warning. It won’t come as a complete surprise. “
“I’m happy to hear that, ” I said glumly. “All right. Well, as long as you’re here, I’d like to ask you one more thing about Rob. “
“Is that a promise?”
“Not exactly. Nowis there some other reason he’s suddenly speaking to me? Anything I don’t know?”
“There doesn’t seem to be any limit to what you don’t know, my human friend. But I will tell you this: Don’t be fooled by his cheery disposition. It was all he could do to come forward today. He still has a long way to go and he could retreat at a moment’s notice. Be gentle with him. “
“I’ll do my very best, prot. “
“In spite of your primitive methods? Lotsa luck. ” He picked up the fragment of orange and stuffed it into his mouth.
“How are you doing with the letters, by the way?”
Through orange teeth: “I’ve read most of them. “
“Any decisions yet?”
“Too soon for that. “
“Will you tell me when you’ve decided who’s going back with you?”
“I might. Or maybe I’ll save it for the tv show. “
“What? Who told you about that?”
“Everyone knows about that. “
“I see. And I suppose everyone knows about the trip to the zoo? And about all the people who want to talk to you?”
“Of course. “
“Prot?”
“Yeah, coach?”
“You’re driving me crazy. “
“Tell me about it, ” he sighed.
Thinking he was joking, I chuckled a little. But he seemed to be quite serious. I glanced at the clock on the wall behind himwe still had a few minutes left. I stood up. “All right. You take my place and I’ll take yours. “
Without a moment’s hesitation he jumped up and ran over to my chair. He plopped into it, squeezed the vinyl arms several times, and whirled around in a complete circle. Obviously enjoying himself, he grabbed a yellow pad and began to scribble furiously as he stroked an imaginary beard.
I took his chair. “You’re supposed to ask me some questions, ” I prodded.
“That won’t be necessary, ” he mumbled.
“Why not?”
“Because I already know what’s bugging you. “
“I’d love to hear what it is. “
“Alimentary, my dear canal. You were born on a mean, cruel PLANET from which you see no way to escape. You’re trapped here at the mercy of your fellow humans. That would drive any being crazy. ” Suddenly he banged his fist on the arm of my chair. “Time’s up!” He scooted over, grabbed another orange, and bit into it. Then he whirled again and flung his feet onto my desk. “And I’ve got work to do,” he concluded with a dismissive wave. “Pay the cashier on your way out. “
I gave him a poor imitation of a Cheshire-cat grin. He screeched and bolted for the door.
It wasn’t until later that I happened to glance at the yellow pad he had scribbled on. In a messy but legible scrawl he had written, over and over again, 17:18/9/20. It took me a moment to figure it out, but finally I realized: He’s leaving on the twentieth at 5:18 P.M.!
Not having been in Ward Three since before my “vacation, ” I decided to take a brief tour. I found Michael in 3A perusing a book called The Right to Die, a work he has read dozens of times, as Russell reads and rereads the New Testament.
A naked woman streaked by. Michael ignored her. He wanted to know when he was going to get to talk with prot. Unforgivably, his request had slipped my mind, but I told him I would see to it immediately. He said, jokingly, I hoped, “I could be dead by the time he gets here. ” I slapped him on the shoulder and continued my rounds, stopping to chat with various social and sexual deviates, tortured souls preoccupied with specific bodily functions. I watched in never-ending amazement as one of them, a Japanese-American male, undressed himself, smelled the crotch of his underwear, then dressed again, and undressed, over and over again. Another man kept trying to kiss my hand. Others performed their own endless
“I’m happy to hear that, ” I said glumly. “All right. Well, as long as you’re here, I’d like to ask you one more thing about Rob. “
“Is that a promise?”
“Not exactly. Nowis there some other reason he’s suddenly speaking to me? Anything I don’t know?”
“There doesn’t seem to be any limit to what you don’t know, my human friend. But I will tell you this: Don’t be fooled by his cheery disposition. It was all he could do to come forward today. He still has a long way to go and he could retreat at a moment’s notice. Be gentle with him. “
“I’ll do my very best, prot. “
“In spite of your primitive methods? Lotsa luck. ” He picked up the fragment of orange and stuffed it into his mouth.
“How are you doing with the letters, by the way?”
Through orange teeth: “I’ve read most of them. “
“Any decisions yet?”
“Too soon for that. “
“Will you tell me when you’ve decided who’s going back with you?”
“I might. Or maybe I’ll save it for the tv show. “
“What? Who told you about that?”
“Everyone knows about that. “
“I see. And I suppose everyone knows about the trip to the zoo? And about all the people who want to talk to you?”
“Of course. “
“Prot?”
“Yeah, coach?”
“You’re driving me crazy. “
“Tell me about it, ” he sighed.
Thinking he was joking, I chuckled a little. But he seemed to be quite serious. I glanced at the clock on the wall behind himwe still had a few minutes left. I stood up. “All right. You take my place and I’ll take yours. “
Without a moment’s hesitation he jumped up and ran over to my chair. He plopped into it, squeezed the vinyl arms several times, and whirled around in a complete circle. Obviously enjoying himself, he grabbed a yellow pad and began to scribble furiously as he stroked an imaginary beard.
I took his chair. “You’re supposed to ask me some questions, ” I prodded.
“That won’t be necessary, ” he mumbled.
“Why not?”
“Because I already know what’s bugging you. “
“I’d love to hear what it is. “
“Alimentary, my dear canal. You were born on a mean, cruel PLANET from which you see no way to escape. You’re trapped here at the mercy of your fellow humans. That would drive any being crazy. ” Suddenly he banged his fist on the arm of my chair. “Time’s up!” He scooted over, grabbed another orange, and bit into it. Then he whirled again and flung his feet onto my desk. “And I’ve got work to do,” he concluded with a dismissive wave. “Pay the cashier on your way out. “
I gave him a poor imitation of a Cheshire-cat grin. He screeched and bolted for the door.
It wasn’t until later that I happened to glance at the yellow pad he had scribbled on. In a messy but legible scrawl he had written, over and over again, 17:18/9/20. It took me a moment to figure it out, but finally I realized: He’s leaving on the twentieth at 5:18 P.M.!
Not having been in Ward Three since before my “vacation, ” I decided to take a brief tour. I found Michael in 3A perusing a book called The Right to Die, a work he has read dozens of times, as Russell reads and rereads the New Testament.
A naked woman streaked by. Michael ignored her. He wanted to know when he was going to get to talk with prot. Unforgivably, his request had slipped my mind, but I told him I would see to it immediately. He said, jokingly, I hoped, “I could be dead by the time he gets here. ” I slapped him on the shoulder and continued my rounds, stopping to chat with various social and sexual deviates, tortured souls preoccupied with specific bodily functions. I watched in never-ending amazement as one of them, a Japanese-American male, undressed himself, smelled the crotch of his underwear, then dressed again, and undressed, over and over again. Another man kept trying to kiss my hand. Others performed their own endless
Similar Books
