Maggie and Juju took Seth straight from the Melrose Diner to the library in Kensington. As they walked up the steps, Maggie heard children laughing and yelling. She peered in the direction of the high-pitched voices, and her eyes fell upon a small group of young boys. They were pointing and laughing. She heard one of the voices above the crowd. “Seth, what cha goin’ in there for? You probably don’t even know what a library is. You’re too stupid to read.”
The group of boys began chanting, “Seth, Seth, you have nasty breath; your mother was too stupid to put you to death. Seth, Seth, you have nasty breath; your mother was too stupid to put you to death.”
Juju started to step toward the boys, but Maggie gripped her shoulder. “No, let me,” she said.
Maggie bent down to whisper in Seth’s ear. “Do those boys go to your school?”
Seth nodded, blood rushing to his face in blotchy circles as his embarrassment mounted. He looked as though he was going to cry again.
“Do they tease you like this all the time?” Maggie asked, feeling the enormity of the burden Seth had been carrying.
“Yeah. Sometimes it’s worse. When we’re at recess, they chase me around and throw the basketball at me. I told them it hurts when they hit me with the ball, but they won’t stop,” he confessed.
“I see. I want you to wait here with Juju,” Maggie instructed.
“No, Aggie! Please don’t say nothin’. They’ll be meaner to me,” he begged.
“It’ll be OK. I just want to talk to them. I’ll be right back,” she responded.
Maggie walked over to the boys with her head held high and her back perfectly erect.
“Hi, guys. My name is Maggie. I’m Seth’s sister. I heard you teasing him. Why are you doing that?” she asked sweetly.
“’Cause he’s a stupid idiot. He can’t even spell or read or nothin’,” one of them reported.
“Yeah, and he always smells like poop, too!” a different boy chimed in, as they pushed each other and laughed. “We think he eats his own poop,” the boy continued, impressing his friends with his remarks.
“Well, that’s interesting. Let me ask you a question. How would you feel if everyone picked on you for no reason? I mean, Seth is quiet, but he isn’t stupid, and he definitely doesn’t smell or eat his poop. In fact, I think that anyone who does what you guys are doing to Seth is very mean. How about if you cut him a break?” she said.
The boys noticed the tension in her voice.
“Why don’t you all run home to your mommies and tell them what you do to Seth? Hey. Maybe, I’ll go tell your parents what you’re doing. How about that? Now, I think that’s a great idea,” Maggie said, tapping her chin with her index finger.
The boys grew nervous. “Let’s go, guys,” one of the boys said. He started walking away from the library.
“Oh, boys? I know where all of you live. So unless you want me to go talk to your parents, you will stop picking on Seth. Understand?” Maggie asked. “Stop being so nasty!” she added in a powerful voice.
Maggie made all of them a little worried. None of them answered her. They walked away whispering to each other, and Maggie knew she had only gotten Seth a temporary reprieve from his tormentors.
“What did they say, Aggie?” Seth asked when she returned.
“Not much. But I’m hoping they’ll leave you alone for a while,” she said.
Seth ran his hand through his golden-blond hair, “Probably not. They like pickin’ on me. When I grow up, I’m gonna be strong with big muscles and kick the shit out of all of them.”
“Shit, huh? Where did you learn that?” Maggie asked with a smile.
“Juju.”
Maggie turned to her friend. “Oh, great. So Juju is teaching you how to curse. Way to go, Juju!” she said, giggling.
Maggie turned back to Seth. “You know…when I was your age, the kids at school picked on me too,” she confessed. “I was always left out of everything. On the day that John William took me, I had talked my mom into letting me go buy a slice of pizza on my own at the food court. I wanted to show the girls who left me out that I was independent. Trying to get even with them cost me my family,” she finished sadly.
Seth’s eyes bulged from their sockets. Maggie realized that she’d scared him without intending to.
“I have an idea. How about if Juju teaches you how to kickbox?” Maggie said with excitement.
Juju lit up. “Yeah, dude. I can teach you how to protect yourself from those little creeps.”
“Really? I’m gonna learn to read and fight? Yay!” Seth announced, bouncing up and down. “I love you, Aggie.”
“Really, dude? What about me? Where’s my love?” Juju teased and started to tickle him.
Seth was giggling so hard that he was gasping for air when Juju finally stopped. Maggie watched them, her feelings of love running deeper for the two people whom she considered her only family. She extended her hand to Seth, he grabbed it, and she led him into the library.
Learning, she knew, was the only way to break the cycle. This was the one gift she could give to Seth that no one would ever be able to take away from him. She was reminded of her own parents and the gift of learning they’d given her.
For just a few minutes, she allowed herself to think about Lorraine and Rob Clarke. She wondered if they still missed her. So much time had passed that her memories of them had become foggy, almost surreal. She still missed her parents—their good natures and loving ways. Her life was so different now, and she was so far removed from the world she’d once known. Her dreams of being reunited with them, once so strong and vivid, had diminished. Now it seemed as though those dreams had belonged to another person.