A Pinstriped Finger's My Only Friend by Robert T. Jeschonek Read Free Book Online Page B

string I can't see her tonight?" Judd says it in the voice of a man who can't believe he's asking the question.
    " Think it!" I have to shout through the layers of string between us. "Focus on being sick , on the way it makes you feel . Then push your feelings toward her with your mind."
    "I don't want to see anybody right now! I'm losing it!"
    "Then do what I said," I tell him. "Focus in and really think about your feelings . Imagine you're beaming them into her mind."
    Kaela's sense messages keep coming, more potent than ever.
    (She's makin' me blush !)
    Then, Judd clenches his fists...
    (That hurts! I'm part of the clench!)
    ...clenches his teeth, too, and does what I told him. Extreme concentration is the name of the game.
    He focuses on sending her every sickness-related feeling he can dredge up. I know he's trying as hard as he can...
    (Give the boy a hand!)
    (A finger at least!)
    ...even though Kaela keeps sending out wave after wave of her own special feelings directed at him. The two conflicting forces clash, striving to overwhelm each other.
    Then, finally, Kaela's signal disappears.
    The string wrapped around Judd and me goes limp and falls to the floor. The big and little mummies stand revealed as a boy and his finger.
    At which point, I can't resist saying it: "Does this mean we're not going out tonight?"
     
    *****
     
    Chapter 8
     
    SIX AND A HALF HOURS LATER:
     
    When does a cool teenager...
    (The coolest!)
    ...finally decide to talk it out with his own pinky finger?
    When he's got no one else to talk to, that's when.
    I guess that's why, after huddling on the bed for a while, lost in thought, Judd finally starts a conversation with me.
    (Took him long enough!)
    "What's happening to me?" His voice is quiet, very subdued, with what I'd say is a dark edge.
    "You mean the weird stuff? The freak shows?"
    "Yeah," says Judd. "Have I really lost my mind?"
    I tap his palm. "Do you think you have?"
    Judd raises his hand so we're face to face. "I don't know. I don't feel crazy. But I'm sitting here talking to you , aren't I?"
    If I had eyes, I'd roll them. "Will you get off that?"
    "I must be crazy," says Judd. "I don't know how else to explain this insanity ."
    I sigh...
    (The finger equivalent, that is--leaning back as far as I can and flicking forward, bending at the second knuckle.)
    ...and then I say, "Me, neither."
    Judd frowns. "I thought you'd know , since you're...well..." He shrugs. "Since you're part of the craziness."
    "Not from where I'm sitting." Irritated, I cock myself to one side. "Who would you say has been more level-headed about all this, dude?"
    "I thought it was because you were in on it. I thought you were another hallucination."
    "I'm as real as you are." I point myself at him. "I am you. Part of you."
    "That all of a sudden grew blue stripes and started to talk ?" Judd nods sarcastically. "You couldn't possibly be a hallucination ."
    (Dude is asking for it. Doesn't he know who he's dealing with here?)
    "Do I feel like a hallucination?" I give him a sharp jab in the palm.
    "Cut it out!" He shakes his hand hard, which makes me dizzy. "You don't feel like one--but how would I know if I've lost my mind ?"
    I'm weaving a little when he holds me up again. "Good point."
    (Another of my favorite sayings guess why!)
    Judd blows out his breath and leans his head back against the wall. "I need to think this through. Why is it happening?"
    "You're the one who's so sure he isn't a hallucination. You tell me." If I had arms, I'd fold them over my chest.
    (If I had a chest.)
    "I've been wondering if it's an acid trip ." Judd stares up at the drifting pastel-colored cloud streamers interspersed with a golden glow. "Except I don't take drugs." He raises his left hand and lets his fingers...
    (including me)
    ...trail through a wispy bank of pale green mist. "Unless maybe somebody dosed me. Gave it to me when I wasn't looking."
    The green mist feels cool against my pinstriped skin. "Do you know anyone who'd do