02/11/2007 15:29:00
Not to my surprise, Jean Louise didn't believe a word that I said when I first told her. But I knew it was true. "Scout" was one of my best friends. She was ten years old at this time. And her brother Jeremy was fourteen, just a year older than him…just a year older…
He was in love with me. It all started when he first really got a good look at me. Burris was an orphan. His mother died when he was somewhere around six years old. And when he was twelve, according to the sheriff his father fell on his knife while trying to attack Scout and Jeremy. Perhaps Boo Radley had fought him, and he'd fallen back and gotten stabbed himself. I had no idea.
My brother had no idea what in Davy Jones' locker this was all about. He was only trying to protect me, poor mister Cecil. Not surprising, since Burris' sister was involved in the most unfair trial to date.
But my little brother Nathan knew. He was a big source of comfort to me, sweet little Nate. Cecil and he are good boys.
And I was wedged between them in the birth line. First came Cecil, then came me, Robyn, a year after. And two years later, Nathan.
I was just beginning the third grade when I met him. He was four years older than me. I was in school, sitting, with much coincidence right next to the door. And I saw him with a truancy lady, and he saw me.
The moment I saw him I was thinking about how the poor African Americans could at least keep themselves decent, because Burris was the filthiest human being known to man. His neck was dark gray; his face was all grayish and brownish except for his eyes, which were brown. His hair, thank God, was black. He had grime embedded all over his body. His nails were sort of long and they were black at the top where they were supposed to be white. He was barefoot. His toes wouldn't have looked bad had they not been grimy. I knew I needed to do something with him.
He saw me and sort of snarled, then he disappeared, and Miss Brigham (the teacher) slapped her ruler on my desk. "Miss Robyn Jacobs, would you at least try and pay any attention?" she asked in her firm voice.
"Yes, ma'am," I said. I did so for the rest of the day. But at the end of the day I had a score to settle with Burris.
We ran into each other in the hallway. He looked at me, not snarling quite as much, and he scratched his eyebrow. Little particles of dirt fell from his eyebrow to the floor. I was not afraid of him.
Miss Jean Louise Finch was at the end of the hall, seeing this scene, and she was scared for me. "Robyn…"
"Don't worry, Scout, I ain't scared, but could I ask you to get out of this hallway. I have scores to settle."
Burris was straight-up confused, and so was Scout, but she obeyed. Somehow I got a hold of bathroom tools, I.E. a washtub and soap and water. And a sponge, one of those sponges on a stick. (Burris and company were being legally guarded by someone else, I think their auntie from their mother's side. I didn't understand how a good lady could let the children go about like this. Don't you start arguing about classiness, she did have some stable bucks.)
Yes, it all comes to this. I spared him his backseat, but otherwise I gave him a good bath, which he hadn't received in the longest time ever. It took about an hour, and after a few yells, Burris was completely still except for grunts of pain, since I did him well. After that he went away without saying anything, but I got another look from him. This time he didn't look angry anymore. He stared at me for a few minutes, watching me push that tub, and then he was gone.
Wonder what the Ewells are going to do to me when they realize I did this to their brother, I thought, grinning.