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Redemption
- University of North Texas Press
- Chapter
- Additional Information
Redemption j Kyle wasn’t ugly. He wasn’t dumb. He wasn’t disliked. He wasn’t anything. That was the problem; Kyle wanted to be someone . He yearned to be admired. What did he have to do to be noticed? He perfected a dumb look to elicit laughter from classmates when asked a question but no one looked when he did it. The only time he acted up in class he said, “Take advantage of it.” Cloyce was the only one who heard him and Cloyce repeated it real loud. Everyone looked at Cloyce and laughed, even Miss Baine who had never smiled at Kyle. They talked about it for days. Kyle was noticed sometimes but not the way he wanted. He was tall and thin as a shadow so others dubbed him “Slats.” His mother slipped grease into his food causing his nose to erupt in snow capped volcanoes inviting others to tag him “Kilimanjaro.” He was the last in school to lose the pompadour because long stringy hair was not acceptable at home or school. When he cut his hair short and parted it on the side a tuft stuck up in the back challenging classmates to pull it and crow like a rooster. Kyle was on the football and basketball teams but when the coach turned to the bench for help Kyle was as likely to be noticed as a discarded towel. He studied hard and turned homework in on time. Outside of class he ran errands for the office, decorated the gym for parties, monitored classrooms in the teacher’s absence and sorted, stapled, and passed out assignments . But he was never elected to a class office or recommended for the National Honor Society. He had perfect attendance in church and Sunday School for three years in a row. He cleaned the church after services, 165 helped with toddlers and mimeographed and folded church bulletins, but when the church recognized a student it was always the boy who scored a touchdown or the girl elected Homecoming Queen. What talent did he have? Kyle was good at being good. It was a talent that attracted little attention. He was polite to adults, including teachers and his parents, kind to his classmates, even those smaller and less popular than he, and proper with girls. “Properly boring,” they said. Usually he invited girls to meetings or socials at the church or school. That led some to believe he was stingy and gay but he wasn’t. He took dates where there was a crowd because he thought taking them to see where the bobcat had moved was more temptation than they should contend with and maybe more than he could endure. A bobcat had chased a coon up a telephone pole, electrocuted itself and fell across the wires, hanging by the joint of one leg. The longer it hung in the sun and wind, the lighter it became . It became so light that every wind, which was every day, moved it up and down the line between the poles. Some boys took their girlfriends to see where the bobcat was. One girl told him she had never seen it and asked him to take her to see it rather than to P.T.A. meeting. They were the third car to park near the line. “That’s Cloyce’s car,” he told his date. “Hey, Cloyce can you see it? Point it out to us.” There was no answer. “Hey, Marvin,” he called out the other window. “I think that’s Marvin’s car. Hey, Marvin. Can you show us where the bobcat is?” He got out of the car for a better look. When he couldn’t see it, he opened the door for his date and led her over the plowed field until they found it. “There is it,” he pointed out to her. “Those guys are looking in the wrong place.” He watched it for a while. “I’m cold,” she said. He nodded. “I don’t think it’s going to move any more tonight.” He led her back to the car. “Hey, guys you are looking in the wrong place,” he yelled after opening the door for her. 166 SLOUCHING TOWARD ZION AND MORE LIES [44.210.235.247] Project MUSE (2024-03-29 13:15 GMT) “It’s over near the other pole.” It was too late to go to the P.T.A. meeting so he took her home. The time...