Small Steps (Holes 2)

“You let him go right now, unless you want to spend the next ten years walking up and down Lamar Boulevard.”

The officer twisted Armpit’s arm extra hard as he unlocked the handcuffs. The other officer was ready with his baton.

Staying low, Armpit hurried to Ginny. Drool dripped from her mouth as her body writhed and twitched. Her eyes were wide open, but they weren’t seeing anything.

The floor was sticky with spilled drinks and popcorn.

“I’m here now, Ginny,” he said softly. “I’m here now.” He wiped the drool off her face and adjusted her glasses, which had fallen to one side.

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; The people and their chairs had been cleared from the area.

“Is she going to be all right?” asked the mayor.

He slipped his hand below her head, then gently lifted her up off the floor. “It’s okay now,” he whispered. He held her trembling body against his chest.

“Now what?” Kaira demanded. There had been some kind of disturbance out on the floor and the waiting was driving her crazy.

“Funniest thing I ever saw!” laughed Jerome Paisley as he returned to the backstage area. “This little bit of a girl, wriggling around on the floor, drooling all over herself. She looked like a goldfish that fell out of its bowl. You know how they flop around until they die?”

“You think that’s funny?” asked Kaira.

“The thing is, everyone thinks she’s on drugs, right? But she’s not. She was born spastic!”

“And that’s funny?” asked Kaira again.

“How awful,” Kaira’s mother said, although she seemed more concerned with her drink, which was now down to nothing but ice.

“See, she was with this big black dude,” El Genius explained. “The cops are beating the crap out of him while the little white girl was having a spaz attack, because they thought he gave her drugs!”

“Oh, yeah, that’s really funny!” said Kaira. God, she hated him!

“He meant unusual funny, not ha-ha funny,” explained her mother.

“That’s not how he said it.”

“It was their own fault,” said her mother’s husband. “They paid like three hundred dollars to some scalper for counterfeit tickets!” He laughed. “Some people are too stupid to live!”

“Where are they now?” asked Kaira.

“They should have the area cleared and cleaned up in about five or ten minutes. You better have Rosemary do some touch-up on your hair. It looks a little flat.”

“Where are they now?” Kaira asked again.

They were on a cot in the security area, surrounded by a half-dozen security and medical personnel. Armpit still held Ginny in his arms, but her attack had subsided into tears and hiccups.

The medical personnel were trained to handle drug overdoses and minor injuries, and knew very little about cerebral palsy.

“She doesn’t need to go to the hospital,” Armpit said. “She just needs space to breathe.”

A woman put her hand on Ginny’s wrist. “I’m just going to take your pulse.”

Ginny jerked her hand away.

The mayor also was there, despite repeated suggestions by the head of security that she return to her seat and enjoy the show. Out in the arena the crowd was calling for Kaira and stomping their feet. Armpit could feel the vibrations on the floor.

“You say he came at you?” the officer in charge asked one of the officers who handcuffed Armpit.