In Their Eyes

-7-

Trish bursts into the diner with Darry close behind. Patrons stare at her and Darry. Two truckers especially.

They dont make eye contact with her, but she knows the look. Beverly poors coffee for them.

"Pump locks at 8 o' clock-"

"This is an emergency!", Trish says, cutting the waitress off.

Her raised tone turns more than a few heads. "We need you to please call the police. Right now.
Please get them here right away.", Trish says. Beverly stares at her, angering Trish.

"Someone is dead! Can you please just call someone?!", Trish hisses.

Trish meets the eyes of other patrons who have heard this. A family with two small children, eyes wide staring back at her.

"Someone's dead? Where?", Beverly asks. "Are you gonna call or not?", Trish asks.

Beverly regards her a moment longer and starts back towards the kitchen.
The Men's room door is open and Alex comes out. Washed.
Darry goes in after Alex comes out. He looks better. That is until Trish rushes at him.

"We saw him! We saw the truck!", She hisses. Alex instantly panics. He runs towards the window.

"Me and Darry think hes heading back to the church.", Trish says.

"Are you sure it was the truck?", Alex asks. "You think im gonna forget what it looks like?", Trish asks.

Trish lets out an anxious sigh. She falls against the wall between the cigarette machine and the payphone. She holds her face in her hands.

Darry comes back out to Alex and Trish. "Come on, Big sis. Hold it together.", he says.

She stares at the floor. She refuses to look up at him. Darry crouches down and puts a hand on her shoulder.

"Come on, just hold it together.", He repeats himself. "Think of a time.", He says.

"I dont wanna think of a time.", Trish says. "I got one. You were twelve 'cause i was nine.", Darry says.

"Just shut up, Darry.",She says.

"And we found that big fat potato bug out in the backyard? Remember how big it was, with the feeler things on its head?

You bet me $5 i wouldnt be brave enough to eat it.", Darry says. Trish looks up at him.

"You remember 'cause i swallowed it. Whole. I could feel it crawling down my throat.
Thought it was gonna make me sick but i had to prove to big sis that 'i wasnt afraid of nothing'.
Then when i finished swallowing it, you didnt want to pay me the $5 so you yelled 'mom! Darry ate a bug!'.", Darry says.

He sees a faint smile on Trish's face, making him smile a little too.

"Remember? I got spanked and taught about not putting dirty little things in my mouth?

Remember? What a nasty little bitch you were?", Darry says.

Trish smiles at him as much as shes able to.

Darry thinks he cheered her up, but her eyes well up with tears as quickly and she says in a frightened whisper:

"I am so scared, Darry. He is gonna get back to that church and hes gonna know we were down there.", She says.

Thats when the payphone rings loudly beside them and she screams.

The entire restaurant is looking at her now. Beverly on the phone by the registers stare over.
Along with a roundish, furry looking man of fifty or so. The manager of the establishment.