On the Hook by Francisco X. Stork

Author:Francisco X. Stork [Francisco X. Stork]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780545555753
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
Published: 2021-05-18T04:00:00+00:00

Furman was situated on an old air force base and that’s what the place looked like. A tall kid who introduced himself as Jerry took Joey and Hector around what he called the “campus” while they waited for Colonel Taylor to get out of a staff meeting. Hector saw the barracks where kids lived, or dorms, as they were called. They were long aluminum sheds that had once housed the airmen. Classes were held in a two-story cinder-block building that used to be the base’s administrative headquarters. The gym was a converted airplane hangar.

“It’s electrified,” Jerry said to Joey, who was studying the chain-link fence. “See those three wires up on the top? It’s almost impossible to climb over the fence without touching them. The last kid who tried ended up in the infirmary unconscious. When they took his clothes off, his balls were the size and color of ripe avocados.”

Joey stared up at Jerry, wondering whether to believe him.

“I kid you not,” Jerry said without even the hint of a smile. “Besides, no one tries to escape. Where you end up if you get caught is a hell of a lot worse than here. Most everyone here knows that for a fact. Let’s go back inside and see if the colonel is ready to see you.”

They sat next to each other on wobbly wooden chairs. Joey was holding the paper bag with all his things on his lap. Hector had his suitcase. In front of them sat a woman typing on a keyboard. She was big and looked mean. The woman got up, went to a printer, retrieved two sheets of paper, and went back to her chair. She did not look at them once. They could have been part of the dingy furniture for all she cared.

Jerry came in and stood in front of the woman, waiting for her to look up.

“What?” she said impatiently.

“They’re all set. I got Mendez in D-20 with Pina. Robles is with Dominguez in D-12. Got them sheets, towel, the usual package.”

“When I first started working here, we used to de-lice, shower, and deodorize a kid as soon as he got here. I miss those days.” The woman gave Joey a quick glance.

“They’ll each get a haircut before their heads hit the pillow.” Jerry ran a hand over his crew cut.

“The head’s not the only place lice live,” the woman said.

“I can’t help you there,” Jerry responded, laughing.

“Tell Antonini to make sure these two shower.” There was another look at Joey. Hector repeated the room numbers to himself and did the math: We’ll be eight rooms apart. Perfect. A red light blinked on a telephone console, and the woman picked up the phone. She listened and hung up. “José Mendez, you’re up.”

Joey stood slowly, then bent down for his bag.

“Leave it there,” the woman said. “We need to search it.”

Joey stopped to consider the woman’s command. They locked stares. The woman won. She walked to a door on the opposite side of the room, opened it, and stood by as Joey disappeared into a dark space.

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