Part 3 (1/2)
”Hey!” Jimmy yelled. ”Big man!” The metal wall behind him rang. His words echoed from Clay Hill, and it was toward Clay Hill that Jasmine looked.
Todd held his kite in one hand and s.n.a.t.c.hed Doll-Baby from Jasmine with the other. He rubbed Doll-Baby's head against the tiger's mouth. ”It's eating your baby!” he cried. ”It's eating your baaaabeeee!”
Jasmine, screaming, lurched to her feet and reached for Doll-Baby. Todd danced away, mimicking her cries. Chrissie and Kyle continued to try to launch their batwing.
Jimmy walked to the hole in the catwalk over the south leg. He wouldn't hurry. If he hurried, he might make a mistake going down the ladder. Besides, no matter how quickly he got to the field, Todd would be sure to stop torturing Jasmine before he arrived. Then, if Jimmy tried anything, Todd could claim self-defense.
Todd thought he was smart.
But if Todd were smart, he wouldn't be messing with Jimmy Blackburn.
When Jimmy walked into the field, Todd was back to flying his tiger. Jimmy only glanced at him on theway to Jasmine, who was sitting beside the paper kite again. She was kissing Doll-Baby.
”You okay?” Jimmy asked.
Jasmine looked up. Her face was wet. ”He tried to eat Doll-Baby.”
”No, he tried to bug you. You need to act like you don't care.”
Jasmine glared. ”He tookDoll-Baby.”
”You're getting too old for Doll-Baby anyway.”
Jasmine stood and kicked Jimmy in the leg.
”Want to go home?” he asked.
”And never come back. I hate Todd Boyle.”
”Waste of time.” Jimmy looked down at the kite he had made. There was a hole where he had drawn the eagle, and the support sticks were broken.
”Todd Boyle stomped it,” Jasmine said. ”And he threw the string.” She pointed at a white line that zigzagged off among the weeds.
”I can make another kite,” Jimmy said. ”I can make a hundred.” He looked across at Todd, who was ignoring them. ”Did he do anything else?”
”He said you wouldn't fight and he called you a p.i.s.sy.”
” 'p.u.s.s.y.' Say it right or you'll get made fun of.”
”Are you?” Jasmine asked.
Jimmy picked up his broken kite. ”Am I what?”
”Are you going to fight Todd Boyle!”
”No.” He started walking.
Jasmine toddled beside him, dragging Doll-Baby by one arm. ”But he was mean to me.”
”Lots of people are mean.”
As they pa.s.sed Chrissie and Kyle, Kyle said, ”Jimmy, our kite won't go up.” He sounded as if he were about to cry.
Jimmy stopped to help. As the batwing ascended, Chrissie said, ”We have a new baby at our house.”
She spoke with defiant pride, as if the baby made up for not being able to fly a kite. ”Her name is Tina, and she's only four weeks old.”
”So?” Jasmine said. ”Be nice,” Jimmy said, helping Kyle pay out the string.
”So my mom says Tina is the prettiest baby in the state,” Chrissie said.
”Me and Jimmy saw her at the store,” Jasmine said. ”She looks like a mashed turtle.”
Chrissie shoved Jasmine. ”You take that back!”
Jasmine swung Doll-Baby at Chrissie's head.
”Chrissie, look!” Kyle shouted. The batwing was almost as high as Todd's tiger.
Jimmy pulled Jasmine away from Chrissie, and Chrissie begged Kyle to let her hold the string. Things blew over fast when you were little. When you got older, they didn't. Jimmy guessed that someday, they wouldn't blow over at all.
After Jimmy and Jasmine crossed the Potwin road, Chrissie and Kyle cried out behind them. Jimmy looked back and saw that the tail of Todd's kite was smacking the batwing. Kyle was trying to pull the batwing away, but it only bobbled in place. Todd was going ”Moo-hoo-HA-HA-HAAAA!” Chrissie and Kyle began yanking on their string together.
Jimmy knew what would happen. The batwing's string snapped, and the kite tumbled backward until it crashed on the road. A farm truck ran over it. Kyle began to cry, and Chrissie screamed at her brother.
”That's what happens,” Todd shouted. ”That's what happens when you get help from a p.u.s.s.y.”
For the first time since Jimmy had come down from the tower, Todd looked at him. And grinned.
Jimmy turned to resume the two-mile walk home. Jasmine went into the ditch, her shoes squis.h.i.+ng on the wet ground at the bottom, and ran ahead. She thunked Doll-Baby's head on fence posts as she went.
”Won't that hurt her?” Jimmy asked.
”She likes it,” Jasmine said.
As they pa.s.sed the shattered batwing, Jimmy threw his own kite into the road with it. He kept the tail.
When Dad got home that evening, he came into the kitchen and said ”Supper fixed?” to Mom. This was a sign of trouble. Jimmy tried to get out the back door.
”Where you think you're going?”
Too late. ”Nowhere.”
”Nowhere what?”
”Nowhere, sir.” ”You get your ch.o.r.es done? You smash those cans like I told you?”