The Night Saul Wilbur Stole My Wallet

I saw him through the window in Ruso's Place slumped in the bar stools sipping his milkshake and talking small with the cashier. Another couple kids more or less our age sat nearby along the counter. They were either bored or boring and had their mouths stuffed with sundae and both had another spoonful to their mouths before they could finish the first. But they had nothing to do with anything. His name's Saul, the kid I saw to first. Saul Wilbur. He bagged my wallet when we were baking in the sun at the beach. I was all tuned out that day, coming off the LSD I took the day before. I know it because James and Bryon claimed they saw it go down. They kept calling me a space case but they were coming off a much larger dose of the stuff and were just as out of it as I was. But I believe those acid heads, Wilbur never has money and I couldn't picture him spending his dough on junk like ice cream.

He slouched heavily and talked how he acted. With a household like his that was fine but the worst part of him was he was a leaner, he really got along with the people who had things, if you know what I mean. We hung around him anyway and he hung around us. He had sense and I feel like that's hard to come by these days. That and looks. Boy, what I wouldn't do to get the eyes he gets. A little shorter than me but he had the looks alright, and the James Dean hair to go with it. He also had two different colored eyes which I actually dug quite a bit. But he never used his looks and underneath all that clothing was just skin and bone and no meat or muscle. Besides, when it came time for him to seal the deal and cop a feel he could never finish it off. He'd find some smart excuse to beat feet right before and get this, they would always find him as a tease instead of some zanie and then pay him some more attention! The poor guy, I didn't like to roll with him when we'd drive down Market St., the main drag where all the real cuties were. My buddy Bryon's old man had this boss 56' Mercury Montclair and he'd let us take it out when he wasn't using it. A real cherry looking thing. We always felt like hotshots cruising down Market St. with the rag down yelling at whoever we knew. But we've never taken it too far and we've always kept our cool. Thank God.

Don't get me wrong, I like the guy, he's actually quite a cat, you know, pretty down to earth but he ripped me off. Really screwed me and you can't screw someone without getting knocked around a bit. I mean, I'll have to give it to him but I'll cut him some slack, He's such a scrawny little guy and I'm sure at the scene of the crime he was screwed up himself. He had a habit of smoking tea, and couldn't exactly help it since his parents grew it inside their bedroom closet. Plus he's in the groove with the rest of the gang and they wouldn't be so happy if I took it too far.

He could never seem to take off this rugged leather piece. He had it on then, in the parlor. The thing looked tough but he never took the damn thing off. He really dug himself with it on. It went well with his pretty boy Dean hair. It also covered his shoulder bones and collar bones and whatever else he couldn't hide with a plain jane t-shirt. He slouched there for some good time. I got tired waiting but it wasn't like I was about to lose it and bust in causing some scene. I'd be banned. That would mean every time I wanted a chocolate shake I would have to go all the way down to that commercial, plastic Dairy Queen place. I had to move, take a walk, make sure my legs were still working alright. There was this steady breeze, I remember it well. It felt like how it was supposed to be, like it was going some place in no rush at all. Ambling. I ambled too for a little bit and thought about how it would all go down.

It was a nice night breathing in those warm winds. I always liked to look past the sky into space and the few bright stars and the brighter moon that only moved after you stopped looking at it. I got to thinking. I might have left the damn thing at my buddy Clay's house. He's the cat who hooked us all up with the tabs of blotter. I changed course and was off to visit my good friend Clay. I got a little hot and I needed something in my stomach, I could hear it making strange noises. I got the damn thing and went back down to Ruso's but ol' buddy, ol' pal Saul Wilbur had left. I had two tens and a fiver. I got my damn chocolate shake and got the hell out of there. I was a mess and a half.