with memories of people, events, and feelings. At the least, I wanted to know my name.
“Do you know who I am?”
Royal looked me up and down, real serious. “You’re nobody,” he said.
“Wha—?”
“Follow me. You’re about to be tested.” We went into the bathroom.
“Look in the mirror. What do you see?” he asked.
I saw the face of a kid. Black hair. Twist in the mouth. “I see a tough kid,” I said.
“Look again. Look at the eyes.”
The eyes were scared. I wondered why, and the brashness disappeared from my expression.
“What you see is a frog,” Royal said.
Sure enough, as I looked closer I saw bulging eyes, a wide, sarcastic grin, and smooth, shiny, mottled skin the same color as the eyes, green and gold. “I’m not a frog,” I screamed. “You’re making fun of me.”
Royal just laughed.
“You’re mean,” I said.
“I’m not mean, I’m cruel. All great men are cruel. I’ll show you. Ask me where your mother is.”
“My mother? You know her?” I was frantic.
Royal gave me a nasty smile.
I snarled at him, “Where is my mother?”
He chuckled in an exaggerated way designed to get my goat, “How much will you pay me to tell you?”
I doubled my fist and held it up in front of his face.
“You couldn’t lick a stamp,” he said.
“I’ll kill you,” I said.
He sneered, “Your mom choked to death on a fish bone.”
I threw a punch, but Royal just grabbed my arm and twisted it behind my back until I yelled in pain. He let go of me, and said, “Stay calm, it was just a joke. I’ll tell you what I’ve figured out. You don’t have suburban swagger. You don’t have street smarts. You’re not a country boy. You aren’t spoiled. I know spoiled, because I was spoiled, so that means you aren’t rich. I’d say you’ve done some time on the roads of America, because you got a little bit of this and little bit of that in your accent. Deep down you’re mixed up. All mixed up.”
I felt the intelligence of his words. Royal Durocher had told me more about myself than Nurse Wilder on my platoon of doctors.
We left the bathroom and returned to my room and hopped on the bed. I sat at the tail end, Royal at the head end.
“Take me with you,” I said.
“In my car?” he teased.
“You have your own car?” I said.
“Not just a car, a white limo. It was the one thing my father protected from bankruptcy. Last month I was old enough to get my junior license. I claimed my old man’s car and moved out.”
“Where do you live?”
“In the car, dummy.”
“How do you get money for food and movies and stuff?”
“Look at this.” Royal pulled out his wallet and showed me a wad of bills. “I’ve been selling steroids to high school athletes. It’s a pretty good business. But I’ve got other plans, plans for making big money, really big money.”
“What’s that?”
“Number One: Gun running. Everybody wants guns. Number Two: Development of new forms of entertainment. Number Three: Start my own empire. The adults haven’t done anything for the country. It’s time the kids took over, with me as the king kid, the czar of adventure and synthetic violence, the emperor of ice cream, the duke of vice, the dauphin of mean.”
At that moment Nurse Wilder’s voice came across the intercom, “Get dressed, young stranger. Flush your toilet and turn off your TV. We’ve got big news for you.”
“This may be the end for you,” said Royal. “Your loved ones could be coming to drag you away. I’d better go.”
“I’ll go with you; I won’t be any trouble,” I said.
“Back there when I was being cruel, irritating you with that stuff about your mother? Well, that was the test, and you flunked. You’re not ready to face up to the world. You’re just a baby.” He slipped out of my room, and I was suddenly alone, a white nothing swirling in a blinding light.
A minute later in came Doctor Hitchcock, Doctor Thatcher, and Nurse Wilder. Nurse Wilder had lost a few
“Do you know who I am?”
Royal looked me up and down, real serious. “You’re nobody,” he said.
“Wha—?”
“Follow me. You’re about to be tested.” We went into the bathroom.
“Look in the mirror. What do you see?” he asked.
I saw the face of a kid. Black hair. Twist in the mouth. “I see a tough kid,” I said.
“Look again. Look at the eyes.”
The eyes were scared. I wondered why, and the brashness disappeared from my expression.
“What you see is a frog,” Royal said.
Sure enough, as I looked closer I saw bulging eyes, a wide, sarcastic grin, and smooth, shiny, mottled skin the same color as the eyes, green and gold. “I’m not a frog,” I screamed. “You’re making fun of me.”
Royal just laughed.
“You’re mean,” I said.
“I’m not mean, I’m cruel. All great men are cruel. I’ll show you. Ask me where your mother is.”
“My mother? You know her?” I was frantic.
Royal gave me a nasty smile.
I snarled at him, “Where is my mother?”
He chuckled in an exaggerated way designed to get my goat, “How much will you pay me to tell you?”
I doubled my fist and held it up in front of his face.
“You couldn’t lick a stamp,” he said.
“I’ll kill you,” I said.
He sneered, “Your mom choked to death on a fish bone.”
I threw a punch, but Royal just grabbed my arm and twisted it behind my back until I yelled in pain. He let go of me, and said, “Stay calm, it was just a joke. I’ll tell you what I’ve figured out. You don’t have suburban swagger. You don’t have street smarts. You’re not a country boy. You aren’t spoiled. I know spoiled, because I was spoiled, so that means you aren’t rich. I’d say you’ve done some time on the roads of America, because you got a little bit of this and little bit of that in your accent. Deep down you’re mixed up. All mixed up.”
I felt the intelligence of his words. Royal Durocher had told me more about myself than Nurse Wilder on my platoon of doctors.
We left the bathroom and returned to my room and hopped on the bed. I sat at the tail end, Royal at the head end.
“Take me with you,” I said.
“In my car?” he teased.
“You have your own car?” I said.
“Not just a car, a white limo. It was the one thing my father protected from bankruptcy. Last month I was old enough to get my junior license. I claimed my old man’s car and moved out.”
“Where do you live?”
“In the car, dummy.”
“How do you get money for food and movies and stuff?”
“Look at this.” Royal pulled out his wallet and showed me a wad of bills. “I’ve been selling steroids to high school athletes. It’s a pretty good business. But I’ve got other plans, plans for making big money, really big money.”
“What’s that?”
“Number One: Gun running. Everybody wants guns. Number Two: Development of new forms of entertainment. Number Three: Start my own empire. The adults haven’t done anything for the country. It’s time the kids took over, with me as the king kid, the czar of adventure and synthetic violence, the emperor of ice cream, the duke of vice, the dauphin of mean.”
At that moment Nurse Wilder’s voice came across the intercom, “Get dressed, young stranger. Flush your toilet and turn off your TV. We’ve got big news for you.”
“This may be the end for you,” said Royal. “Your loved ones could be coming to drag you away. I’d better go.”
“I’ll go with you; I won’t be any trouble,” I said.
“Back there when I was being cruel, irritating you with that stuff about your mother? Well, that was the test, and you flunked. You’re not ready to face up to the world. You’re just a baby.” He slipped out of my room, and I was suddenly alone, a white nothing swirling in a blinding light.
A minute later in came Doctor Hitchcock, Doctor Thatcher, and Nurse Wilder. Nurse Wilder had lost a few
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