My reading goal the text in my mind.
Prepare phrases as I read by glancing forward and preparing Bud, not Buddy
There comes a time when you’re losing a fight that it just doesn’t make sense to keep on fighting. It’s not that you’re being a quitter, it’s just that you’ve got the sense to know when enough is enough.
I was having this thought because Todd Amos was hitting me so hard and fast that I knew that the blood squirting out of my nose was only the beginning of a whole long list of bad things that were about to happen to me.
Todd’s next punch crashed into the side of my ear and I fell on the floor and pulled my knees up to my chin and crossed my arms in front of my head like a turtle in a shell. I started scooching toward the bed hoping I could get under it.
Todd started kicking me but his slippers couldn’t hurt me near as much as his fists had. The bedroom door opened and his mother, Mrs Amos, came in. It seemed like she was having a hard time figuring out what was going on because Todd’s right leg got tired from kicking me and he switched over to his left one while she watched.
Finally Mrs Amos said kind of soft, ‘Toddy?’
Todd looked up, fell on his knees and put his hands on his throat. He started huffing and puffing with his eyes bucking out of his head and his chest going up and down so hard that it looked like some kind of big animal was inside of him trying to bust out. This was my chance to get under the bed and pull the covers down so they couldn’t see me.
Mrs Amos ran over to her son and fell on her knees. She put her arms around his shoulders.
‘Toddy? Toddy boy, are you all right?’ she looked over to where I was peeking from under the bed. ‘You little cur, what have you done to Toddy?’
Todd coughed out, ‘Oh, Mother …’ He took in two jumbo breaths. ‘I was only trying to help …’ – he was sounding like a horse that had been run too hard in the winter – ‘and … and look what it’s gotten me.’
Todd pointed at his jaw and Mrs Amos and me could both see a perfect print in the shape of my hand welted up on Todd’s blubbery cheek.
34
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