Prisoner 88 by Leah Pileggi

Author:Leah Pileggi [Pileggi, Leah]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-1-60734-534-3
Publisher: Charlesbridge
Published: 2013-08-28T04:00:00+00:00

Me and Charles kept at each other every chance we got, but never loud or mean enough to get in trouble again. Had us a pissing contest the one day. I woulda won, but the wind changed.

One time I was waiting around for Henry, and Charles was just plain waiting around. I had to ask, “So it don’t much seem like you want to go to school.”

“What would you know about school?”

“Well, had me my own version of school, I guess.” And then I told him ‘bout Mr. Nance and then Mr. Hawkes.

Charles thought ‘bout all that for a minute. Then he said, “Well, I’m sorry about Mr. Nance. But all you did was just reading. I have to do math and such.”

Couldn’t think of anything to match that, so I just said, “I have to sleep in a cage.”

That pretty much shut him up.

Mr. Criswell’s cat kept on following me and Henry home almost every day. And every time, I’d say boo and he’d turn and run back to the hogs. Crazy cat.

One day as I was mixing up a batch of slop, the cat slithered on by. “That old scrawny tomcat got a name, Mr. Criswell?”

“Nope,” he said. “Just call it Cat. Been living around here for years.”

“Don’t suppose you know he follows me home most days.”

He was mixing up his own slop recipe. “You don’t say.”

“What you suppose that cat wants, Mr. Criswell?”

I was used to looking at the top of his head by then. Right then he looked to me at first like he was thinking. But he took so long, I wondered if he hadn’t gone to sleep standing up.

I said, “Why’s that cat follow me, do ya think?”

“Well, Jake, maybe it just likes to look at new places.”

Made sense to me. I liked looking at new places, mostly.

When Henry showed up, Mr. Criswell sent me to fetch something while they did some talking. On that walk home, I asked Henry, “What was you and Mr. Criswell talking ‘bout?”

“Nothing important, Jake.”

And then he changed the subject to one I was hoping for.

He said, “Warden Johnson has decided that you can work with Mr. Shin on your reading.”

“Is that right?”

“But the warden will test both of you in two weeks and see if you’re making progress.”

Me and Mr. Shin would have to work real hard. No way I was gonna get pushed back on Mr. Hawkes.

Right after dinner, Henry come and led me over to Mr. Shin’s cell.

“We got to work fast, Mr. Shin. If I don’t read good in two weeks, Warden White Beard is gonna fire you.”

Mr. Shin had his hand over his mouth, but I could see his eyes laughing.

“What?”

“Jake, you have funny words.”

Being all business, I said, “Well, if we don’t get a move on, I won’t have no new ones.”

I handed my primer over to Mr. Shin. He took a good long time looking it over. Seeing as there weren’t much light to read by, even in the bright afternoon, I let him have it for a while.

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