lulu was a drifter and she spoke in whisper and her fingers always smelled like sweaty lilac. she had a scar under her right eye from a glass fight with the german girl on matlock . she bought glue from the supermarket and stashed the bottles in plastic bags behind the dumpsters in the parking lot. she hung around metcalf the head of parking security and he’d put his fingers inside her in his car and her eyes were always rolling and spittle came from her mouth and her hair was like red curly fire from hell. lulu waddled through the streets balancing on the curb with her arms stuck out like an airplane. she was 13 and she begged for scraps from the pizza man behind the kitchen. in the heat of summer she wore her shirt on her head like a turban. bare-chested. flat chested. angry. i’m gonna get out of here and live on a farm. i’m gonna ride horses. i’m gonna wear pink sunglasses and pearls and red lipstick and do acrobats in blue heels and carry a nice bag. i’m gonna get out of here and steal my little sister. i’m going to make her my baby and never let no one hurt her. i’m gonna get her away from him. from his mouth and his hands. i’m gonna do it. lulu found scrap bicycles and got money for them. lulu watched her sister in the playground and a boy pushed her into a swing and lulu saw red and beat him up pretty rough so she can’t go visit diana no more.