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He’d stopped trying to bring her back
She only came back when she felt like it, in drearave; vu
Like, he’d be driving to work, and he’d see a girl with red hair standing on the corner – and he’d swear, for half a choking irl’s hair was arette … And wearing a Sex Pistols T-shirt
Eleanor hated the Sex Pistols
Eleanor …
Standing behind hi next to hi everyone else seeh
Eleanor ruining everything
Eleanor, gone
He’d stopped trying to bring her back
AUGUST 1986
CHAPTER 1
Park
XTC was no good for drowning out the morons at the back of the bus
Park pressed his headphones into his ears
To Skinny Puppy or the Misfits Orand wailing on it as possible
He could get back to New Wave in Noveot his driver’s license His parents had already said Park could have hisup for a new tape deck Once he started driving to school, he could listen to whatever he wanted or nothing at all, and he’d get to sleep in an extra twenty minutes
‘That doesn’t exist,’ so does,’ Steve shouted back
‘Drunken- You can kill somebody with it …’
‘You’re full of shit’
‘ You’re full of shit,’ Steve said ‘Park! Hey, Park’
Park heard hinored Steve for athat was 80
percent of surviving with Steve as your neighbor
The other 20 percent was just keeping your head down …
Which Park had otten A ball of paper hit him in the back of the head
‘Those were my Human Growth and Development notes, dicklick,’ Tina said
‘I’rowth and development What do you need to know?’
‘Teach her drunken-monkey style,’ somebody said
‘PARK!’ Steve shouted
Park pulled down his headphones and turned to the back of the bus Steve was holding court in the last seat Even sitting, his head practically touched the roof Steve always looked like he was surrounded by doll furniture He’d looked like a grown rew a full beard Slightly before
Sometimes Park wondered if Steve ith Tina because she irls from the Flats were small, but Tina couldn’t be five feet Massive hair, included
Once, back in ive Steve shit about how he better not get Tina pregnant because if he did, his giant babies would kill her ‘They’ll bust out of her stouy said Steve broke his little finger on the guy’s face
When Park’s dad heard, he said, ‘Somebody needs to teach that Murphy kid how to uy Steve hit couldn’t open his eyes for a week
Park tossed Tina her balled-up hoht it
‘Park,’ Steve said, ‘tell Mikey about drunken-ged
‘But it exists, right?’
‘I guess I’ve heard of it’
‘There,’ Steve said He looked for so He pointed instead ‘I fking told you’
‘What the fk does Sheridan know about kung fu?’ Mikey said
‘Are you retarded?’ Steve said ‘His mom’s Chinese’
Mikey looked at Park carefully Park suess I see it,’
Mikey said ‘I always thought you were Mexican’
‘Shit, Mikey,’ Steve said, ‘you’re such a fking racist’
‘She’s not Chinese,’ Tina said ‘She’s Korean’
‘Who is?’ Steve asked
‘Park’s rade school They both had the exact sas
‘She’s fking hot is what she is,’ Steve said, cracking hied another s his headphones back on and cranking up the volume He could still hear Steve and Mikey, four seats behind hi point?’ Mikey asked
‘Dude, would you want to fight a drunk e Like Every Which Way But Loose,his shit on you’
Park noticed the new girl at about the sa at the front of the bus, next to the first available seat
There was a kid sitting there by hi down on the seat beside him, then looked the other way All down the aisle, anybody as sitting alone e of their seat Park heard Tina snicker; she lived for this stuff
The new girl took a deep breath and stepped farther down the aisle Nobody would look at her
Park tried not to, but it was kind of a train wreck/