Book description
The Lesson - According to Kicks . . .
Heine pointed the knife at her. ''O. K., Lady Godiva, take off the blouse.''
She stood motionless, unable to answer or move.
''Go ahead,'' Heine said. ''Take that piece-of-nothing off.''
The boy's shoulders slumped and he began to groan. ''Brace, mister!''
Bar shouted. He put a fist in the boy's gut, and the boy sank to his
knees in the dirt, weeping helplessly. ''O. K., green-belly,'' Bar
said. ''Stay there. Your turn comes next.''
Dazedly the girl undid her blouse. Heine reached and yanked it off
her shoulders. She stood there quivering, her pink slip plain and
worn. Behind them, Manny began to cough. Johnny stood rooted to the
place from where he watched.
''Let the straps down,'' Heine said to the girl.
''Please. Please . . .''
''Do what I tell you.'' Heine held the knife menacingly. The boy
began to pray softly in Spanish.
She raised trembling fingers to her bare shoulders and slipped the
straps over them. The top of her slip and her bra fell to her waist.
''Let her go,'' Manny whispered. ''You ought to let her go now. Huh?''
''Let her go!'' Bar shouted. ''What are you worried about, mister?
We're just teaching these two juvenile delinquents a lesson. Don't you
understand that, mister? We're going to teach these two juvenile
delinquents a lesson they're never, never going to forget.'' He drew
his foot back violently and kicked the boy in the groin. ''Isn't that
right, green-belly?''
The boy's scream of pain rent the air of the summer night.
