Cascade Read Online Free PDF Page B

the ladies?”
    “ I’m on it,” Mike said.
    Mike helped Jill, Heather, Tanesha, Sandy,
Colin’s wife, Julie, and Valerie set up a circle where they could
work with each other.
    “ Ok, work with your partner now,”
Colin said. “Slow and easy. Take the hand, bend the wrist and turn
to the outside. Slow and easy. Feel the lock.”
    Colin moved to the edge of the room to watch
the class.
    “ I’ve looked for you at lunch but
I never see you,” Nash said. He turned Teddy’s wrist until he felt
it lock. “You go to Smiley, right? Seventh grade,
right?”
    “ Yeah.” Teddy took Nash’s wrist
and locked it in place. “I’m in the library. I’m behind in school.
You should see the stack of work I have for this weekend. No
holiday for me.”
    “ Oh,” Nash returned the wrist
lock. “How come?”
    “ I didn’t go to school for a
while,” Teddy said. “My Mom’s messed up. She’s in some program now.
She’s supposed to be getting better.”
    “ My Mom’s in jail,” Nash said.
“She’s supposed to go to prison.”
    “ Oh,” Teddy smiled. “I didn’t know
you were a citizen of the country of fucked up.”
    “ Hey!” A big guy yelled from the
doorway to the room. Nash gulped as the muscle bound man pointed to
them. “Language.”
    “ My guardian,” Teddy said. “My Mom
hates Miss Alex. Just hates her. But Miss Alex is the person for us
at three in the morning. Me and my sister and brother. You know,
when things went to shit. Miss Alex walked through the chaos, the
police, and whatever else to bring us here. Mom signed my
guardianship to Andy.”
    “ He’s a little scary,” Nash
whispered. “He has a prison tattoo on his eye.”
    “ Yeah,” Teddy said. “He’s been
really great to me.”
    “ Where’s your Dad?” Nash
asked.
    “ Good job everyone!” Colin said.
“Let’s go back to simple escape. Kneel across from your partner.
We’ll do this for ten minutes today.”
    “ My Dad’s taken care of us since
we were little.” Nash grabbed Teddy’s wrists. Teddy shifted his
hand to break Nash’s grip. “He’s a good Dad, you know, for a
Dad.
    “ My Dad flies spy airplanes over
the Middle East.” Teddy grabbed Nash’s wrists and Nash broke his
grip. “He’s trying to get here, but… If he doesn’t fly, men don’t
get any time off. We promised him we’d be all right for a few
months until he finishes up.”
    They worked back and forth for a
while.
    “ I saw that guy harass you. At
school,” Teddy said. “What’s his problem?”
    “ He makes fun of my Dad’s
girlfriend. Calls her a slut and a whore and stuff. Everybody joins
in. Even my ex-best friend Tommy.” Nash scowled. Shaking his head,
he shrugged. “Sandy’s really great. Beautiful. Well, you can see.
She’s in the middle next to Valerie, the movie star.”
    “ She has a pretty
smile.”
    “ Yeah, kind of lights up the
room,” Nash said. “I hope my Dad marries her so she can be my mom.
That kid says awful stuff to get me mad then pushes me
around.”
    “ Bully,” Teddy said. “I hate that.
They always pick on kids like us.”
    “ From the country of the fucked
up?”
    Nash felt a hand grab the back of his shirt.
The big guy lifted him from sitting to hold Nash’s in front of his
big scary face.
    “ See this?” The big guy rotated
Nash to look at the women at the back of the room. “Ladies present.
Watch your mouth. You want to be a thug? Talk like a thug. You want
to make something of your life? Speak like a gentleman. And
gentlemen don’t swear when ladies are present.”
    The big guy set Nash down on the
mat.
    “ Carry on.”
    The big guy returned to the edge of the
mat.
    “ You Ok, Nash?” Colin
asked.
    “ Yes, sir,” Nash said.
    Leaning into Nash, Colin whispered, “He means
well.”
    Nash nodded.
    “ All right,” Colin said. “We’re
done. Remember to thank your partner with a bow.”
    Nash and Teddy bowed to each other.
    “ Have a great Thanksgiving! I’ll
see you Friday