Read Online Skin I'm in, The by Sharon Flake - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Sharon Flake
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somebody to turn up the music.
CHAPTER 17
AS SOON AS I GET TO the street two boys I ain’t never seen before start hassling me.
″Hey, bean pole,″ one of them says.
″You mean, black bean,″ his friend says.
Across the street, some lady yells, ″Y’all leave that girl be.″
That just makes those boys tease me more. But I ignore them and keep on walking. Soon I’m halfway home. I’m getting hot, so I take my jacket off and sit myself down on some steps to cool off. Most of the houses on the block are vacant. I’m sitting on the curb, imagining what this street would look like if people picked up the trash and gutted some of the buildings. Then, when I look down the street, here come the two boys who were bothering me. I get up and start walking as fast as I can.
I keep putting my finger in my mouth and scraping off nail polish. I cross the street even when I don’t have to. They keep coming.
″I like a girl with long legs,″ one of them says, catching up to me. ″A sweet, chocolate brown baby with long legs.″
One of the boys is wearing biker pants. He laughs and starts walking faster. I walk fast too.
″Baby, baby, baby,″ he says, ″you my kind of woman.″ Then he gets in front of me. His friend gets behind me. He’s dressed in big, drooping pants that show his underwear.
″Give me a little kiss,″ he says. ″Right here on my soft, juicy lips.″
His friend twists my hand behind my back. I yell for him to let me go. But he doesn’t.
He’s big. He’s got muscles in his neck and everywhere else. ″Give my friend a little kiss,″ he says, pushing me toward the other kid.
I tell them to leave me alone. I tell them my dad’s a cop and he will lock them up. They don’t care. They are having fun.
The boy with the biker pants says that if I just give him a kiss he’ll leave me be. ″I wanna see what you taste like, is all.″
″No,″ I yell. But nobody can hear me. Ain’t nothing alive on this block except mangy cats and stray dogs, and they look like they want to jack me up, too. My heart is beating so fast I can’t breathe. ″I ain’t playing,″ I say, trying to pull loose from the big one with the droopy pants.
″You pretty black thing,″ the biker pants kid says. ″I ain’t gonna hurt you.″ Then he closes in on me. Tears come running down my face. My head is shaking no. His friend is laughing. Laughing and shoving me closer. I want to scratch his eyes out. Only I can’t get my hand loose. Next thing I know, the biker pants guy is standing over me, his breath smelling like green peppers and garlic.
I’m crying. Thinking what to tell Momma. She will be mad at me for walking down a street where nobody lives. I kick the guy who’s holding me. He looks like he wants to scream. He lets up on one of my hands for a second while he’s yelling for the other kid to hurry up. I dig my fingernails into that other boy’s stomach and hang on tight like a crab. He hits me so hard a knot starts to swell on my arm.
Then he puts his hand over my mouth. My heart’s about to beat me up inside. I open my mouth, grab hold of his hand with my teeth like a mad dog, and don’t let go. He’s trying to pull his fingers free. But he can’t. He’s screaming for me to let him go. But I hang on. He’s punching me upside the head, screaming and punching, till finally I set him free.
″You black thing,″ he says, putting up his big fist like he wants to slam me again. My big teeth marks have left a dent in his hand. He starts loosening his belt with his good hand.
″Forget it, man,″ the other one says. ″She ain’t worth it.″ He shoves me hard. ″Next time we see you, you better run,″ he says.
I don’t give those evil kids no second chances. I run like the wind. I run and run and run till I can’t breathe no more. When I’m almost home, I sit down on some steps near my house, and cry. My whole body is shaking and seems like it won’t ever stop. Tears and snot are
CHAPTER 17
AS SOON AS I GET TO the street two boys I ain’t never seen before start hassling me.
″Hey, bean pole,″ one of them says.
″You mean, black bean,″ his friend says.
Across the street, some lady yells, ″Y’all leave that girl be.″
That just makes those boys tease me more. But I ignore them and keep on walking. Soon I’m halfway home. I’m getting hot, so I take my jacket off and sit myself down on some steps to cool off. Most of the houses on the block are vacant. I’m sitting on the curb, imagining what this street would look like if people picked up the trash and gutted some of the buildings. Then, when I look down the street, here come the two boys who were bothering me. I get up and start walking as fast as I can.
I keep putting my finger in my mouth and scraping off nail polish. I cross the street even when I don’t have to. They keep coming.
″I like a girl with long legs,″ one of them says, catching up to me. ″A sweet, chocolate brown baby with long legs.″
One of the boys is wearing biker pants. He laughs and starts walking faster. I walk fast too.
″Baby, baby, baby,″ he says, ″you my kind of woman.″ Then he gets in front of me. His friend gets behind me. He’s dressed in big, drooping pants that show his underwear.
″Give me a little kiss,″ he says. ″Right here on my soft, juicy lips.″
His friend twists my hand behind my back. I yell for him to let me go. But he doesn’t.
He’s big. He’s got muscles in his neck and everywhere else. ″Give my friend a little kiss,″ he says, pushing me toward the other kid.
I tell them to leave me alone. I tell them my dad’s a cop and he will lock them up. They don’t care. They are having fun.
The boy with the biker pants says that if I just give him a kiss he’ll leave me be. ″I wanna see what you taste like, is all.″
″No,″ I yell. But nobody can hear me. Ain’t nothing alive on this block except mangy cats and stray dogs, and they look like they want to jack me up, too. My heart is beating so fast I can’t breathe. ″I ain’t playing,″ I say, trying to pull loose from the big one with the droopy pants.
″You pretty black thing,″ the biker pants kid says. ″I ain’t gonna hurt you.″ Then he closes in on me. Tears come running down my face. My head is shaking no. His friend is laughing. Laughing and shoving me closer. I want to scratch his eyes out. Only I can’t get my hand loose. Next thing I know, the biker pants guy is standing over me, his breath smelling like green peppers and garlic.
I’m crying. Thinking what to tell Momma. She will be mad at me for walking down a street where nobody lives. I kick the guy who’s holding me. He looks like he wants to scream. He lets up on one of my hands for a second while he’s yelling for the other kid to hurry up. I dig my fingernails into that other boy’s stomach and hang on tight like a crab. He hits me so hard a knot starts to swell on my arm.
Then he puts his hand over my mouth. My heart’s about to beat me up inside. I open my mouth, grab hold of his hand with my teeth like a mad dog, and don’t let go. He’s trying to pull his fingers free. But he can’t. He’s screaming for me to let him go. But I hang on. He’s punching me upside the head, screaming and punching, till finally I set him free.
″You black thing,″ he says, putting up his big fist like he wants to slam me again. My big teeth marks have left a dent in his hand. He starts loosening his belt with his good hand.
″Forget it, man,″ the other one says. ″She ain’t worth it.″ He shoves me hard. ″Next time we see you, you better run,″ he says.
I don’t give those evil kids no second chances. I run like the wind. I run and run and run till I can’t breathe no more. When I’m almost home, I sit down on some steps near my house, and cry. My whole body is shaking and seems like it won’t ever stop. Tears and snot are
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