The Big Green

"[SCRUNCH! BURST!! HISS!!! SPLAT!!!! The red convertible comes to a screeching stop and the driver, a woman in her late twenties, gets out and closes the door]"

"[With that said, the three girls return to their task at hand. Namely, lining the road with a variety of crushable items, such as soda cans, a packet of mustard, and an empty milk carton. The idea is that a car passing side-by-side will flatten the stuff like a pancake. But the girls never stick around to see the items get crushed anymore. It is just something to do]"

"Kate: The only fashion we know for sure, is the new teacher will be a loser. Otherwise, she wouldn't come here."

"Polly: Me either."

"Sophia: I didn't know that."

"[Sophia and Polly pause for a bit]"

"Kate: She smelled because she chewed garlic pills, which she thought were medicine, which gave her gross body odor."

"Sophia: She smelled because she had such gross body odor."

"Kate: I thought she smelled because she chewed garlic pills."

"Sophia: Mrs. Vancil smelled because of the medicine."

"Polly: I hope she doesn't smell."

"Sophia: I hope this year she won't drink."

"Kate: Perhaps. Perhaps not. Nobody's shown up yet."

"Polly: At least tomorrow, we get a new teacher. [She tags behind her two friends, pulling her pet goat, Ernie, by a rope]"

"Sophia: We're never gone to school with anyone but these geeks."

"Kate: I can't believe tomorrow we start another school year with these geeks. [She has a shag of unkempt hair and wears an outfit of rough-and-topple clothes. In her hand is a pocketknife, her constant companion, that she is forever twirling absentmindedly like a baton]"

"[Not far off, on the paved road that leads toward the schoolhouse, three girls watch the boys disgustedly]"

"[No doubt about it, this is the most fun they have had all summer]"

"[Suddenly, the pigeons swoop down on the boys and begin pecking and pulling greedily at the cheese curls that covered them. The boys laugh and try to keep silent]"

"Larry: Here they come!"

"[Eventually, they see a pigeon flying overhead. Soon the pigeon is joined by another pigeon, then another, and another. Now there are dozens of hungry pigeons circling overhead]"

"[Then they wait. And wait. And wait]"

"[As Evan has done covering his friends with chips, he lays down and drizzles the rest of the bag on his own legs]"

"Nick: No more, Larry."

"Larry: Just one! To see if they're fresh!"

"Jeffrey: Larry!"

"[CRUNCH!! Larry has sneaked one of the cheese curls into his mouth]"

"[Evan tears open the bag and begins drizzling the cheese curls over his friends]"

"[The boys ride over to the recess field, dump their bikes and march to the center of it. Nick hands the bag of cheese curls to Evan. Then Nick, Larry and Jeffrey lay down on the ground]"

"[The boys laugh as they ride past the sign. There is nothing "big" about this field, and there is certainly nothing green about it]"

"[The boys ride their bikes to a small two-room building that stands between two fields. The Elma schoolhouse serves as both a high school and an elementary school. Mostly, it is an embarrassment. On one side of the building is the recess yard and a baseball diamond that is covered with weeds. On the other side is another, larger field, also covered with weeds. A chain-link fence runs along the outside of this field, and two goalposts sag at either end. A sign at the entrance proudly declares "The Big Green, District 34 Recreation Area". The sign is so old and rusted, it is hard to read]"

"[And as everybody knows, Elma is the most boring town in Texas. In the world]"

"Nick: What else is he gonna collect? [The others shrug in agreement. After all, they live in Elma]"

"Evan: Lots. You know I collect them."

"Jeffrey: Hey, Evan? How many rocks you have at home?"

"[Evan takes up the rear. He always moves a little more slowly than the rest, probably because of his pants, which are always too long. While the other boys are climbing back onto their bicycles, Evan catches sight of an oddly shaped rock. Wow, he thinks. He bends down and picks up the stone, and his thick-framed glasses slide down his nose]"

"Larry: I don't know any other songs."

"Jeffrey: Change songs, Larry."

"[Jeffrey, who likes to think of himself as the leader of the group and likes to boss the others around]"

"[Larry bursts into an old song]"

"Nick: Two points!"

"[The boys stay just long enough to buy a bag of cheese curls, but hurry back outside. One of them, Nick, kicks an empty beer can into the middle of Main Street, where it is immediately crushed by a passing truck]"

"[The boys ride slowly and lazily, until they reach the gas station and general store that is run by Polly's mum. They park their bikes, laying them down in the weed patch behind the gas pump, and go inside. Polly's mother, who is counting the store inventory for the second time that day, is glad to see them. After all, they are the only customers she's had all afternoon]"

"[After a moment, the boy feels Kate's eyes on him and returns her gaze. Their eyes lock]"

"[Kate watches the boy. She decides he may be Mexican, since Elma is so close to the border. He looks to be about her age, she thinks. And not hard-looking, either]"

"[The woman gets out of the car and goes inside the store. She hands some money to Polly's mum. Then she returns to the car. The boy climbs out and goes to the gas pump and begins filling the tank]"

"[A few moments later, a station wagon pulls up to the gas pump. It is an old, beat-up car that looks as if it either hasn't been washed in years or has been on the road for a very long time. Or perhaps both. A woman and a boy are up front. Probably a mother and son. The back of the car is crowded with boxes and suitcases, and the girls figure the two of them are moving somewhere. No fashion can they be moving to Elma. After all, no one is that desperate]"

"[Polly walks up with Ernie in tow, and the three girls hike the short distance from school to Mrs. Holland's gas station. Polly's mum gives the girls a free bottle of Coke, which they pass back and forth as they sit on the stoop in front of the station]"

"Kate: She'll never last."

"Sophia: Then whaddya think?"