the next day


The next day, Johnny the Monkey Boy didn't really know what to do with himself while Stella was off at class.  He remembered an old, old feeling from a long time ago as he sat in her apartment staring out at the big, empty fields.  That old feeling he'd felt before when he'd been kicked out of Junior High School for wearing the shirt that said "FUCK SCHOOL" (he'd been wearing a sweater over it, but Cashmere LaRue told on him.  He never would have worn it like that—all bold for the world to see.  Under the sweater it was just for him.  A secret.  Mr. Meat, the principal, didn't care though.  He was angry at Johnny's ownership of the nasty shirt.  He called Johnny a "two-bit rebel."  And he said that a suspension would teach Johnny "a goddamned lesson!").

Way back then, when he hadn't been able to go to school, he'd stared out the window at the boys and girls continuing on like nothing important had happened.  They'd continued going to school when Johnny couldn't.  Johnny'd felt like he was no longer part of the world.  He'd been outside it.  Like a ghost.

So, when Stella was at her class, Johnny stared out at the vast fields.  He could see the road, all far away, and busy with cars.  People were going on with their days and Johnny wasn't a part of it.

     He couldn't work—Mango Monkeys were not permitted to work in Summerlandia.

He didn't know what to do with himself.

So he stared out the window and felt like a ghost.

And he sat there and looked.  And looked . . .


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