The Paper Boy

Bobby rode by every day on his bicycle. His bag was always so big, it looked like he might topple over onto the pavement. Soggy cheerios. I slid off my chair, landing on my feet so hard, I felt where the rock had cut my skin. Mom warned me, told me to wear shoes, but  Mom always warns me. I don’t always listen. Sometimes I do. Like when she tells me to stay away from Mr. Carey’s yard. I listen then because Mr. Carey scares me. He’s a warlock. Mom says he’s a nice man and just needs his privacy. But his face is mean. It’s all squinted up, like he can’t see or something, and he has a spot on his forehead that sticks out like the eraser on the end of a pencil. I’m afraid something might come out of it.

“Sophie!” Bobby called me from the back door.

His bag was empty now. It hung by the ground all limp. I wanted to have a sack race in it, but Bobby told me that delivering papers was important business, and if I muddied up his bag, he wouldn’t work for Mr. Russom anymore. Bobby called to Mom, telling her that he was taking me to school.

“Goodbye, Sophie. Have fun at school! Bobby, give your mom my best!”
 Mom says that every day when we leave for school.

Bobby’s Mom is real sick, and it makes her cry all the time, and she can’t leave her bed. Some mornings I lay in bed thinking it wouldn’t be bad to be like Bobby’s mom because my bed feels comfy. But then I have to go to the bathroom or eat breakfast, and I just gotta leave. Bobby’s mom must have a real comfy bed.

Bobby used to hold my hand when we walked to school, but he doesn’t anymore. Sometimes he grabs the back of my overalls if I go too far into the street. When he does this, I turn into his puppy on a leash, and I start licking at his face and dancing around his feet. He says this is stupid, but he laughs and pats me on the head anyway. Bobby’s hair is all long now. It’s shaggy, and hangs in front of his eyes. I think it looks silly, and I tell him he needs a barber, but he says he likes it that way. I don’t know how he could like looking from behind that big mane.

Today, Bobby got a strange kind of look on his face when we passed Mr. Carey’s house on our way back. He showed me that Mr. Carey’s paper was still on his front stoop. He can’t get it because he’s busy making bad spells. I threw my ball at Bobby, but he set it down by my shoes. He plays with the older boys across the street now. I don’t like them much.

My bed was soft and comfy like the belly of a lion, or something. I hugged on to Charlie tight. He always helped me get into bed. We count… 1… 2… 3… Jump! I would jump before Mr. Carey or Wes came out from under my bed to grab my feet. I sucked on Charlie’s eye. It was black and round, and smooth in my mouth. Mom always says she’s gonna fix it up because it’s hanging by a teeny thread.

Charlie helps me think of happy things like new crayons, and the way my hair feels all hot when the sun shines on it. Mrs. Brown told me I am a good reader. She smells like marshmallows. When I get a drink of water from the fountain, it feels cool in my mouth. It’s so cool, I can feel it run down my throat, and into the very bottom of my stomach. It feels like when Bobby squirts me with the hose when it’s hot out. I wonder if Bobby will still do that now because now he plays with Jared and Kevin and Wes. Jared is real tall with orange hair and brown spots all over his body, his arms and everything. Kevin’s tummy is full of jello, and it hangs over his pants and swings back and forth when he runs. Wes is hot and sweaty. His chest is hard, and it hurts my face. It hurts. His hands are strong. Don’t tell Mom. Don’t tell Bobby. I’ll be punished. It’s dark and there are mean animals outside. I hug onto Charlie tighter. Mr. Carey sneaks around my house. He puts bad spells all over. I cry out loud until Mom comes and lies in bed next to me.

Bobby’s worried about Mr. Carey too. He told me so. I told him he should be worried about that mean old warlock. Then he shook his head and he told me that I don’t understand anything. I kick the ball against the wall of the shed by myself now. I look over at Mr. Carey’s house to see if he’s making any bad spells over there. He’s not. Fireflies start to blink around me like blinkers on a car. There’s a hand on my shoulder. It’s hot and sweaty. It moves up to my neck, and pushes me behind the shed. Don’t tell mom. Don’t tell Bobby. I’ll be punished. I open my eyes because they had been squeezed shut. Bobby’s head is floating in the light of the streetlamp. He doesn’t see me. I run. We run and run, and then I’m in Mr. Carey’s living room. It smells like chicken when it goes bad in the compost, but even worse. Everything is black. The hand is over my eyes, but it’s not hot and sweaty. It’s Bobby’s hand.

I hug Charlie while Bobby whispers to mom. She gets a real serious look on her face, and calls someone on the phone. Red and blue lights flash on the ceiling. Mom puts her hand on my shoulder. She tells me that Mr. Carey passed away. She asks me if I understand what that means. I nod yes. She asks me if I’m sad. I nod yes again. Then she squeezes me tight. She picks out a black dress for me to wear. I put it on, and I hold Bobby’s hand. We sit together in the cemetery, holding hands for a long time.

“Are you sad about Mr. Carey, Bobby?”

“Yeah”

“Yeah, me too”

“What are you sad for? You said he was an old warlock”

“C’mon, Bobby. I knew he wasn’t really a warlock”

“Course you did”

“Bobby…”

“Yeah, kid?’

“I have to tell you something”

I don’t have to yell for mom anymore at night. Bobby lets me play ball with the boys now. Well just Jared and Kevin. Wes went away, and he’s not coming back. I like playing with the boys.  I like it when the sun makes my hair all hot. I like it when Mrs. Brown lets me read to the class. I like Charlie’s loose button. I don’t have anything to be scared of. I smile at Bobby whose long mane was blowing around in the wind. Bobby said I’ll always have him, and if I have him, I’ll always be safe. Forever and ever.

 

Author's Note

First draft...This is very different from my usual stuff. It's definitely not a straight forward read. I read Bestiary by Julio Cortazar, and it inspired me to attempt a different kind of narrative. It's supposed to be fragmented, and even a bit confusing at times, but there's good reason for it. I hope you enjoy!

Reviews

[Not Your Typical New Yo..]

I do like the idea of having everything happening all at once, then it slowly progresses through the story, answering all our questions. Nicely done.

[Carly]

Thanks for reading!

[Not Your Typical New Yorker]

I forgot to mention, in Robert McCammon's short story "Something Passed By" (which can be found in Blue World), he starts the story off very, very confusing, but as you read it along, things began to make sense. It's an interesting type of writing

[Carly]

This was a new approach for me, and it was really fun to lay out! It's good to try new things.

[Kelsey]

The narrative was authentic in the story. I didn't have to be told how old Sophie is because of the narrative and that was the biggest strength in the story. I did have a hard time understanding what was happening when Sophie ran into Mr. Carey's house. I understood that he had died and Sophie didn't quite understand it, but I was confused as to why her mom kept questioning her. I also wasn't sure how they found out about what Wes was doing to Sophie. Since Sophie does seem to be sad that Mr. Carey died I feel like there was a relation there that I didn't get.

Besides that, the story was strong and I found it to be immersive to due to the narration.

[Carly]

Thanks! I was trying to be a little confusing. This isn't like my usual stuff. You kind of need to look at the story for awhile, and let it sink in before you really understand it. I was just experimenting with this new idea, and this story is what came out of it!

[InsanityWriter]

I like it. :) It's so innocent and well written. (: Great work!!

100/100

[Carly]

Thanks for reading!

[KeeD]

You're my favorite story writer on this site, I've said it and i'll say it again to anyone who asks. Mr Carey the Warlock lol I could hear that as a song :P

The build up to this story is so innocent and honest and brilliant.. Wow. Carly I couldn't help but be stopped by a break in the flow when the walk to school lands up with Sophie hugging her teddy bear in bed. It's a sudden jump which is well explained as i carry on but I felt like there was something I missed along the way. This was just a good story overall. Felt like I was living across the road from this little girl and Mr Carey and I watched him be a real old prune towards the kids and how the kids were around him but I saw the emotions change when he finally went away and how kids grow up and unite in difficult times.. Very touching and beautifully captured. Carly you amaze me. You look like little Sophie btw :D I bet you have a teddybear named Charlie, haha.

[Carly]

Thank you so much! I appreciate your feedback.

And you're close. Charlie is not the name of a stuffed animal, but it is the name of my guinea pig, haha.