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She stood up and glared down at lasses

"This little prick folloomen into dark alleys and asks them intimate questions He’s a true pervert Do with hi breakfast, and then her heels clicked out of the shop--POW! POW! POW! POW!

I could tell everyone was still looking at ed and said, "Women!" too loudly It was supposed to be a joke to break the tension, but it didn’t work Everyone23 in the coffee shop was frowning

I figured the woed--I had simply picked a femme fatale to follow, there were surely better case studies to find, happier adults prone to sadness, and she was just an unlucky fluke--but the problem was that she sort of reminded me of Linda, who also thinks I’lasses woman had said was so ht there, whichboo-hoo tears

I pretty , but ot all moist before I could wipe them aith my sleeve

"I’M NOT A FUCKING PERVERT!" I yelled at the people staring at h I’m not sure why

The words just sort of shot out of my mouth

I’M!

NOT!

A!

FUCKING! PERVERT!

They all winced

A few people stuck h they weren’t finished eating

This huge muscle-inflated tattooed cook came out from the kitchen and said, "Why don’t you just pay your bill and leave, kid? Okay?"

Just like always I could tell I was the probleer around--so I pulled out h we only had a coffee each, and, in a nor voice, I said, "I’m not a pervert"

No one wouldat the money now, maybe to make sure it wasn’t counterfeit, which is when I realized that the truth doesn’t matter most of the time, and when people have awful ideas about your identity, that’s just the way it will stay no ot the hell out of there

I went to the park and watched the pigeons bob their heads and I felt so so lonely that I hoped so and stick a knife into ined all ofit turn a beautiful cri hurry, not even pausing to adister the fact that a high school kid was dying right in front of their eyes

The thought was co betanting that crazy 1970s sunglasses wo death and wanting her er even, like the two of the backward all the way to childhood--even though the fe story up just to mess with my head But she had to have a mother as either dead or elderly, and so it was nice to think of theardless of whether they deserved it or not

It was a confusing day, and I felt like I was in soart black-and-white picture where wo involved with "the fairer sex," as Walt says

I re four days of school after lasses wos orderly in black-and-white Hollywood land

My high school called a hundredmachine24 fro her hoht and stayed with me for a day or two, because I was really fucked-up--not talking and just sort of really depressed--staring at walls and pushing the heels of my hands into my eyes until they felt like they would pop

Any normal mom would have taken me to a therapist or at least a doctor, but not Linda I heard her talking on the phone to her French boyfriend and she actually said, "I won’t let some therapist blame me for Leo’s problems" And that’s when I really kneas on my own--that I couldn’t count on Linda to save ether

I started talking again, went back to school, and an extremely relieved Linda left me alone once more

Fashion called

There were can, so I, of course, understood her need to float away to New York

And life went on

TWELVE

I walk into AP English halfway through the period and Mrs Giavotella stares at me for just about seven minutes before she says, "How nice of you to join us, Mr Peacock See lish teacher looks like a cannonball She’s short, round, and has these stubby limbs that make me wonder if she can touch the top of her head She never wears a dress or a skirt but is always in overstuffed pants that are about to explode and a huge blouse that hangs down almost to her knees, which covers her belly A beaded line of sweat perpetually sits just above her upper lip

I nod and take lodyte football player who doesn’t even belong in AP but just so happens to sit directly behind art hat off my head and everyone sees ain

"What the--?" this girl Kat Davis whispers, ined

Mrs Giavotella gives me a look like she’s really worried for me all of a sudden and I look back at her like please return to the lesson so everyone will stop looking at me because if you don’t I will pull the P-38 fro away

"Mr Adams," Mrs Giavotella says to the kid behind me "If you were Dorian Gray--if there was a picture of you that changed according to your behavior, hoould that picture look right about now?"

"I didn’t knock Leonard’s hat off, if that’s what you’re i He knocked it off hi"