Wait Until Twilight by Sang Pak Read Free Book Online Page B

ask.
    “There’s some punks roaming around the neighborhood…you’re just in time. Look, there they are.” David picks up the shovel and stands. Three skinny young black boys wearing oversize hoodies are walking down the street. One screams, “Whoaaaa-hoo!” and then barks like a dog. They start sauntering up to us through David’s yard, which isn’t a good idea. David walks out to meet them, shovel in hand.
    “Didn’t I tell you to get the hell outta here?” yells David.
    “This ain’t yo neighbahood chump!”
    And just like that all three jump on him and then on Cornelius. I run and tackle one of them at the waist, bringing him down. I try just to keep him down and out of the fight, but he keeps moving around. He pushes me off and runs. Then I go to tackle the one fighting with Cornelius, but the other two are already running off. Cornelius is sitting down in the yard touching his lip. David’s standing there holding the shovel.
    “Did you get ’em with that?” I ask, pointing at the shovel.
    “Yeah, but one of ’em got me.” His hand is covered with blood.
    “What happened?” I ask.
    “One of ’em had a shank. I got one good on the side of the head, but the other one came around.”
    The wound looks like a little black slit about a quarter of an inch in his side, where thick blood is slowly leaking out.
    “Oh shit! Let’s go to the emergency room,” I say.
    “No, it didn’t go deep.”
    “Man, you just got stabbed!” says Cornelius.
    “I can’t afford any emergency room.” We follow him into the house and to the bathroom. With a bunch of cotton balls, rubbing alcohol, and Band-Aids we clean and dress the wound. I take a towel and wipe the blood away from his side. I peek under the Band-Aidsand cotton, and the blood flow has already stopped and is already starting to thicken. It was a shallow cut.
    “At least call the police and report that guy,” I say.
    “No, no cops.” He gets another beer and goes back out to his stoop. He seems okay, so I sit beside him.
    “You remember those monster babies you were talking about?” asks Cornelius.
    “Yeah.”
    “I betcha they’s just deformed. I have a cousin who’s missin’ a hand. Got stuck in a drier.”
    “These guys are all…They don’t hardly look human,” I say.
    “Guess some ain’t so lucky,” says Cornelius.
    “I heard that,” David answers.
    I leave David and Cornelius on the stoop with their beer and go home to fix dinner for Dad and me.

CHAPTER 4
    T HE NEXT DAY I TURN OFF MY CELL PHONE and study all morning. I break only for a tuna sandwich at noon. I don’t get very far with studying after that sandwich because there’s a knock at the door. I look through the front drapes and don’t see any car. When I open the door, it’s Melody. She looks at me and smiles through her curly black hair that hangs around her face. When she’s this close to me and I can see the dark lashes and smooth skin, I’m reminded of how pretty she is. “How’s it feel to be exiled?”
    “Good. Now I see why you enjoy being the lone wolf.”
    “Shut the hell up,” she laughs.
    “What are you doing?” I ask her.
    “What does it look like I’m doing?”
    “Playing hooky.”
    “Just afternoon classes. I’m a good girl,” she says. “It’s beencleared by the office. Just an early departure so I’ll still get my perfect attendance award, I’ll have you know.”
    “A lone wolf and a Goody Two-shoes. That’s a contradictory state to be in.”
    “This is coming from the same boy who has a car but rides his bike all over the place every chance he gets. Some people think that’s crazy.”
    “That’s why Americans are so fat. We drive everywhere.”
    “Yeah, I know. That’s what you always say. So I decided to take your advice and…” she grabs my arm and pulls me out into the driveway. “Take a look,” she says. “Ta da!”
    I see that she’s ridden a bike. “When’d you get this?” It’s a refurbished red mountain