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Jack Meadows slumped on the couch, his game controller clutched firmly in his hands. He scowled at the screen, his eyes hard and glassy. He didn't want to think. He tried to emerge himself in his game, a game he was losing. An orange cat rubbed against his leg. Jack kicked it away, causing the cat to squeal loudly.
"Leave that cat alone," Girty Meadows growled, appearing in the kitchen doorway.
Jack glared at his granny. His hard gray eyes did not disturb her. They resembled her own. She shooed the cat into the kitchen and towered above her grandson. The wooden spoon she held connected with the side of his head.
"I don't know what your problem is, boy," Girty exclaimed, threatening Jack with the spoon again. "I don't particularly care. If any harm comes to one of my cats, you are out on your ear. Pronto."
Jack slumped further into his seat. His problem resonated in his mind. His problem was that he failed. Enola's angry words continued to flare in his ears. He couldn't fulfill her; he couldn't fulfill himself. He was furious and frustrated. Depression sat heavily upon him.
"Take the trash out." Girty swooped back into the kitchen.
"Take the trash out," Jack mimicked, throwing the game controller at the TV. The screen cracked and then shattered.
Gertrude Meadows flew out of the kitchen as though shot from a cannon. She stared from her grandson to the TV. Shattered black glass lay scattered across the rug. Her wooden spoon connected with Jack's forehead.
"You're not satisfied until you're destroying things," Girty muttered, smacking him again. "I'm taking this out of your allowance. In the meantime, no TV."
It would take years for Jack to repay the replacement cost on his meager allowance. He stood, towering above the old woman. His fingers clutched into tight fists, then unclutched. He could easily put his hands around her neck and throttle her. The vision of her eyes popping beneath his hands' pressure appeared in his mind. He smiled viciously.
Jack relaxed, the thought fleeing as quickly as it arrived. He had to think clearly. He could murder her and spend the rest of his life in jail. Instead, he slumped into the kitchen and hefted the trash bag out of the plastic can. He tossed it into the bin and wheeled it to the street.
Jack walked away, his feet slapping against the broken sidewalk. He entered the liquor store and told Mr. Helms he was picking up a brandy for Girty. Slumping against the store's back wall, he put the bottle to his rubbery lips and drank. He thought about taking it to Enola as a make-up gift but didn't. He couldn't face her, not yet.
The brandy made him feel wheezy. Stumbling to his feet, he weaved out of the alley and plodded into Clyde Martin and Sailor Kent. Grinning widely, Jack saluted them with a rude gesture. Sailor's face tightened. She had accompanied Clyde to the movies and a pizza afterward. Her warm feeling dissipated when they bumped into Jack Meadows.
"Aw, the two little lovebirds," Jack crooned, pursing his lips and making loud kissing noises. "Get any yet, Martin? Or is she holding out on you?"
"Not your business, Jack Meadows," Sailor responded tersely.
Jack turned on her. Sailor took a quick step backward.
"I'll give you what for," the plump boy snarled, grabbing his crotch. "You'll know you were had, girly."
"Leave her alone," Clyde intervened, stepping between the larger boy and his girlfriend.
"What are you gonna do about it, wimp-ass?" Jack shoved Clyde, sending him against the brick wall.
Sailor shrieked and knelt beside her boyfriend. Clyde began to rise, but Sailor pushed him down. She hated confrontations.
"What's going on out here?" Mr. Helms shouted. He stood in his store's door threateningly.
"Nuffin." Jack slurred his words. He lurched toward the liquor store owner.
"Get outta here, Jack Meadows," Mr. Helms ordered, advancing to the boy. "You're drunk. I will call your granny if you don't move on."
Jack glared at Mr. Helms and shuffled along the sidewalk. He stumbled into a street lamp. At the corner, he turned and shouted invectives at the group watching him. The Sailor's face paled at Jack's language.
"That boy has all the aggression of a Meadows." Mr. Helms shook his head, recalling his brief romance with Jack's mother years ago. He didn't wonder that she ran off to become a whore. "Are you kids okay?"
"We're okay," Clyde stated, brushing off his jeans. He stretched out his fingers, and Sailor took his hand.
"Steer clear of Jack Meadows from now on," Mr. Helms suggested. "He's liable to kill somebody someday."
"Yes, sir," Clyde agreed. He turned down the liquor store owner's offer of bottled water. "I better get Sailor home."
The couple walked along the sidewalk with bowed heads. They sat in the backyard arbor without kissing or touching. A thick silence surrounded them.
"He's dangerous, Clyde," Sailor finally ventured. "I don't like him."
"Try to stay away from him like Mr. Helms said." Clyde placed his arm around his girlfriend's shoulder.
"I'll try." Sailor lapsed into silence again. "I'm worried about Maddox. She's obsessed with Jack Meadows."
Clyde didn't respond. He kept his arm around Sailor as though protecting her. They were safe in the backyard. Jack would not disturb them there. Still, Clyde felt Jack's presence between them. He had ruined a perfectly good evening.
"Clyde?" Sailor asked tentatively.
"Maddox can take care of herself." Clyde rose. Shoving his hands in his pockets, he walked toward the gate. "Goodnight, Sailor. I'll call you tomorrow."
The gate opened and closed. Sailor watched her boyfriend plod along the sidewalk. They were both disturbed by Jack's actions.
"Are you coming in soon?" Kennedy Kent asked, appearing beside her sister. She wore a pink cotton babydoll set with white lace on the panties' legs. "Susie can't get to sleep until you tuck her in." She clutched an old ragdoll.
"Soon." Sailor's mouth tightened.
"Did you and Clyde get into a fight?" Kennedy asked, pressing against Sailor's leg.
"No." Sailor hugged her sister and kissed her cheek. "Let's go in so Susie can go to bed."
Sailor tucked Kennedy into bed and then went into her own room. She sat on her bed, writing in her diary. The words came slowly. She mostly wrote about her love for Clyde and their tentative explorations of each other's bodies. On this night, she wanted to capture the encounter with Jack Meadows. It disturbed her, but she continued to write.
"What happened?" Gabrielle demanded, swinging the door open. Her sister wore a concerned look on her pretty face. "I saw Clyde leave."
"Nothing." Sailor shrugged. She couldn't decide if she wanted to talk about it or not. Then she blurted, "We ran into Jack Meadows outside Helms' Liquor Store. He tried to start a fight. Mr. Helms chased him away." "Stay away from Jack Meadows," Gabby repeated Mr. Helms' advice.
"We couldn't help it," Sailor explained. "He came out of the alley right on top of us. He was drunk."
"Just stay away from him." Gabby paused, pursing her lips tightly. "He doesn't belong in middle school, Sailor. He's nearly seventeen. He was left back twice in seventh grade. Buddy found out a few days ago."
Sailor's eyes flew wide open. She should have guessed. Jack appeared much older than the other students. He was practically the same age as Gabrielle and Buddy. She jotted the information in her diary.
"He'll probably drop out within the next year," Gabby continued. "He's just treading water in school. Hopefully, he'll drift out of town and maybe rejoin his mother. Girty Meadows won't keep him."
Sailor collapsed against her pillow. She hoped Gabby's words proved true. Jack Meadows frightened her, particularly after he shoved Clyde. She had witnessed fights in school, but nothing as violent as Jack's actions against her boyfriend. Tears clung to her blonde lashes.
"I hope he leaves and never looks back. Someone is going to get seriously hurt," Sailor said, closing her eyes. "Mr. Helms thinks he'll kill someone someday."
"I wouldn't doubt that." Gabby agreed. "Don't confront him. You or Clyde might become his first victim."
Sailor shivered and pulled her blankets tighter. They lived in a small town where practically nothing happened. She never thought of violence in her day-to-day life. That was something that occurred in big cities or far away. Perhaps she was too idealistic, but she enjoyed the small-town vibe.
"I'm worried about Maddox," Sailor confessed. "She came to school with a swollen jaw, and I noticed two teeth missing."
"I thought you weren't hanging around Maddox anymore," Gabby stated, her expression grim. "Stay out of her problems."
Small-town people noticed everything. Rumors were already swirling that Jack Meadows spent abundant time at the Kelley's trailer. He wasn't there to court Maddox; he spent time with Enola. Enola had a reputation as a flirt and a heavy drinker. She had recently lost her job at the beauty parlor and wasn't seeking another position.
Gabby had heard her high school friends discuss the matter and had heard similar talk at Happy Burger. Many speculated on the relationship between a middle school student and a housewife. Gabby didn't want her sister involved in the situation.
"I'm not." Sailor shrugged. "Max is still my friend. I don't like what she's doing, but we've known each other for…like…forever."
"Still." Gabrielle thought for a moment. "Don't get involved. Maddox must work this out on her own. She must open her eyes to what's going on around her. Jack doesn't treat her nicely, and he calls her Maxi Pad. That's enough to turn me off."
"You know about Maxi Pad?" Sailor looked aghast.
"Everyone knows about Maxi Pad."
"It's a nasty nickname. Maxi pads are gross." Sailor made a yucky face. "Why isn't Maddox embarrassed? She just sucks it up."
"She imagines she's in love." Gabby sighed. "Sometimes love is strange, Sailor. Let's hope Maddox outgrows it."
Sailor continued to write in her diary after Gabrielle said goodnight. She thought about love. It was indeed strange. Until that summer, she never considered Clyde more than a school friend. Their relationship grew steadily during the last few months. Maddox's obsession with Jack Meadows was another kind of love: a one-sided love with no boundaries. Sailor and her friend were headed in opposing directions. She hoped, like Gabby, that Maddox would outgrow it.
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