The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie Read Free Book Online Page B

suppose we looked dangerous .
    "Man," he said. "There's a lot of white people here.
    "Yeah."
    "You doing all right with them?"
    "I don't know. I guess."
    "It's pretty cool, you doing this," he said.
    "You think?"
    "Yeah, man, I could never do it. I'm a wuss."
    Wow, I felt proud.
    "Thanks for the ride," I said.
    "You bet," Eugene said.
    He laughed and buzzed away. I walked up to the school and tried to ignore the stares of my classmates.
    And then I saw Roger walk out the front door.
    Man, I was going to have to fight. Shit, my whole life is a fight.

    "Hey," Roger said.
    "Hey," I said.
    "Who was that on the bike?" he asked.
    "Oh, that was my dad's best friend."
    "That was a cool bike," he said. "Vintage."
    "Yeah, he just got it."
    "You ride with him a lot?"
    "Yes," I said. I lied.
    "Cool," Roger said.
    "Yeah, cool," I said.
    "All right, then," he said. "I'll see you around."
    And then he walked away.
    Wow, he didn't kick my ass. He was actually nice. He paid me some respect. He paid
    respect to Eugene and his bike.
    Maybe Grandma was right. Maybe I had challenged the alpha dog and was now being
    rewarded for it.
    I love my grandmother. She's the smartest person on the planet.
    Feeling almost like a human being, I walked into the school and saw Penelope the
    Beautiful.
    "Hey, Penelope," I said, hoping that she knew I was now accepted by the dog pack.
    She didn't even respond to me. Maybe she hadn't heard me.
    "Hey, Penelope," I said again.
    She looked at me and sniffed.
    SHE SNIFFED!
    LIKE I SMELLED BAD OR SOMETHING!
    "Do I know you?" she said.
    There were only about one hundred students in the whole school, right? So of course, she knew me. She was just being a Itch.
    "I'm Junior," I said. "I mean, I'm Arnold."
    "Oh, that's right," she said. "You're the boy who can't figure out his own name."
    Her friends giggled.
    I was so ashamed. I might have impressed the king, but the queen still hated me. I guess my grandmother didn't know everything.

Tears of a Clown
    When I was twelve, I fell in love with an Indian girl named Dawn. She was tall and
    brown and was the best traditional powwow dancer on the rez. Her braids, wrapped in otter fur, were legendary. Of course, she didn't care about me. She mostly made fun of me (she called me Junior High Honky for some reason I never understood). But that just made me love her even more. She was out of my league, and even though I was only twelve, I knew that I'd be one of those guys who always fell in love with the unreachable, ungettable, and uninterested.
    One night, at about two in the morning, when Rowdy slept over at my house, I made a
    full confession.
    "Man," I said. "I love Dawn so much."
    He was pretending to be asleep on the floor of my room.
    "Rowdy," I said. "Are you awake?"
    "No."
    "Did you hear what I said?"
    "No."
    "I said I love Dawn so much."
    He was quiet.
    "Aren't you going to say anything?" I asked.
    "About what?"
    "About what I just said."
    "I didn't hear you say anything."
    He was just screwing with me.
    "Come on, Rowdy, I'm trying to tell you something major."
    "You're just being stupid," he said.
    "What's so stupid about it?"
    "Dawn doesn't give a shit about you," he said.
    And that made me cry. Man, I've always cried too easily. I cry when I'm happy or sad. I cry when I'm angry. I cry because I'm crying. It's weak. It's the opposite of warrior.
    "Quit crying," Rowdy said.
    "I can't help it," I said. "I love her more than I've ever loved anybody."
    Yeah, I was quite the dramatic twelve-year-old.
    "Please," Rowdy said. "Stop that bawling, okay?"
    "Okay, okay," I said. "I'm sorry."
    I wiped my face with one of my pillows and threw it across the room.
    "Jesus, you're a wimp," Rowdy said.
    "Just don't tell anybody I cried about Dawn," I said.
    "Have I ever told anybody your secrets?" Rowdy asked.
    "No."
    "Okay, then, I won't tell anybody you cried over a dumb girl."
    And he didn't tell anybody. Rowdy was my secret-keeper.

Halloween
    At school today, I went dressed as a