More Than a Hashtag, page 14
“Looks like we’re on our own, Tee. It’s weird seein’ y’all without the Big Chill by your side. Y’all gonna be okay?”
“Guess I don’t have much choice, but yeah, Batman can hold his own without Robin. They ain’t glued at the hip, ya know? ‘Sides that, ain’t y’all ever heard of Bat Girl?” I teased, hintin’ that I wouldn’t mind her joinin’ me.
She didn’t skip a beat.
“I’ll be y’all’s Bat Girl any day. Somebody’s gotta look out for Batman’s sorry be-hind.”
We laughed and high-fived. The pact was made. We walked into school together and found our homeroom.
“My head hurts thinkin’ ‘bout the last time I was here,” Shondra said as we picked out desks next to each other. I ‘membered how she fell and cracked her head at registration.
“Y’all still get headaches?”
“Only when Jovie’s ‘round.”
I laughed at her spot-on humor.
Speak of the devil. . . . in walked Jovie with her girl posse. Big, Loud, and Proud. Lord help me. This was gonna be horrifyin’.
“Hey, Tee! Well, look at y’all. Chilly’s already been replaced by a girl. Man, y’all traded up!”
Jovie and her friends laughed at the spot-awful joke.
“Hey, Shondra, what y’all want with this sorry dude? He can’t tie his own shoes without Chilly holdin’ his hand. And Chilly don’t even know how to tie.”
More annoyin’ laughter.
“Hey, Jovie,” Shondra answered back. “Sounds like somebody put a quarter in your mouth thinkin’ they’d get a candy bar, but oops, the machine is broke and all they got was blah, blah, blah.”
Good thing the bell rang and Miz Jardine came in hollerin’ for us to take our seats. I nudged Shondra a “thank you” on her arm, and we sat down.
The rest of the day was more of the same. Thank goodness for lunch. Me and Shondra went outside with the rest of our grade. The juniors and seniors had claimed the tables, so all us underlings had to make do sittin’ on the sorry-lookin’ grass. Luckily, we were in the shade under the live oak trees.
There’s a sayin’ in Louisiana: the best parkin’ place isn’t the one closest to the store, it’s the one in the shade. Even if the grass under the trees was prickly and itchy, it was still better’n sittin’ in the hot sun.
I noticed right away Slugger and Woody had moved on to greener pastures and were tryin’ to impress the new girls from Eufaula. The Eufaula boys kept to themselves. Sue Ellen Landry and her friends sat together and were lookin’ over them, tryin’ to decide if anybody was worth pursuin’. I didn’t think so, but it’s wasn’t my opinion that mattered.
I don’t know what girls look for in a boyfriend. Probably the usual. Muscles, money, and skills. The problem was when boys had muscles, the muscles took over and made more decisions’n their brains. Mais, teenage life was complicated.
I was sure glad when the final bell rang at three-fifteen. I realized I hadn’t even thought ‘bout how Chilly’s first day gator huntin’ was goin’. I knew a gator hunter’s day didn’t end ‘til sundown, so Chilly still had hours of work to do.
I told Shondra I had to go over to the library and would wait for her tomorrow mornin’ at the top of her street. I was real glad she was my friend.
21
What Emma Knows
The Crawfish” always lurks at the front desk of the library like a gator waitin’ for a snack to gobble up. I swear Miz Crawford loved the creaky library door just so she could look up and see who was comin’ into her library.
Mama told me she looked exactly the same when Mama was a little girl. Even back then, everybody was scared of her. Mamere says Miz Crawford will outlive us all. Pinkie calls her “the undead” and says her bed is a coffin in the basement with all the old books. I don’t know of any children that’ve gone missin’ in Cypress Bend, but if any ever do, they could probably be found digested in the belly of The Crawfish. Gah-lee.
I’d barely taken two steps in the door when she croaked, “Thomas Edison! School has barely started! Unless y’all are in the honors classes, why do you need the use of my library?”
“Hey, Miz Crawford. I’m here to see Emma for some help with my Spanish class. It’ll only take a minute,” I managed to choke out.
I thanked my lucky stars Pinkie once told me Emma spoke Spanish.
“Well, go find her then. She’s back in the stacks somewhere. Now get on with y’all and don’t track mud in on my floor.”
I wanted to point out it hadn’t rained in over a week. That would be sassin’, and I just wanted to be on my way beyond the stink-eye gaze of The Crawfish. So I kept my mouth shut and didn’t “track in any mud.”
I found Emma puttin’ books in order on the very last row of the stacks. Kids ain’t too careful ‘bout puttin’ things back in the right place, and Emma had her hands full sortin’ out the mess.
“Hey, Miss Emma!” I said way too loud.
The Crawfish hollered “Quiet down! I can hear you clear up here!”
She was screamin’ at me to hush ‘spite of the fact she was yellin’ out loud herself. I covered my mouth to hold in a laugh.
“Hey, Tee!” Emma whispered, giggling at her aunt. “I haven’t seen y’all for weeks. How ya doin’? How’s your mama’n them?”
Emma was so nice. I don’t know how in the world she ended up bein’ Miz Crawford’s niece. Even more puzzlin’ was how she managed to work for her and live in the same house. Miss Emmaline Jones must be made of stronger stuff’n most people in the world.
“Everybody’s doin’ fine, thank you. Well, ‘cept maybe for Pinkie and Chilly. I gotta ask you some questions ‘bout Pinkie if you have a minute. Have y’all noticed a change in him? We sure have, and whatever’s doin’ it has me and Chilly worried.”
I could tell by the way her smile kinda faded, I’d hit nerve. We sat down right there on the floor, ‘cuz the window ‘bove us caught the breeze ever’ few minutes and cooled us off.
“I don’t know if there’s much to tell. I don’t see him very often anymore. Is there somethin’ specific y’all wanna know?”
Emma was bein’ careful not to tell tales ‘bout her man ‘less it was absolutely necessary. That much I could figure by listenin’ to the tone of her voice.
“He’s just been actin’ strange, and we heard he was flashin’ some cash ‘round in Lafayette. He’s showin’ off a diamond pinkie ring and some fancy new britches. Not to mention that shiny new truck he drives ‘round. There’s no way Uncle Biggun pays him ‘nough money for all this stuff,” I told her, hopin’ all the information would get her talkin’.
“Chilly and I asked Aunt Mary Lou what Pinkie did for Biggun. She said he delivers the bamboo tables she makes for the festivals. I ain’t ever known a delivery boy who dresses all fancy and drives a set of wheels like Pinkie does. What’s he told you, Emma?”
“Tee, that’s the strangest thing ‘bout this. Pinkie is the nicest, sweetest man I ever dated. But when I question him ‘bout anything lately, he gets all dark and surly and tells me to ‘never mind.’ That makes me real upset, ‘cuz in all the time I’ve known him, he’s always been so sweet and honest with me. I can’t figure out why he’s got all these secrets. He goes somewhere ever’ other night but won’t tell me a thing ‘bout it.”
I could tell Emma was gettin’ agitated, ‘cuz she stopped talkin’ a full minute. She started pullin’ a hangnail on her thumb. If she’d been a three-way light bulb, I’d say somebody had turned her up from forty to a hundred watts of worry in the last coupla minutes.
Finally, she went on, “Here’s the really weird thing; I was lockin’ up the library a coupla weeks ago and hadn’t shut that window by the checkout desk. We were goin’ on a date, and while he was waitin’ for me to finish, he got a phone call and went outside to talk. I could hear him pacin’ back and forth under the window by the front desk.
“He was talkin’ to somebody named ‘Assle’ or ‘Hassle’ ‘bout trouble with a delivery, but he was talkin’ ‘bout some warehouse up in New Roads. I never heard of New Roads, so I looked it up. It’s in Pointe Coupee Parish right on the False River. Pinkie said the boat was late, and that’s why he took so long gettin’ back to this Assle or Hassle guy with a payment. But the strange thing is, he’s been tellin’ me his deliveries are all goin’ to Slidell.”
“What? That’s crazy! How was Pinkie when you went outside?”
“Well, I waited ‘til the conversation was over, and then waited a little longer to pull the window shut and lock it. I sure didn’t want Pinkie thinkin’ I was eavesdroppin’.”
Emma’s hangnail had started to bleed. She wiped the blood on a tissue from her pocket and folded her arms ‘fore she could get started on ‘nother one.
“I went out and locked up the door and was tryin’ to smile and act like nothin’ happened. Pinkie was a thunder cloud, all mad mad like somebody had shot his favorite dog. He was meaner’n a snake. I’d never seen that side of him ‘fore. He wouldn’t even look at me. Like it was all my fault things were bad with the ‘delivery.’
“I decided I wasn’t goin’ nowhere with him when he was actin’ like that. I said I had a bad headache and needed to go on home and take a powder. He said ‘fine’ and took me home. He didn’t even get out to walk me to the door. He reached over and opened my door like he was pushin’ me out and said he’d call me. That’s all. I felt so bad, I just jumped out and ran inside and didn’t look back.”
Emma’s voice had started to shake, and I hoped she wasn’t gonna start cryin’. But she held onto her tears and finished her story.
“I heard his tires squeal on the road when he drove off. He tried callin’ a few times that night, but I didn’t answer. It was two days ‘fore he came to see me again with a big armful of flowers. He was actin’ and doin’ like everythin’ was right as rain. I don’t know, but I think somethin’s goin’ on that’s not good with him. I’m ‘fraid he might be lyin’ to me, but I don’t dare ask what he’s into. I sure don’t want him bitin’ my head off again.”
Poor Emma. She looked sad and miserable. I felt bad bad for her. I wished I could give her some good news and make her feel better.
“I’m sorry, Emma. Me and Chilly are gonna do our best to get to the bottom of this. I guess we need to find out who this ‘Assle’ or ‘Hassle’ guy is. If you hear anythin’ ‘round town or figure out a way to get some info outta Pinkie, let us know. It’s gonna be a’right. Pinkie’s a good guy. He’s never let me or Chilly down ‘bout anythin’ in our whole lives. I know he loves y’all, so try not to worry.”
We both stood up and stretched our legs, and Emma gave me a hug. I knew I blushed, but it felt good to have her as an ally.
“Oh, hey, if The Crawfish, oh wow, I’m sorry. . . . If . . . Miz Crawford asks, we was workin’ on my Spanish. I don’t want to get y’all in trouble with her.”
Emma laughed and winked at me. Guess she knew ‘bout the “The Crawfish” after all.
Chilly called me ‘bout eight-thirty that night. I’d already had supper and showered and was startin’ to worry ‘bout him.
“Hey, Chilly, my man! How was y’all’s first day as Chilly Boudreaux, Gator Hunter? Everybody was askin’ ‘bout ya at school.”
“It was awesome, Tee! We caught two eight-foot gators and a little bitty five-and-a-half footer. Not bad for a first day. Daddy was real happy with me. He felt kinda bad ‘bout the little fella wastin’ a tag, but that’s the gator business. I’m just hopin’ we’ll have our tags all filled ‘fore the end of the season, and I can get back to school. We just finished settin’ our lines for tomorrow.”
“That’s awesome, Chill, I’m glad y’all had a good day.”
I was genuinely relieved Chilly had survived and was in a pretty good mood ‘bout his lot in life.
“But I gotta tell ya, Tee, I’m as tired as a worn-out shoe. I can’t imagine doin’ this for a whole month. School never sounded so easy in all my life. How was the first day as the lowliest life-form in high school?” He was referrin’ to a freshman boy. The lowest of the low.
“Not bad, man. Slugger and Woody have staked their girl claim. Those new dudes from Eufaula kept to themselves, but the tension was unreal. I don’t think nobody but LaShondra Bell paid me no mind at all. Well, ‘cept for Jooooovie in homeroom. But Shondra kinda put her in her place, and Jovie spent the rest of the day walkin’ ‘round with her nose in the air with all her nasty friends.”
“Did y’all see Sue Ellen?”
I knew that had been on Chilly’s mind all day even when he shoulda been thinkin’ ‘bout gators.
“Sure did. She’s lookin’ fine. Y’all will be happy to know Slugger was so busy eyein’ those new girls, he didn’t pay much attention to Sue Ellen.”
I heard Chilly’s deep sigh of relief even through the phone lines.
“That’s good news, but with girls, things can turn in a hurry. Guess I have to be grateful one day at a time,” Chilly sighed.
“Wait ‘til I tell y’all ‘bout my meetin’ with Miss Emma! I learned a coupla things, but I gotta tell ya, talkin’ with her raised more questions’n it answered.”
Chilly listened to my report and didn’t breathe a word ‘til I was through. He was so quiet, I was startin’ to wonder if we’d been cut off.
“Who is this ‘Assole’ guy Emma mentioned?”
“Not ‘Assole.’ . . . She said ‘Assle’ or ‘Hassle,’” I laughed. “Dude, y’all need a hearin’ aid, but he’s part of what we gotta figure out. Emma’s gonna try to get some information ‘bout him outta Pinkie. But I don’t think she’s gonna get much. ‘Specially if Pinkie keeps tellin’ her not to worry ‘bout it.”
“Y’all think you and me should ask Pinkie outright?” asked Chilly.
“Not yet. I think we should go out to that warehouse and see what’s goin’ on. See if Pinkie’s truck is out there. Emma said he does his deliveries at night. We might find a clue.”
“Yeah, a rougarou clue. That’s what’s got me scared.”
“Well, we don’t gotta think this through tonight. Tomorrow we can talk ‘bout a plan. It’ll be a waning moon for a while so next Saturday might be a good time do our investigatin’.”
“If I get a break from gator huntin’. We’ll see. I better get to bed,” Chilly finally said. “I’m ‘bout to fall asleep talkin’ to y’all.”
“Okay, buddy, go get ‘em gators!”
22
Rougarou
We’d all settled into the school routine and things had been kind of quiet ‘til Wednesday mornin’ of the next week. Me and LaShondra barely got through the front door at school when we were ‘bout knocked on our be-hinds by excited kids yellin’ and jumpin’ and runnin’ ‘round us. It took a minute to figure out what was goin’ on. Then I heard the dreaded word screamed through the hall. . . .
“ROUGAROU! Somebody saw a rougarou!”
I yanked Shondra outta harm’s way and grabbed Fast Eddie Wheeler by the shirt, turnin’ his face to look at me and hollered at him straight on, “What’s goin’ on? What’s this ‘bout the rougarou?”
Fast Eddie wasn’t called Fast Eddie for nothin’. He talked fast as Jawbone Jonas, the auctioneer ‘round the parish. I had to concentrate real hard to understand him, but if y’all wanted to hear the news at top speed, Fast Eddie was your man.
“Ain’t y’all been listenin’ to KROC? Jarvis LeJeune announced a coupla fellas brought a legit pic of a rougarou in to the station last night. He’ll be interviewin’ ‘em on his program tonight and awardin’ the prize money!”
Eddie tried to leave, but I grabbed him by the back of his t-shirt. “Who got the photo? Who is it?”
“Dunno,” he said, pullin’ outta my grip and rushin’ off to tell the news somewhere else.
I looked at Shondra to make sure I’d heard Fast Eddie right. Her eyes told me everythin’. They were big as huge brown buttons.
“The rougarou,” she whispered. “I wonder where they saw it.”
“Guess we’ll find out tonight. The whole world’s gonna be tuned in to find out.”
If the first day of school had lasted forever, then today lasted double forever. The clock hands seemed stuck. Not one eyeball in any classroom was watchin’ the teacher. They were watchin’ the hour hand drag ‘round the clock, slow as molasses drippin’ in an ice storm. When the bell rang for lunch, students stampeded to get outside.
I was sittin’ with Shondra and the Blanchard twins, Cecie and Cyrus, talkin’ ‘bout the big news.
“Ain’t no such thing as a rougarou,” said Cyrus with ‘bout as much scorn as he could work up.
“Y’all serious or just stupid?” Cecie asked her brother.
Cyrus was fixin’ to answer when somebody tapped me on the shoulder. I turned to see who it was. Itchy Herbert was standin’ there, lookin’ nervous as a sinner in church.
Itchy itched when he got nervous. I could see he wasn’t just nervous, he was scared.
“Hey, Tee, can we talk? In private?”
Itchy was the most silent dude I’d ever known. Itchy didn’t talk ‘less he had somethin’ to say. And when Itchy had somethin’ to say, y’all better listen.
“Sure, Itchy, let’s go over by the swings.”
In my wildest dream I couldn’t imagine what Itchy was gonna tell me.
“So, what’s up, buddy?” I asked, tryin’ to help him calm down and quit itchin’.
“It’s ‘bout the rougarou picture.” He looked ‘round as if to make sure nobody could hear us. “My daddy and Uncle Blue have it!”
“What the . . . !?”
“Shhhh!” Itchy whispered, desperately tryin’ to keep me quiet. “A sketchy, mean-lookin’ fella came to my house and made a deal with my daddy to take the picture in and make up a story ‘bout how he got it. The fella paid him a thousand dollars to say it came from the warehouse by Trahan’s Pond. Told Daddy he could keep the prize money from KROC, long as he never told nobody the truth.”
