(pens seem magically to appear tucked
in over his left ear – his usual way was tucking them in was over his right – sometimes unknown to him he walked around with pens above both ears
and when he wore his hair long their red caps showed and people consistently helpfully-intended
would pluck at the capsYou got something in your hair not realising what it was
or that a pen was attached
when he wore slacks he
always had two three paper leaves folded up in his back pocket so when he was
moved by minutiae intrigued he could write it down
he kept his front pockets for coins his right
for folded cash his drivers license and debitcard slipped inside secured within
the denominations
(as close to church as he would ever get willingly) )
as he walked to-days minutiae occurred in a word oracle
though he didnt think of it in its usual
definitionbut of the definition he learned rather affixed to it as a kid as he slaughtered the
neighborhood kids in stoopball with his presumed uncanny ability to catch the
step-edge and launch the rubber ball beyond the home run line marked on the sidewalk behind themblasting it over his inert
opponent whose only reaction was to watch it go byebye putting the game utterly beyond
reach or cinching a win in the ninth
a walk-off
homer
it was pure hand-eye coordination
he was curiously blessed(as close to church as he would ever get
willingly) with an accurate and strong throwing arm
they all the neighborhood kids devised and agreed to a 9-run slaughter rule
at the end of five innings so he could be onto the next kid and not waste time playing
futile games
one day while throwing against either
concrete or wood stepshe couldnt remember – each kids house had a stoop hence the notion(it was
only a notion) of homefield advantage – and while throwing the ball against the stairs
the vanquished homefield kid went into his house and returned carrying a Magic
8-Ball he received for his recent birthday
he never saw a Magic 8-Ball
before
the kid went on an on trying
desperately to gain back some esteem from his slaughter-rule loss about a very curious notion
that the 8-Ball was an oracle it could
foretell the future
breathlessly he went on
about how you had to concentrateReally concentrate hard I
mean hard then ask a question that can be
answered Yes or No And the eight-ball
will tell you It is certainIt is decidedly soWithout a doubtYes definitelyYou
may rely on itAs I see it, yesMost likelyOutlook goodYesSigns point to yesReply
hazy try againAsk again laterBetter not tell you nowCannot predict
nowConcentrate and ask againDon’t count on itMy reply is noMy sources say noOutlook
not so goodVery doubtful
You memorised all its answers
I did
Because
Because I think as an oracle it
likes that I want to know everything about it
Ah Makes sense
Yah Doesnt it
Here watch he closed his eyes tightreally tight it looked excruciating we all stood around him quiet
you could hear the birdcalls the hum of the traffic on Harlem a block
over behind us the neighbor ladys clothes whipping on the clothesline Eight-ball
Will Joe win this next game too
the kid he was onto next rolled his eyes but didnt say a thing
Without a doubt it foretold
See
he shrugged he quit counting how
many games in a row hed won in his current streak the neighborhood kids played to play of
course but seemed to play to be therebe around when someone did beat him
but nobody was holding their
breath
for Joe it was like that too in
pool or playing table-top hockey
it didnt seem to matter on whose
table or whose hockey game they played
he rarely lost
he was too agile too coordinated
too fast
hand-eye coordination
playing every game to win he lost
when someone beat him
then hed start the next streak
some of the older kids in the neighborhoodreally
upset by their losses egged him into
backyard boxing matches gloves a ring laid out on the grass with a
clothesline
it was a different game
he was small
he got rocked plenty of times
his streak then was losing
then he learned it too saw things before they happened and rocked back
hand-eye coordination(and staying
out of the way of desperate haymakers)
Without a doubt the Magic 8-Ball said
then one night sleeping over on
the front porch of the neighborhood kid who owned the 8-Ball he put it through
its paces
he didnt believe(as close to
church as he would ever get willingly)
Ya gotta believe in the oracle if
ya want it to work
It always works right for you
It does If I have doubts about anything Ill go to it
and ask
Where do you keep it
I keep it on my study desk beside
my transistor radio
It doesnt foul up your radioI mean
you said it has sourcesthat struck me strangea plastic ball having sourceswhat
sources
Mystical sources
What
Mystical Do you know mystical
I dont
That means that the magic eight-ball
provides a sense of mystery and awe its
fascinating
Okay For you maybe
Then its not going to work for
you
But it works for you
Yes It does
Howbout I think hard of a
question then write it down for you to ask it
I dont know
It
works for you It doesnt have eyeballs
Hmm Well
Lets try
then question after question
asking questions he knew the answers to he confounded his playfriendshook his
faith in the Magic 8-Ball and as
every wrong answer revealed itself he began sputtering Or he rephrased the questions Or
he tried to offer ridiculous explanationsOr
it became ugly
the boy asked him to leave
he didnt want him over at his
house any longer
with tears in his eyes he said
You should go home I dont want you here
Or
Whaddaya mean or
You know how often you said or to
me to make some room for your eight balls wrong answers
If I said or I said or so you
could see there were other possibilities
But there werent
Nonot to you
Yes Not to me
You should go My mom will call your mom
Then have her tell my mom Im on
my wayI aint waiting
YahOkay
Yeah Your
oracle to me is an OR oracle An oracle
Dont say that
I cant help myself
Oracle(as close to church as he would ever get willingly)
1254, Day-between-Two-Ts, 19 4.
17
1135, Thursday,
20 4. 17(4/20)
1370
days remaining or fewer
