Bad Moon

Chapter two

Chapter Two

Pa was gone by the time I got up next morning and I ate my breakfast real slow, trying to figure out how I could get in the barn without breaking the lock Pa put on the door. Ma told me to stop daydreaming or I'd be late for school.

I wasn’t going to school, but I didn’t tell her that. She didn’t seem so sunny today, there was no light in her eyes and she didn’t hear me when I asked for my lunch box. She must have something on her mind, but I didn’t want to worry about that right now. Ma couldn’t see where the road passed the southern end of our field, so she wouldn’t notice me cut off to the woods. With any luck she’d be entertaining and too busy to see me sneaking around the barn, looking for a loose board. I’d already figured that would be my best chance of getting a closer look at what I had convinced myself was part of the missing black man.

The hot sun had been up for hours, but it wouldn’t be able to reach me in the woods. I climbed my favourite tree, hanging my legs each side of the flattened branch. It cradled my backside like a home-made chair.

I made myself real comfy, had to give Ma plenty of time to go to town. I got to wondering who Ma hadn't brought home yet.

I figured it had to be the men like Nathan that hadn't got the hang of it, but she'd get around to them sooner or later.

I got to thinking what it might be like to have a boy do those things to me, but there weren't no boys around I liked enough. When I talked to Ma about it, she said you don't have to like them, so long as they don't look like a wart hog. She said liking them would come later, but I figured I got to like a boy first before I let him touch me that way.

I could feel the sun reaching through the cool edge of the woods, it must be about mid-day. The rumbling of my belly told me it was time for lunch. Pa was right, things were connected. The sun would always be high in the sky at lunch-time so there was no need for clocks, but remembering what Pa said didn't make me feel good today, I figured it was because I was going behind his back. That wasn't a nice thing to do, not to Pa.

By the time I walked back to the house, Ma should have had enough time to have found someone to entertain her and her needs. As I reached the edge of the woods, I could see across our field and someone was sitting with his back against our barn.

I felt my heart skip a beat but kept on walking. Half way across the field I could see it was Nathan. Why hadn't he gone with Pa? Surely Pa wouldn't have left him there like old Blue when we had him to keep unwelcome guests from getting too nosey? I guessed he'd seen me by now so there was no use trying to hide. I marched right up to where he was sitting and stood in front of him, but he didn't bother looking up.

'Why didn't you go with Pa, Nathan?'

'He said he didn't need me today.'

As I went to walk away he caught my ankle and I fell flat on my face. He held on to me. 'And why aint you at school?'

I didn't answer right away, I was taken aback by the way he was looking up my dress like he'd lost something and thought I'd hidden it where he was looking.