Unknown - The Genius

Some fly through the air and land on Victor’s foot. He touches them. They feel like oil.

Victor loves Freddy. He doesn’t mind going to the attic. He remembers the tutor but he doesn’t mind. They take off all their clothes and hold each other. When it is cold they hug together to stay warm. They get dirty on the floor.

One time Victor gets a nail stuck in his leg. Freddy says Shhh you want them to find out? Stop crying. Victor cannot stop crying. He loves Freddy and he wants to listen but it hurts. Stop it you damn crybaby. Stop it. Freddy slaps Victor. Victor stops crying. Freddy says Christ amighty. By the next morning it stops bleeding and Victor knows Freddy was right to slap him. He will not disappoint him again.

You ever been on a horse?

Victor shakes his head.

I was when I was a kid. My grandpop had a horse. I liked it good enough. One time it kicked my grandpop and broke his arm. Freddy smiles. You shoulda seen it. The bone was sticking out. You ever seen that Vic? It’s got stuff on the inside, bones. You ain’t never gonna believe it. They had to cut off his whole arm cause it didn’t heal right. He was a son of a bitch anyhow. I’m sorry the horse didn’t take off his whole head. But I like horses plenty. They got more nobility than us. You know what nobility is?

Victor shakes his head.

It’s what they got. Freddy scratches his bare bottom. He yawns. We ought to get downstairs fore the lesson’s over. Hey look at that. I’m a rude son of a bitch. I bet you know what to do with that don’t you Vic.

Victor knows what to do.

People come and go. Simon leaves. Other boys come. Victor takes no notice of them. He sees only Freddy, thinks only of him. He stops writing to Mrs. Greene. Still she sends him books and letters. One year for Christmas all the boys get chessboards. They come with checkers pieces too. Freddy doesn’t like chess. He likes checkers. He and Victor play checkers together in the attic. They kiss and hug and touch each other and play checkers. Victor draws pictures for Freddy. He is happy.

Victor is seventeen. Freddy says They’re kicking me out.

Victor begins to cry.

Don’t worry, I’ll be back.

But he does not come back. Victor thinks about him every day. He writes letters but Freddy does not write back. Before Freddy left he gave Victor the key to the attic but going there makes him too sad. So he prays. He bargains with God. He makes deals and waits for them to be paid off. He hurts himself and says Now he will come. They find him bleeding and send him to a quiet room. He hurts himself again and they give him pills that make him sick. They give him electric shocks that make him forget things. Before he felt lonely sometimes but this is new. He wants to die. He starts to draw a map, hoping to find Freddy in it. He will draw until he finds him.

Dr. Worthe takes off his spectacles and rubs his eyes. We’ve known each other a long time haven’t we.

Victor says nothing.

I understand that you haven’t been eating. Is that true Victor? You look like you’ve lost weight. What do you have to say for yourself ?

Victor says nothing. He doesn’t care. He feels half-asleep. He hardly speaks to anyone, not even to say please and thank you, which he always tried to do because Mrs. Greene taught him it was good manners to look someone in the eye and say those words. He dreams of Freddy, wakes up with the taste of salt in his mouth. Underneath the blankets he pretends his hand is Freddy’s mouth. It isn’t the same.

HE RUNS AWAY. He goes at night when everyone else is sleeping. Now that he is older he sleeps in a room with four other boys, instead of the big room where all the younger boys sleep. He waits until everyone is asleep, then he puts on his shoes and goes quietly down the stairs. It is summertime. Outside insects cottonball around the orange lights. He walks across the rear lawn. In the House some lights are still on. He sees in the window the shape of a man lifting dumbbells. It’s the recreational teacher, Mr. Chamberlain.

He is not looking in Victor’s direction but Victor sinks into the shadows along the fence. He comes to the front gate. He rarely goes beyond. Sometimes they take them on outings. Once they went to watch a baseball game, and another time they went to see a circus. They went on buses.

The front gate is locked. He climbs over the fence and falls into the bushes, cutting his arm. He leaves a trail of drops as he walks along the road. He takes off one sock and ties it around his arm. Then he puts his shoe back on and continues walking.

Freddy lives in a town called Yonkers. Victor found it in the atlas. But he doesn’t know what direction to go in. He walks for hours, until the foot missing the sock begins to blister. He unties the bloody sock. It is crusty. The cut hurts but it isn’t bleeding anymore. He puts the sock back on his foot and keeps walking until he crosses over a bridge. It is pitch-black and muggy. He takes note of the stars. He sees many strange and attractive things but he has no time to waste, he has someplace to go.

As the sky brightens some trucks drive past. He sees houses, shops, and parked cars. He smells bread baking and his stomach hurts. A boy rides a bicycle with a basket full of newspapers. Victor sees a man sleeping in a car. Victor knocks on the window and the man twitches. He wipes the fog off the windows and squints out at Victor. Then he cranks the window down.

Victor says Bus station.

The man points. That way. Then he sees Victor’s arm. Whoa there pal.

Victor says Thank you and walks away.

The bus to Yonkers does not depart until eight fifteen, so after he buys his ticket he sits in the station and waits. The clock says six forty-five. Victor counts his money. He has twenty-two dollars and nineteen cents left. Some of the money he saved up over the years, gifts from the man with the moustache. Some of it is money that Mrs. Greene sent on his birthday. He is glad he spent it on a ticket to see Freddy. For the first time in months he feels alive. Hunger rushes into him like a wild dog. Across the street is a store where people are eating. The sign says Pip’s. Victor leaves the station and crosses the street and goes inside and sits down. People read from a

piece of paper to a woman and she brings them food. She comes to see him. She stares at his arm.

Golly. What happened to you?

He says nothing.

She gives him a funny look. What’ll it be.

He does not know what to say.

Listen kid, I don’t have all morning.

He picks up the piece of paper and points.

You want steak for breakfast?

He senses that he has made a mistake. He points again.

Coming right up.

The woman brings him a bowl of oatmeal. He stares at it, poking it with his spoon. He does not eat a bite. Nearby two men sit down and say to the woman Bacon and eggs. When Victor smells their food he regrets.

What’s the matter?

He looks at the woman.

No good?

He points to the other booth.

The woman shrugs. You want me to leave that?

He pushes the bowl away. She takes it and comes back with bacon and eggs.

He has never tasted anything like it. He savors every bite. The bacon is too greasy but the eggs remind him of Freddy’s mouth. He eats them and asks for another plate of just eggs. She brings it to him. He asks for a third.

Golly we’re hungry.

Midway through his fourth plate of eggs he remembers the bus. He hurries out without paying and runs across the street. The woman shouts at him.

In the station he asks the man for the bus to Yonkers.

The one left. There’s another this afternoon.

Victor sits on the bench and puts his head in his hands. He has made a terrible mistake. He is as stupid as they said. When lunchtime comes he is too