The Testimony of Taliesin Jones (12 page)

'
D
o yo
u
wa
nna puf
f
,
Worm?
'

H
e
l
ooks a
t th
e c
igarette
i
n
h
er
h
and
for
a seco
nd
o
r
t
wo
b
efore a
nswering,
'
No thank
s.'
H
e
tri
ed
on
ce
bu
t it
d
idn't wo
rk
o
ut.
Th
e s
moke caught in his throat and h
e ga
ined littl
e
pl
easure f
rom
i
t.
It t
akes
pra
ctice,
he know
s,
but h
e
d
oesn't wa
nt
t
o
humil
iate
him
self
in
fro
nt
of
Juli
e Dyer.
Juli
e
i
s a
pr
ofessional; s
he doe
sn't
cou
gh o
r
sp
lutter
as s
he
s
m
okes, s
he br
eathes i
t
in
a
nd blow
s
it
o
ut thr
ough
h
er
n
ostrils
l
ike
th
e
b
reath
f
rom a
dr
agon
.
Sh
e
m
ake
s
c
igarettes l
ook good
f
or yo
u
.

S
he i
s wa
tching him n
ow,
think
ing
thin
gs
h
e
c
a
n
't g
uess.
Des
pite h
er o
verwhelming ph
ysicality
h
e
f
eels a
n
affi
nity t
owards
h
er.
She was one
o
f th
e
t
en w
ho put u
p
th
eir
h
and wi
th h
im
in RE. Julie D
yer
d
efinitely
w
ould
h
ave p
lucked th
e a
pple h
ad s
he been E
ve
.
And
s
he
wo
uld n
ot
h
ave
h
idden
h
er s
hame
w
hen God r
eprimanded
h
er.
Jul
ie Dyer
i
s
af
raid
of
n
othing
.
'
Julie D
yer,
Juli
e
D
yer
,
t
ake me
hi
gher a
nd h
igher,'
th
e
r
efrain g
oes
.
Her n
ame a
lone
co
njures u
p image
ry
of
t
emptation a
nd initiati
on
.
Sh
e was
th
e
fir
st g
irl
to smo
ke, th
e
fir
st gi
rl
to
h
ave
bre
asts
,
th
e fi
rst
g
irl t
o
b
eat
b
oys
r
acing
.
Ta
liesin i
s o
ut
o
f his d
epth e
ven thinkin
g a
bout h
er
,
l
et a
lone t
alking
t
o
h
er.
But
s
he i
s
kind t
o
him
,
p
erceiving
him
w
ith
a ce
rtain
fasci
nation, with
out
f
ear o
r thr
eat
.
Wh
en s
he
ca
lls h
im '
Worm' it i
s w
ith aff
ection
.

'
Hey
Wo
rm, what
yo
u
go
t
t
here?'
s
he
asks
.

'
It's ju
st a
b
ook,'
he
says
.

'
I h
ate
b
ooks,' s
he sa
ys
.
'
I
ge
t
so
b
ored. 'S
he l
eans i
n t
o
t
ake a
cl
oser
l
ook
.
'Wh
at's
it
a
bout?'

Ta
liesin l
oses
hi
s
pl
ace.

'
Hey,
w
hat's it ab
out?' s
he
as
ks, nud
ging
him
agai
n. F
or a seco
nd T
aliesin
can
't
r
emember w
hat it
's a
bout
,
h
e
h
asn't
b
een co
n
ce
ntrating
a
t all.

'
It's
a
bout these anim
als
th
at
d
ecide
to k
ill t
he
fa
rmer,' h
e says
.

She
l
ooks
at him and puff
s o
ut
s
ome
s
moke lik
e a
n
ac
tress. '
Sounds a
b
it fa
r-fetched. I
s i
t
a
ny
goo
d?'

'So far.'

'
I dunn
o
h
ow y
ou
ca
n r
ead
in
t
he bu
s.
It
ma
kes m
e fe
el
s
ick. R
ead
m
e
a good
bit.'

S
he put
s
out
the ci
garette
in th
e
a
shtray a
nd ti
es
h
er
h
air
back with h
er
h
ands,
pullin
g
it
int
o
a bunch with a rubb
er
band
. S
he mu
st
b
e S
panish
with
a
ll
o
f
th
at
d
ark
h
air;
Sp
anish o
r
Fr
ench, may
be
.

'
There's n
o
p
oint i
n r
eading
a b
it; yo
u won
't
kn
ow
wh
at's goi
ng
on
.
I'
d
h
ave
t
o ex
plain
eve
rything t
o yo
u,' T
aliesin says
.

'
I d
on't mi
nd,
j
ust r
ead
m
e a
bit -
a
ny bit. R
ead
m
e
th
e
bit wh
en t
hey k
ill
th
e fa
rmer -the
a
nimals.' Sh
e
mov
es
in cl
ose e
nough f
or
hi
m
t
o s
mell her
s
moky, d
amp ca
rdigan. On
e o
f th
e
b
oys i
n th
e sea
t
i
n fr
ont
look
s o
ver th
e
b
ack o
f th
e
h
eadrest
.

'D
o
I h
ave
t
o?' Ta
liesin pl
eads
.

'Go o
n
,
j
ust
a
p
age,
'
s
he
says
.

R
eluctantly Ta
liesin
s
tarts t
o
find th
e
pag
e w
here th
e a
nimal
s
kill
the fa
rmer. H
e
re
ads i
t
o
ut in
a
fl
at
monot
one,
tr
ying
t
o ma
ke
i
t
so
und dull. But Juli
e
i
s
attenti
ve
.
Wh
en
h
e ge
ts
to
th
e e
nd
o
f th
e
pa
ssage s
he
i
s h
anging
on h
is e
very w
ord.

'
Urgh
.
T
hat
gives
m
e
th
e c
reeps,
'
she s
ays
.
'What happ
ens
th
en?' Ta
liesin clo
ses
the book
a
t th
e e
nd of the chapt
er feeli
ng
self
-conscious
a
bout r
eading
out loud. Th
e
b
oys
in fr
ont
k
eep
l
ooking ove
r the
bac
k
o
f th
e sea
t
a
t him
, g
rinning
s
tupidl
y.

'I'll
rea
d
yo
u
so
me mor
e t
omorrow
,
'
he
s
ays, putt
ing
th
e
b
ook
in hi
s sa
tchel. Sh
e
l
ooks o
lder with h
er
h
air
b
ack;
m
ore
G
rown-Up
.
Sh
e
is look
ing
at him again
,
goin
g
o
ver
h
is
f
ace w
ith h
er e
yes
.
H
e
now wishes he hadn't put th
e
book
a
way. H
e wa
nts to
g
et
a
way from her and he
want
s
t
o
b
e
n
ext
t
o
h
er a
nd the two d
esires
fight within
him. H
er
br
azen
pr
oximity
b
oth
pu
shes
him
a
way
a
nd draw
s
him in. Sh
e
h
olds a p
romise
a
nd
a
kno
wledge
of
s
omething th
at
h
e is ye
t t
o
kn
ow.

'I
liked the new teacher,' she says. 'She had nice nails, and a nice figure
.
'Julie holds out her chubby fingers and parts
them for individual inspection. 'What do you think of my nails?'

'
T
h
ey
'r
e g
reat,' T
aliesin
s
ays, t
actfully. Great e
nergy
an
d l
ove
h
ave go
ne int
o
th
ose
n
ails.
Th
e va
rnish
is
t
hick w
ith
s
eve
ral l
ayers o
f
s
hocking r
ed
.

'I
wa
nt t
o sc
ratch H
ooper's
e
yes o
ut,'
s
h
e s
ays.
H
er
h
and
c
urls
i
nto
a
cl
aw a
nd th
e
n
ails
turn t
o
t
alons. '
He
be
lieves
i
n
God
,
rea
lly
.
H
e was
ju
st s
howing o
ff.
H
e
w
as
ju
st
d
oing
it
for e
ffect
.
I h
ate
him
.
'
Thi
s is
n't
e
ntirely tru
e.
H
er ve
hemence b
etrays
t
oo
mu
ch co
ncern for H
ooper.
Th
ere is a
rum
our
th
at
th
e
y
h
ave
ki
ssed
.

'
But
y
o
u b
elieve,' s
he
says, a
nd thi
s is
pl
easing
t
o
h
e
r
.

Ta
liesin
wo
uld lik
e
t
o
procl
aim
hi
s
bel
ief
t
o
h
er
bu
t
h
e sti
ll
ca
n
'
t th
ink o
f
a goo
d r
eason as
t
o w
hy h
e
b
elieves, o
ther th
an t
hat h
e
ju
st
d
oe
s
.
H
e
think
s a
bout t
elling
Juli
e a
bout
t
he h
ands i
n h
i
s
b
ook:
th
e
pr
otecting
h
ands
,
th
e a
dmonishin
g
h
ands
,
th
e
h
ealin
g
ha
nds
,
th
e c
reating h
ands
-
a
nd
a
lmost d
oes;
but h
e ca
n't
q
uit
e
brin
g
h
imself
to
co
nfide hi
s
p
articular visio
n,
se
nsing th
at s
he mi
ght
t
ear i
t t
o s
hreds w
ith
th
ose claws
.
H
e
s
ta
re sa
t th
e sea
t
cove
r in front
o
f him
, s
till
tro
ubled b
y
th
ese
thin
gs
.