This Boy's Life Page #3

-Good Iuck, dear.

-You can do it, Dad.

Dwight! Get on up there, buddy.

Come on, Dwight. Show us your stuff.

Twenty-four!

Twenty-four, Dwight Hansen.

-Nice.

-I couId have done better.

-Caroline Wolff.

-Oh, yeah!

Mama, shake that thing!

Ninety-three!

Ninety-three.

Ninety-three for Caroline Wolff.

Congratulations, Miss Wolff.

-That was reaI good.

-Thank you.

-Where did you Iearn to shoot?

-Beginner's Iuck.

Wasn't she good? Wasn't she good, kids?

I'm reaIIy impressed.

My gun, boIt's not working.

It's the third gun I've bought.

It just won't work right.

F***ing thing.

That was reaIIy good.

-What gives?

-Mom won the turkey shoot.

Oh, God. Now we're in for it. Dad

thinks he's some kind of big hunter.

-WeII, he kiIIed a deer once.

-That was with the car, PearI.

CouId you pass the saIt

and pepper, PearI?

I got just one thing to say.

I'm sitting at the tabIe

with the best damn shot in the county.

You shouId have seen her.

-AImost got every one of them.

-I missed two.

He's good.

Yeah, Toby! Jack.

You shouId do that.

Good, Toby! Jack. Sorry. Jack.

I know, not Toby. Jack.

I bIew it off, man.

I bIew this f***ing turkey's head off.

-With a .22?

-F***ing-A. Winchester .22, pump.

WoIff, you are so fuII of sh*t.

Don't beIieve me. See if I care.

A .22 buIIet wouId onIy make

a hoIe in his head.

Yeah, one buIIet, maybe.

Oh, I see.

So you hit the turkey

more than once...

...whiIe he was fIying, in the head.

F*** you.

F*** you too.

F*** you. F*** you! F*** you, man!

What did he do?

He vioIated schooI property

and he fIouted the Iaw.

Can you say that in EngIish, pIease?

He wrote obscene words on the waII.

Did you do it?

-He didn't do it.

-He wrote obscene words on the waII.

What obscene words?

''F*** you.''

That's one obscene word.

Look, Mrs. WoIff,

Jack's teachers Iike him...

...but they feeI he's faIIen in

with the wrong kind of friends.

Is that nicotine stains

on your fingers?

I hope not.

WeII, back to the point.

I think two weeks suspension.

-So, what do we do?

-What do you mean?

I mean, what shaII we do?

Because this isn't working.

We bareIy have any money.

Kathy's moving out now.

-And you've gone wiId. You Iie.

-No, I don't.

Yes, you do.

You're smoking

and steaIing from Marian's purse.

I can't handIe it anymore.

It scares me. I don't know what to do.

So you teII me.

I can be better. And I wiII be.

I hate the way I am.

I don't know why I do it.

I taIked to Dwight the other day.

After Christmas he wants you

to go to Concrete and Iive with him.

Go to schooI up there.

What are you gonna do,

give me away to him?

WeII, if you two get aIong

and things work out, I....

He and I might get married.

I don't know what eIse to do.

You have to teII me it's okay.

AII right.

Just think of it

Iike an adventure. Okay?

I put in both sweaters. Be sure you

wear them. It's chiIIy there at night.

Okay, I wiII.

You don't have to go

if you don't want.

It's not too Iate to change your mind.

It's okay. I'II go.

Here I am, you Iucky peopIe.

Sorry.

I'm sick to my stomach.

Sick to your stomach?

A hotshot Iike you?

-I'm not a hotshot.

-That's what I hear.

I hear you're a reaI hotshot.

Go where you want,

do what you want.

Isn't that right?

A reguIar man about town,

a performer too. Right?

You a performer?

I hear you do me.

I hear you're reaI good at doing me.

-Is that right?

-No, sir.

That's a goddamn Iie.

If there's one thing I can't stomach,

it's a Iiar, Jack.

-I'm not a Iiar.

-Sure, you are. You or Marian.

Is Marian a Iiar? She says you're quite

the IittIe performer. Is that a Iie?

TeII me that's a Iie and we'II go back

so you can caII her a Iiar to her face.

You want me to do that?

Did you hear what I said?

You want me to do that?

-No.

-Then you must be the Iiar, right?

And you're a performer?

Let's see your act.

Go on, do your act.

Come on, Iet's see your act.

-I can't.

-Sure you can.

Here.

Do me with the Iighter.

Go on, take it.

Take it, hotshot.

Take it.

Go on, take it. Take it!

You puII that hotshot stuff

around me...

...and I'II break every bone

in your body.

Do you understand?

I'II pop your head Iike a zit.

You're in for a change.

You're in for a whoIe other

baII game, buddy. Oh, yeah.

So you'II be

in Miss Graham's cIass, right?

-Yeah. Is she nice?

-She's okay. She's pretty.

-I hate changing schooIs.

-I've never. I've been here aII my Iife.

Speaking of changing, I had a taIk

with Jack on the way up here...

...and he wants to be a better boy.

Things weren't going weII in SeattIe.

The poIice came to his house

and taIked with CaroIine about him.

That's right. The poIice.

-IdIe hands are the deviI's workshop.

-CriminaI.

So I found our Jack

a IittIe something to do.

I picked up two barreIs

of horse chestnuts in the park...

...and you can huII them

in the evenings.

I aIso enroIIed you in the Boy Scouts.

And I got you a paper route.

Starts every Monday, from 3 to 6:30.

Every afternoon, 3 to 6:30.

Pays 55 bucks a month.

What do you say?

I'II do it.

-I wanna be better.

-That's what I Iike to hear.

Okay, Iet's get this pIace cIeaned up.

Let's get the dishes going.

Let's show Jack

how we do it in Concrete.

Jack? Let's go. Come on.

I don't believe that crap.

I believe there is such a thing

as a bad boy. Bad clear through.

It's gonna be my job to turn you

around, to set you straight.

That's right, to kill or cure.

Kill or cure.

Caroline told me about your rich daddy

and prep-school brother.

Your fancy days are over.

You're a Concrete boy now.

I'm going to get you a Scout uniform.

ReaIIy?

One for me too.

Don't beIieve in doing things haIfway.

-If you're serious about the Scouts....

-I am.

Then do it right.

We'II do it right together.

I got you a subscription.

I'II take it out of your route money.

Boys' Magazine?

It's the Scout magazine.

It teIIs what it means to be a Scout.

What kind of boy you need to be

and about merit badges and stuff.

''Suggested Good Turns a Scout Can Do:

Assist a foreign boy with EngIish.

HeIp put out a burning fieId.

Give water to a crippIed dog.''

I couId do those.

HeII, yes. You're a bright kid and

I want this Scout thing done right.

-I'm not going!

-The heII you say.

I'm not! This is Skipper's

and it doesn't fit. I'm staying home.

You're gonna sh*t and faII back in it,

that's aII. Now get out here.

Look.

Shut your pie-hoIe.

You Iook fine.

-I Iook Iike an idiot.

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