“You’d better get out of there. Snake is coming this way.”

Another Country -4-
by Erin Halfelven

I made it to the restrooms in the center of the park, but no one had followed me. It wasn’t that long of a run but I stood there, just inside, gasping like I had finished a half-marathon and staring at my reflection in the stainless steel mirror.

My face was flushed but pale around my mouth. I could see my chest, and my t-shirt had two wadded-up spots right over my nipples, which still ached from the twisting Chud had given them. I started to lift my shirt but changed my mind and pulled down and out on the neck to look inside.

The view was unsatisfying so I glanced around to be sure I was alone and lifted my shirt after all. In the mirror, I could see that the flesh around my nipples looked angry, red, and swollen. I touched one and it felt hot and puffy, also tender.

I pulled my shirt down and stared at myself in the mirror. The little chest lumps were clearly visible, each coming to a small rounded point. I had little titties like some of the girls had started growing back in seventh grade.

Was Chud the only one who had noticed? How had I not noticed before now? Would they get bigger? My eyes were stinging as I tried to imagine a future starting from this point.

The big guy’s voice came from outside the restroom. “You okay in there?”

I made a noise, a grunt or maybe a sob.

“I’m sorry, Robin,” Chud apologized. “Sometimes I’m just an asshole.” He paused. “Did I hurt you?”

I nodded but he couldn’t see that, so I grunted again. In the mirror, I saw that my eyes had filled with tears.

Then Chud spoke again. “You’d better get out of there. Snake is coming this way.” Meaning Gary Swopes, a senior who often played basketball with us.

The restroom had stalls but no stall doors, just that they didn’t open into the main part of the room and were set at a ninety-degree angle. Not stopping to wonder why I should want to hide, I moved into the stall farthest from the door. I even sat on the stool and lifted my feet so my shoes couldn’t be seen.

Outside the restroom, I heard Chud greet Snake with a terse grunt, and get a similar response.

Gary came in, whistling something between his teeth, another reason for his Snake nickname. I tried to stay quiet while listening to Gary pull his shorts down, and then use the urinal with much splashing. I found myself wondering if he was particularly snakelike down there, too. This made me smile, and smiling made my nose itch because of the tears I had shed before.

Right in the middle of Gary’s relief break, I sneezed.

Gary cursed loudly., ending with a demand, “Who the fuck is hiding in here?”

I got down off the stool and took some tissues from the dispenser. Blowing my nose, I stepped out of the hidden stall. “It’s me,” I admitted.

Gary still stood in front of the urinal but had taken a step back, now missing his target. If the smell of the open urinal wasn’t enough, the reek doubled its potency as a yellow pool spread across the cement floor. “You made me piss on my shoes!” he said, pointing at his feet.

I couldn’t help it. I didn’t look at his feet; I looked at his hand and then at something else pointing down. It was a bit snakelike, in a general sort of way, and that made me smile again.

Gary glared at me, then looked down. “You little queer!” he accused. He shook his “snake” and put it back in his underwear, then pulled his shorts up while I stood there, holding my snotty tissue in front of my face to hide my smile.

I knew Gary was mad and that I shouldn’t smile, but I had noticed that the curly hair of his groin was almost black, darker than the hair on his head and not like the red stuff growing on his chest, arms and legs. So, smiling was required. Gary was a calico.

Once he had put things away, Gary got back to cussing and calling me names. He waved his arms around, too, yelling that he would make me pay for a new pair of shoes.

When I saw Chud looming in the doorway, I decided I should get out of there. I yelled, “Chud!” and tried to dodge around Gary when he turned to look at the door.

“You little cocksucker,” Gary protested, swinging his long arms to try to block me.

I did the small forward moves I used on the court and avoided him, but Chud was still filling the door. I bounced off his belly, and Gary grabbed me from behind.

“Let me go!” I screamed. There are no referees in bathrooms, so I retaliated instead of waiting for a foul to be called. I grabbed his big hand in both of mine and dug my thumbnails into the web between his fingers.

And suddenly, I was free, and Chud backed up so I could go around him. Chud stepped sideways as I sped past him. “Go home, Robin,” he warned me in a loud voice. Then he stepped back into the doorway, slamming Gary against the doorframe with his bulk.

“Get otta my way, Lardo!” Gary screamed.

“Oh, y’shunna said that,” Chud commented mildly.

I didn’t look back. They were about the same height, but Chud outweighed Snake by at least fifty pounds, with the tactical advantage of not really trying to go anywhere while Gary was still inside the toilet.

I headed straight for the back door of the Merrit family businesses, intending to retrieve my bike and get out of Dodge. Or at least out of the park and the whole downtown area. Snake was likely to remain unhappy, no matter how the struggle with Chud turned out.

Josh shouted at me as I ran past the courts, where everyone seemed to be taking a break to drink Gatorade. “What’s happening?” he asked.

“I dunno,” I lied. “Ask Gary! He and Chud are going at it in the restroom.” I didn’t feel proud of the misinformation, but if Snake got free, he could still probably catch me before I got my bike out to the street. Maybe a conversation with Josh would slow him down.

I dashed through the backdoor of the Merrit shops, ignoring the stairwell leading to the living quarters, and dodged into the storage room behind the bridal shop. The heavy outside door had swung closed behind me, making maneuvering the bike backward into the hallway and holding the big door open while exiting difficult.

Usually, I had Josh’s help with this part, but I could hear his voice from across the courts; he’d apparently gone toward the restrooms, probably to try to break up the fight.

I had the bike into the alleyway between the business block and the park now, but it had taken too long. I could hear and see Snake roaring toward me, with Josh shouting in pursuit. I didn’t see Chud at all, which worried me a bit. He and Snake were both known for being dirty fighters, and I hoped the big guy hadn’t been hurt.

I got on my bike, figuring I could come back for my basketball. Once on my wheels, I could evade Snake so I headed for home.

The last I heard was the laughter of the other players as Gary shouted at Josh, “Your girlfriend was spying on me taking a piss! And she bit me!”

I hadn’t bit him, I’d used my fingernails, but I wished I hadn’t heard that and pedaled harder.