Teacher Where are the Hookers

“The teacher wants me to have dad talk with you about what you said today.”

My sister looks up at me with her innocent confused face that seems to be one of her most frequent looks. “I didn’t say nuthing”

“It was with the reading teacher. You asked her about hookers.”

“Yeah so. She said she was going to get us hookers for today and I wanted to know where they were. That’s not wrong.”

“What are hookers Izzy?”

“You know those things that you put stuff on. Like a packback.”

“Oh okay those aren’t hookers. They are just hooks. Not hookers. Hookers isn’t a word, silly.” As the words left my mouth I knew I had made a mistake because the next question was going to be a tough one.
Izzy took a minute to watch a boy across the street then turned to me...
Yep here it comes.

“Nuhuh, dad talks about them with Brain Dead Mike.”

“Don’t call him that. If he hears you he will get really mad. Dad even let him hit me when I said it to him.”

“But it's what he is called. Everybody calls him that, even dad.”

“Dad can do it because Mike is afraid of him.”

“Well they still talk about hookers. I heard them talking about it the day we didn’t have school. They were really grumpy and stinky. I was watching cartoons and they were talking about the hookers and how much they cost. They said it took a lot of money to get them.”

“Look Izzy, I know you think that they were talking about hooks like we have in school, but they were talking about something else…an adult something else. Just forget about and don’t talk about hookers in school any more. Okay?”

Izzy didn't like when I told her what to do…sometimes it made her do it even more, but this time she knew that I meant it. At least I hope she did. Dad can be so dumb sometimes. It was better when he had the store. He tried to do things right then.

“Jadon?”

“Yes iz.”

“What about hooks? Can I talk about those?”

“Sheesh Iz of course…” then I saw the look on her face. It was one of those sort of smiles she gets where the tips of her mouth bounce up and down trying to hold in her laugh. As I called her stinker I picked her up and threw her over my shoulder to run down the street with her screaming the whole way.

The smoke hung in the air about three feet from the ground. I could hear the video games sounds before we opened the door. Dad and his friends had been playing video games all day. Which probably wasn’t that long.

Dad stays up all night and after he walks us to school he goes home and sleeps. When we get home he isn’t up usually, but he must have had some business to do today. When we had the store though Dad had normal hours. Like a TV dad would. He got up when we did and came home around dinnertime. I liked that a lot.

Iz and I would have to go downstairs tonight though and stay there until his friends left or when it was time to go to school. I missed dad on these nights, but it was safer if for me and Iz…or Iz and I. I always get those mixed up. Some of dad’s friends have a mean look in their eyes when they see us. That wasn’t as bad as the ones with the dead look though. The dead eyes would do just about anything…almost like a robot. Brain Dead Mike was that way. I always had to watch Iz real close when we were around him.

One night Brain Dead Mike got in a fight at a party next door. The cops came and took him away. I wish that he had stayed away. The only part of him that wasn’t dead but should be was in his pants. I know I am not supposed to look but it always sticks straight out like the stick on a controller. Man that guy is creepy. Dad keeps him around for protection. He always has a gun and he might have….

“Jadon!”

“Jadon pay attention to me!"

“What is it? You don’t need to yell.”

“I wouldn’t have to yell if you answered the first or second time. You breathe too much of the upstairs smoke. It makes you goofy.”

“What do you want Iz?” I was getting irritated with her. I don’t like being called slow or goofy.

“I’m hungry and the chips is all gone.”

“They ARE all gone.”

“Yes well I want more. Can you get some from upstairs?”

“In a minute I will…kay?”

“Kay some soda too.”

“We’ll see…” our house had a two house in it. There is a special word for it…duplo or something like that. The upstairs though is a whole house and the downstairs is too. I don’t like the upstairs part though because that is where dad does business. The downstairs though is only for us. No one else is allowed down here except us and sometimes Mike.

In the ceiling of the downstairs house dad made a connection to the upstairs place. It locked from the downstairs so no one from dad's business could just walk in. It is a really fun part of our home because the ladder for the door is in a dark corner and when I climb up it I pretend I am going between decks on a sub. I might be getting to old to for that kind of thinking but it is just for me to know so I guess it is okay.