Remedies for Hunger by Anara Guard

Author:Anara Guard [Guard, Anara]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Rowan Publishing via Indie Author Project
Published: 2014-08-15T04:00:00+00:00

When I walk to school, I say the numbers of the streets—52nd, 51st, 50th—and the numbers on the houses, odd on one side of the block, even on the other. I watch where I walk and here’s why: Step on a line, break your mother’s spine; step on a crack, break your mother’s back. Lots of kids pretend they don’t believe it but you can see how they suddenly lurch into a short step or stretch their legs long to avoid the cracks and the Stinkfish.

I never step on Stinkfish. Daddy says the men who poured the cement to make the sidewalks left those marks with the name of the company in them so you can tell who had a good pour and who didn’t. One company made shamrock shapes—we call those Angelfish and they’re good luck. We rub our sneakers and Hush Puppies on the words for extra luck, even though you can’t read them anymore.

I count the stairs up the front stoops of the brownstones too, even if I’m not going up them, and how many light poles are on each block. And I measure how I cross the street. It has to be an even number of steps or else I walk the whole next block like one foot is heavier than the other.

Even numbers are my favorite. Mrs. Collins, our teacher, says that nine is a magic number but I don’t think so. Ten is much better and I want to stay ten forever. The one with that zero next to it make a nice couple. Like Jack Sprat and his wife: she eats fat and he doesn’t, but they sit at the same table and get along just fine.

Odd, even, odd. If I keep counting, I’ll know what comes next. The avenues run north and south, the streets go east and west. I’m safe as long as I don’t go past 47th Street. After that, the neighborhood is gone, and I don’t know who might be my friend.

How to Not Be Fat

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.