CHAPTER 8: WALKING, WALKING, WALKING…

After Chris had let me go, I said to Teddy, "Don't worry about what that slob says about your father, Teddy."

Gordie nodded. "He still stormed the beach at Normandy, right?"

Teddy shook his head and murmured, "Forget it, alright?"

Verno just kept on pressing. "You think that pile of shit was at Normandy?"

Teddy said, a little louder, "Forget it."

Vern once again ignored him. "He don't know nothing about nothing, he's just dog shit."

Chris agreed. "Whatever's between you and your old man, he can't change that."

Teddy then nudged Chris's hand off of his shoulder and yelled, "Forget it, alright? Just forget it!"

We all walked in silence for a while, then Vern burst in with, "Have gun, will travel, reads the card of a man/ A night without armor in a savage land…" he trailed off after Chris gave him a look.

Teddy stopped while the rest of us kept walking, and we all turned around to face him. "Sorry if I'm spoiling everybody's good time," he said apologetically.

"It's fine, Teddy," I said, and Chris put a hand on his shoulder.

"Maybe it shouldn't be a good time," Gordie remarked thoughtfully.

"You saying you want to go back?" Chris asked.

"No," Gordie said quickly, "but… going to see a dead kid… maybe it shouldn't be a party."

Vern nodded. "Yeah. Like, if he's really gross and has blood and shit all over him… I might have nightmares."

Chris rolled his eyes. "Shut up, Vern."

Vern must have been hard of hearing or something, because he never shut up when people told him to. He kept on babbling about disgusting things until Chris finally yelled, "SHUT UP VERN, GODAMMIT!"

We kept walking for a long time, and pretty soon, the melancholy air had lifted, and we were back to being jokesters again. Still, what Milo said about me being a slut was really starting to get me thinking: was that what everybody thought of me? Did Gordie think of me that way? Did Teddy? Did Vern? And, horror of horrors… did Chris?

I was walking in between the pairs of Chris and Gordie, and Teddy and Vern. I lagged back so I could walk with Gordie and Chris. "Hey, Chris?" I asked, praying I sounded more confident than I felt.

Chris asked, "Everything ok, Joey? You seem a little… off."

Oh my God, this was the sweetest boy in the world. I put my hands in my pockets. "You… you and the others don't think I'm… you know, do you?"

Chris sighed, as if he thought I should know better, and put his arm around me. "Listen to me, Johanna Susan Randall: I swear on a stack of Bibles; we would never, EVER think such a thing about you. And if any bitch or son of a bitch thinks they can get away with trying to hurt you, they're going to have to go through me and the boys." He paused. "You aren't though."

I nodded. "Right."

Chris smiled, and looked as if he were about to say something. He then paused, and shook his head.

I looked at him, trying to figure out what was wrong. "Were you about to say something, Chris?"

Chris shook his head. "Nah, it's nothing."

I sighed, "Sure," and walked away. From behind me, I could hear Chris and Gordie talking about college courses, and where they wanted their futures to take them, while in front of me, I could hear Teddy and Vern arguing over whether or not Mighty Mouse could beat Superman in a fight. I smiled to myself.

I then saw that Chris and Gordie had stopped long before, and Teddy, Vern and I were way ahead of the both of them. "Come on, you two!" I yelled, waving for them to hurry up.

Teddy yelled, "Yeah, by the time we get there, the kid won't even be dead anymore!"

I turned to Teddy. "Really? You have a comeback that doesn't even make any sense?"

Teddy said, "Oh, it was the best I had." I slugged his arm and we all kept walking in a large clump. Finally, we reached the biggest obstacle any of thought we would face on the trip: the train tracks running over the river.