Chapter 24 Mr and Mrs Antolini

Mr and Mrs Antolini had this very swanky apartment over on Sutton place, with two steps that you go down to get in the living room. I’d been there a few times. Mr Antolini came up to our house for dinner frequently to find out how I was getting along. I used to play tennis with him and Mrs Antolini frequently. They were both very intellectual, especially Mr Antolini. They both read all D.B’s stories Mrs Antolini too. When he went to Hollywood, Mr Antolini phoned him up and told him not to go. He went anyway, though. Mr Antolini said that anyone who could write like D.B had no business going out to Hollywood. Mr Antolini was a pretty heavy drinker. He’s a very witty guy sometimes. Lillian was Mrs Antolini’s first name.

Tears

Then all of a sudden, I started to cry. I couldn’t help it. I did it so nobody could hear me, but I did it. It scared hell out of old Phoebe when I started doing it, and she came over and tried to make me stop, but once you get started, you can’t just stop on a goddam dime. I was still sitting on the edge of the bed when I did it, and she put her old arm around my neck, and I put my arm around her, too, but I still couldn’t stop for a long time. I thought I was going to choke to death or something. Boy, I scared hell out of poor old Phoebe. Then I took my hunting hat out of my coat pocket and gave it to her. She likes those kind of crazy hats. Then I told her I’d give her a buzz if I got the chance, and then I left. I was a hell of a lot easier getting out of the house than I was getting in. I figured if they caught me they caught me. I almost wished they did, in a way. I walked down the stairs. I nearly broke my neck on about ten million garbage pails. The elevator guy didn’t even see me. He probably still thinks I’m up at the Dickstein’s.

Chapter 23 Mr Antolini

I called Mr Antolini, I made it snappy on the phone because I was afraid my parents would barge in on me right in the middle of it. Mr Antolini was very nice. He said I could come right over if I wanted to. I think I probably woke he and his wife up, because it took them a helluva long time to answer the phone. He had a good sense of humour and all. He told me to come right over if I felt like it. He was the best teacher I ever had, Mr Antolini. You could kid around with him without losing your respect for him. He was the one who picked up that boy that jumped out the window. James Castle. He took his coat off and put it over James Castle and carried him all the way over to the infirmary. He didn’t even give a damn if his coat got all bloody and all.

James Castle

She told me I don’t like anything. No schools or anything. Millions of things. I do actually. The trouble was, I couldn’t concentrate too hot. Sometimes its hard to concentrate. She was in a cockeyed position way the hell over the other side of the bed. All I could think about was those two nuns. There was this one guy at Elton hills, James Castle. He would take something back he had said about this very conceited boy, Phil Stabile. One of Stabile mates heard him say it, and went and squealed to Stabile. So Stabile, with about six friends went down to James Castle’s room. They started on him, I wont even tell you what they did to him- it’s to repulsive. But he still wouldn’t take it back. Finally, what he did instead of taking back what said, he jumped out the window. He was dead, and his teeth, and blood were all over the place, and nobody would even go near him. He had on this turtleneck sweater I’d lent him.

Chapter 22

She took the pillow of her head, but she still wouldn’t look at me. She was ostracizing the hell out of me. Just like the fencing team at Pencey when I left all the foils on the goddam subway. Boy, when she gets something on her mind, she really gets something on her mind. She can be snotty sometimes. She can be quite snotty. Then just for the hell of it, I gave her a pinch on the behide. It was as sticking way out in the breeze, the way she was laying on her side. She has hardly any behide. I didn’t do it hard, but she tried to hit my hand anyway, but she missed. She asked me again why I got the ax. I’m sick of everybody asking me that. It was one of the worst school I had ever been to. It was full of phoney’s. you never saw so many mean guys in your life. Everyone was always locking doors when you wanted to come in. and they always had this goddam secret fraternity that I was too yellow not to join.

Angry Phoebe

Then I told her about the record. She asked for the pieces, and took them right out my hand and then she put them in the drawer of the night table. She kills me. She asked me why I wasn’t home Wednesday. She knew I got kicked out. Then she hit me on the leg with her fist. She gets very emotional I swear to god. She smacked me again with her fist. If you don’t think that hurts, your crazy. Then she flopped on her stomach on the bed and put the goddam pillow case over her head. She’s a true madman sometimes. She wouldn’t take it off. I kept saying ’C’mon, hey… Hey Weatherfield. C’mon out. She wouldn’t come out, though. You cant reason with her sometimes. Finally, I got up and went out of the living room and got some cigarettes out of the box on the table and stuck some in my pocket. I was all out.

Chapter 21 Elevator

The best break I had in years, when I got home the regular night elevator boy, Pete, wasn’t on the car. Some new guy I’d never seen before was on the car. I figured that if I didn’t bump into my parents and all I’d be able to say hello to old Phoebe and the beat it and nobody’s even know I’d been around. What made it even better the elevator guy was sort of on the stupid side. I got off at our floor. I started walking very slowly towards Phoebe’s room. She was in D.B’s room. She’s very neat for a child. She’s no slob. She woke up. She put her arms around my neck and all. I mean she’s quite affectionate, for a child. Sometimes she is even too affectionate. I sort of gave her a kiss.