I was wrong

but you're not ready . . . yet."

'Ready for what?"

"Ready to get out of your lousy, stinkin' rut." "You You're ALL THROUGH!"

! Oh man

all I got to say is this . . . you're done son.

"Maybe... but I got tired of puttin' on for you guys. You... I thought you might be different. But I see I made a mistake. Now I'll tell you somethin'. You weren't any ten years old when that guy picked you up. You were older... fifteen. sixteen, maybe. An' you didn't RUN out of his car... you stayed an' he dropped you off a few blocks from your home. You know somethin' else? You liked it. . ..

"MAN... !'

•

"But you got scared later on see because of what the other guys would think ... so you twisted it around in your head so that it was just that other guy's fault an' not yours. You even changed your age so you could tell everybody. Then they couldn't say, 'Well, why didn't you pop 'im one if you didn't like it? Yeah, You were real clever .. real psycho about it. Anybody listen. anybody that makes it their business to keep tabs on queers like you do... IS a queer himself. . . an' sometimes he don't know it. But you know somethin? . . . I think you do."

"You . ! You're real sly, aren't you dad? You're real sly. . . you think I'm queer, eh? Well...

"Don't waste time sayin' you aren't. We both know you are. You try too hard to be rough. You're afraid you'll turn into a pansy if you let go. Well, you will if you keep this up. But... you'll keep it up! They got you hamstrung . . . Well, man. I got this one thing to say, an' then will you please go! Just listen now.

"No . . . now wait! First I wanta ask you somethin' . . . after tellin' me all this are you still gonna go to that school?" 'Yeah."

“Well . . . dad . . . I'll tell you... You'll wish you didn't,”

"Yeah?"

"We're gonna pile up on you, boy!"

"Will you?"

"You can count on it man."

"You are, eh?"

"Oh-h-h you're gonna be so broken up. Oh man, you'll wish you never looked at nobody."

"Well what are you gonna prove by that, eh? ... that I'm wrong about you? It'll only prove I'm right."

"Huh... ?"

"Figure it out. You got SOME brains. I'll tell you this, though... I'm tired a' puttin' on . . . I don't give a damn what your buddies think. I'm gonna be myself at that school from now on. I'm gonna wear the clothes I like. I'm gonna learn English and talk like somebody that's got a LITTLE brains. An' I'm gonna get rid a' these sideburns an' get a crew cut . . . see? I'm gonna be myself an' if your buddies don't like it an' I get jumped . . . well, I'll get some a' them too before I hit the floor

"Well, now, you're real brave, aren't you you're just talkin' . . . you know that, man .

•

a real crazy hero. Now

"No . . . I'm not. But you are an' you know it. Well . . . it's late . . . I got a test tomorrow so I'm goin'."

"You... you better not come in tomorrow buddy . . .

"I told you . . . I got a test tomorrow . . . in English as a matter of fact. I'm comin' in. That's all."

"You'll get clobbered man. I'll see to it. I mean it man . . . I . . . I'll see you clobbered."

"Might as well have yourself clobbered then . . . well goodnight kid . . . I'm sorry."

"I . . . goodnight . . . . . man-.