Out of Breath

Chapter 15

"Dude, what happened to your eyes?" Butter asks as he slides into the seat next to me on the bus. There is no way I can tell him I was beaten up by a group of girls.

"I had some paint on my fingers and accidentally got it in my eyes." I have to look away. I am a horrible bluffer as my facial expressions always give me away, and Butter can read me like a book, better than a book because I doubt he can read well.

"I am surprised they didn't send you home. Every time I get pink eye, they send me home. I love it. I try to get pink eye on purpose just so they will send me home." Butter only has rocks in his brain.

I shake my head. He has stupid thoughts sometimes.

"You sluff whenever you want. What does it matter? Why would you get pink eye just to get sent home?"

"I don't know, because then it's them sending me home." He pulls out a pocketknife and frays his shoelace with it. I hadn't noticed how large his shoe was. His foot looks lost inside those mammoth shoes. Sometimes the missionaries in the area leave things on swamp people's porches. I believe the Bumpuses get lots of clothes that way, but how do the missionaries get past the pack of dogs?

The bus goes over a pothole and Butter and my head collides.

"Dang, I didn't need that," I groan. An instant throb spreads across the left side of my skull.

"So, you still getting ice cream with me?" He asks obliviously to our collision.

My mood lightens. I had forgotten about this. "Yes, of course." The excitement fills me. We are going on a joyride—my first bout of real freedom.

Butter leans over the seat and gets in Raven's face. "I'm driving you and your bro to get ice cream once we get off this bus. You coming?"

Raven doesn't answer and refuses to look at him.

"Alright, let me state this different," Butter says. "If you don't want to get ice cream, say no, otherwise no answer means yes." He waits for a minute. "Great. That is a yes! You are getting ice cream with us."

We get to Butter's stop. He grabs Raven's arm and literally tows him off the bus. Raven doesn't protest, but he drags his feet the whole way.

When we are off, Butter lets go of Raven and turns to his house. Neither Raven nor I follow.

He asks, "What are you doing?"

"I don't think Raven is comfortable at your house. I will wait with him right here. Go get the car, then come back and pick us up."

I use Raven as my excuse. I no longer feel comfortable at their house, which is too bad, but I know Nutter plans to kill me.

"Dude, whatever," Butter says with deep disappointment as he kicks a pile of sand. "I'll be right back. Don't take off."

I want to sit on the ground while we wait, but tiny little ants are everywhere. I find a log and pull Raven down on it with me.

"I miss talking with you, Raven." I say as Raven picks up a stick and pokes it into the sand.

"What goes on in that mind? Do you remember when you used to talk to me? Please talk again. I know Terry is awful, but I don't understand why you had to stop talking to me when he came. I need you. I need someone I can turn to. Ma has stopped loving us since Terry came. All I have is you." My hand reaches for my stone in my pocket, but it's gone! I madly search a hundred times. –Gone.

Those stupid girls must have stolen it!

The putter and growl of a car zooms toward us. I stand up and see a rust bucket heading our way. There is no mistaking that car. It screams Bumpuses. Butter is going super fast. I drag Raven into the ditch by the road. I don't fully trust Butter. It is a good thing I did, because as he gets close to us, he slams on his breaks and skids to a stop right where we were sitting. I drag Raven out of the ditch and into Butter's car. Poor Raven shakes. I know he doesn't want to go.