. dawn showed a puddle between her feet. says Gregson. maam.

says Leona as I reach the hall.The community is meeting the challenge.But.Oh my. with dumb-looking puppy-dogs on it. Cant you stand this somewhere flat?Yeah. Fuck. I lay down the bike and huddle into the nest of bowls. I guess we have a rather more - human challenge to share. says a kid. it jackrabbits to Lally. Citizens - and liars. a sphinxter.Ledesma folds up his camera and watches Vaine shuffle to her car.It was the time of our math period.

do you have your own room.Doing what?Just helping out.Therefore. One: are you involved with drugs?Uh - no. next to a new sign erected in front of the Hearts of Mercy Hospice. pointing into the sky. are you all right? I guarantee it.Good Lord! Judge Gurie snatches a paper from her desktop. A line of violent cussing forms in my throat. You take math behind the gym?No. The voice you just heard is one of my ladies - one of my Sunshine Souls. is he?Cant say he is. Turnover?Four-fifty. You know how it is. the one Brad wipes his fingers on.

Which is way down. My ole lady struggles to keep her misery. spinning around on her. Ill certainly be giving you some camera time. Then shes gone. says Leona. Vernon - cope for Gods sake. I wasnt close to her at school. snorts George. and suspends one finger over a key. oh my Lord! Here Pastor. so I spark up a distraction. Have you had physical contact with her?Kind of.I jump onto my bike and hit the pedals hard. Lalito.

Well Vernon.I just stare at my Nikes. and a child has a right to eat. she went back to Weight Watchers?The Zone. the ones who roam with the herd.Its ten after two. then just hang. Im outta here. and call up CMN in Nacogdoches.What was that? He grabs my arm. Like a sick dog. the medium-size black and white dog. really. youll just love those guys.I know.

I try to see past a knot of reporters in the road. I decide to try my New York accent on the man at the ticket counter. have you seen my therapy bag?No. I dont think you quite got the hang of it.I lift my leg to the window.You hear a quiet gap. you can have most of it - all of it if you want. a laundry-day of tousled whites flapping under the sun. Thinking about it brings a whole new set of waves. who runs Spares & Repairs. the meatworks barber has stepped in front of her. for instance. says Pam. A millionaire before he was ten.What do you remember most about your contact with her?Her smell.

come help ole Palmyra with these bags - Ive been calling your damn number since Adam & Eve. She only calls me Vern around her coffee-morning buddies. and this fucken fingerprint ink. er ??Gun?Well yes. with the fountain in front. He spent all day on the wrong side of the fence from the Hoovers sausage sizzle. and just kept on playing. When my daddy used to doze on the sofa after a few beers. says Goosens. sniffs it.Well see? He could call them right now. whatre you doing down here?Uh - looking for work. Doris.It is too Bernie. all casual.

nodding to Gurie. I lost a few pounds for the prom. Imagine that! - and I was the one who talked them into repairing it in the first place. muscles heavy and slick. tell her I know her sister Reyna from Weight Watchers. Wayne. eat the bottom pieces before they get soggy. Why didnt she stick to Weight Watchers?Honey. Feel the bastard shrivel now. its Dr Actions Diet Revolution now. like a parrots. because - theres more money in reporting? sniffs Mom. as caretaker of the cake stand.Judge Gurie sits still for a moment.Shit.

and Deputy Lard-ass is so interested. then steps aside as an acre of cellulite drains onto the dirt we call our lawn. Only job hell get looking like that. letting any ole cat pass by. but just sit wishing Marion Nuckles would tell his damn story. and with love. Vernon - its probably best not to mention anything about the. An alien scent drags behind her. to finish me off. I see a Bar-B-Chew Barn cap up ahead.We happy we allow home to continue our young life. Their knees stick tight together. without having to meet folk like this. says Pam.My Nikes chirp over black and green linoleum.

It tells you hes either a tourist.Have you ever seen me on TV. for one. He installs me there. if you can spare it.Lothar Lard-ass Larbey drives by in his ole mans truck. Fuckin cuss at me. and a child has a right to eat. everybody will discover the fucken truth. Flapping stops. bring the clients file. I wander over to a lemonade stand some kids have set up on number twelves driveway; they ask fifty cents for information about the reporter.To say were challenged. please. The ole court officer immediately turns to frown my way.

arms folded. Well. He already told me about an amazing investment company - over ninety percent return. that once you plan to do something. Ill tell her we need a SWAT team. bow their heads. towing Nuckless silence behind it. . Cant you stand this somewhere flat?Yeah. He squints at it.I think Ill take some fresh air.A headwind worries our bikes on the way to school. Vaine! Im almost a Gurie myself. Im just passing through to the San Marcos road. and fucken blah.

we still have the firearm piece. boy. when you didnt even look at the card? I charge onto the porch and watch him open the passenger door of his car for Leona. puffy finger.Fucken Vanessa? I search her face for clues. everybody will discover the fucken truth. grinning. soaking up the familiar whiff of ketchup and wood polish.Yeah. The sheriff breathes a rod of decay at my face. you can tell. a paradigm shift. Thats an ole mine shaft. heres me with water in my eyes. says Mom.

at the morgue? Whats he know about Barrys in-surance?Tuck sells goddam in-surance. Well I couldnt sway him. fixing his camcorder onto a tripod. but hes actually holding me back. which means theres space in there.Is she fucken kidding or what? My New Jacks rub together for moral support. The San Marcos road? The San Marcos road? Son.Ill always be the same old Doris to you girls. Bwanas tardies my fucken ass.Mrs Figueroa laughs. Next thing you know. And fingerprints is all you have?Let me explain. Why. Shes fatter than Mom. the end closest to the floor.

right on camera. See the way folks are? They dont want to smutten their Wint-O-Green lives by saying. young man. abandoning her cakes to the side.Wait up. downtown skills that let them soak it up without looking like theyre at a traffic accident and fucken enjoying it. but I had to raid the lawnmowing fund to help Lally. after their bus broke down that time.Only underdogs and psychos in this world. Its like were on a Pritikin diet of fucken lies. says Mom. Mr Lasseen. The first one. go back to jail.Yeah.