The Poker House Page #5

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Oh, you ready now.

Just come on.

Who fills the air

with notes so sour...

and dares to challenge

Sinbad's power?

Why, I'll fix 'em.

Rush that ship!

Go.

Sweet...

and soft.

Not like the man

who beats my mom.

The man that loves me,

that kisses me like this.

How the f*** old was I?

Thirteen?

No, wait. It was winter.

Fourteen, almost.

Just.

A virgin.

I don't know how old he was.

Duval could've

been a thousand.

Me, a sucker for his mouth.

So sweet.

But that day...

Oh.

No. No.

What...

Didn't I say,

"Get the f*** off me, motherf***er"?

Didn't I? Did I?

Get the f***...

This isn't happening.

This doesn't count.

One thousand-one,

one thousand-two,

Ow!

one thousand-three.

And now I'm sure I got one of my mom's

pimp's babies growing inside of me.

Agnes?

Yeah?

What are you doin'?

Nothing.

Mom.

Hey.

Run down to the store

right quick.

So we need some Newports...

and a big bottle

of Tanqueray...

and a Mr. T's

Bloody Mary mix.

You know I can't drink it

with the vodka.

Don't taste like nothin'.

Why they even make somethin'

that don't taste like nothin'?

This the end of the soap?

You wasteful.

I remember

when you was a baby.

All the time all you ever

wanted me to do...

was... read to you.

And all we had was two books.

A red one. I don't remember

what it was called.

Some other book

'bout rabbits...

and chickens

and some sh*t.

You weren't

even walkin' yet.

But you just all the

time kept saying,

"Read me the red book.

Read me the red book. "

I read that book

must have been a million times.

Got sick of it,

for God's sake.

Readin' the same

goddamn story...

over and over.

So...

I'd just...

sit you on my lap,

just turn the pages,

make up some sh*t.

Makin' up my own story.

Pretendin'...

like I was readin' to you.

You weren't even

a year old yet.

But you'd just...

turn,

look up at me and say,

"Read the story. "

It used to freak me out,

you speakin'

in full sentences...

since you could talk.

"Read the story. "

I tried to fool you,

but I never could

ever since you was a baby.

You always knew

what I was doin'.

What was the name

of that book?

The red one.

You remember?

Oh, f*** it.

It don't matter.

Get on to the store.

If there's change,

I want it.

There's just today.

And then there's tonight.

Anything can happen.

Then anything does.

That's some

valuable p*ssy.

What?

Who are you talking about?

You said it was time for

her to earn her keep.

I'm just being agreeable,

is all.

You're just bein' about dead.

Oh. Look at you.

What are you gonna do

with that thing?

Mom, this motherf***er

just raped me!

And now he wants

to pimp me out too?

I don't know

what you're sayin'.

He's fine to you.

He's good...

takes care of me.

Did you f***ing

just hear me?

Stop where you're standin',

or I'll blow the back of your head off.

Baby girl, cool it now.

Come on.

You don't want to spend the rest

of your natural life behind bars.

You don't wanna do that.

You think there's a cop

on this planet...

that would lock me up

for killing you?

You... stop it!

Stop it!

I can't live

without him.

So...

I can't, and I won't.

So, you kill me.

You kill me.

Mom!

He raped me,

and he beats you,

and he sells you!

And now he wants

to sell me too.

And you want to die

in his place?

Yes.

Y... Yes.

I'm going to

my basketball game.

No. No. You get out!

You get...

You get out of my house!

Wait, baby.

Wait. Don't go!

I left... my mother...

and the man

I thought loved me...

in that house.

I left my mother...

and my... rapist...

in that house.

I left my mother...

and my mother's pimp...

in that house.

Look at all the people it takes

to make up a person.

Ain't that nothin'?

Where the sam hell

have you been?

I've been to the mountaintop,

and it ain't sh*t.

You good to play? We ain't got time

for no warmin' up, gettin' ready.

Give me some bull crap

excuses after you blow it,

comin' in late

with a story.

I'm not gonna blow it, Coach.

You know me.

Ref! Time!

Visitor time out.

Ridgeview Lady Stars are down by 13.

Come on! Let's go! Huddle up!

Just under seven minutes to go,

it's Home 47, Visitors 34.

Come on! Let's go, ladies! Get in here!

- This one is just about over.

- Come on!

"A" Game here finally

decided to show up.

Maybe she can

wake the dead.

Y'all are playin' pitiful!

We are down 13.

Win, or go home!

Missy, you've been gettin'

beat all night. Sit.

Agnes, prove me right.

Nobody walks!

Team on three.

- One, two, three, team!

- Team!

There's the boy who writes

me poems and leaves them in my locker.

He thinks I don't know.

His name is Peter.

There's the varsity football players that

won't talk to me if anyone's around,

but Terry loves discussing

poetry at the Burger King...

and I give Alfred

the math quiz answers.

And Mario plays one-on-one with me in

the church parking lot any time I want.

Agnes! Agnes!

Agnes! Agnes!

Agnes! Agnes!

Two points, Ridgeview!

Way to go!

Let's get it back now!

Lady Stars grab two more.

Ten to 14.

And it's Agnes again!

Number 14 takes a hard foul.

They need these free throws

to get back into the game...

and have a chance

at the state championship.

Okay, Agnes! You got these.

Knock 'em down!

There's one.

Stay calm! Stay calm!

And wow!

Ridgeview may have a prayer!

Here come the Lady Stars.

Two!

And again!

Agnes really is lighting it up.

Number 14 is giving

this visiting team a shock.

Down 58-54

with 44 seconds to play.

End-to-end layup

to tie the game.

It's tied up 60-60.

All right! Good job!

Ridgeview crosses half court.

Five seconds.

Four seconds left to play.

Agnes puts it up.

And it's all net!

Ridgeview is going

to the state championship!

Good job! Come on.

I scored over

20 points in about seven minutes.

That was a tristate

record for almost seven years...

until some sophomore girl from this

school on the west side broke it.

Good for her.

Get in the car, b*tches!

Where have y'all

knuckleheads been?

I ate too much

Goldfishes.

I think I'm gonna puke my guts.

Ew.

I went to Kelly's,

then I went to the bar,

which I know you said

to never go to.

But... I found Cammie.

Yeah.

So I would say fine to

that to me, if I was you,

because we was waitin'

and waitin',

and then we started walkin',

and it was so cold...

Shut up!

Agnes, did you win your game today?

What game?

The basketball game!

Basketball game!

You had a game tonight,

and you didn't take me?

Who won?

We did, of course.

And hear me

when I tell you,

I scored 27 points in

the second half alone.

Oh, my gosh!

Let's celebrate.

Yeah! We have to celebrate.

Drive the long way home,

and then we can go through the park.

Nah. I got

a better idea.

We're fixin' to have ourselves

some dinner, children.

Howard Johnson's!

Yes! Howard Johnson's!

But first we gotta go to Dolly's

and cash these paychecks.

Dolly's?

Oh, no. Oh, no, Agnes.

Seriously.

Can I please wait

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