with their friends None of them liked me I didn’t know why She won’t She’s too scared That was my cousin Sanjay He was my size and never forgave me for the time I beat him up when we were younger I wasn’t allowed to eat until he was finished and then I was given whatever food was left on his plate He started stuffing himself just to watch me be hungry I stood it for three days Then I let him have it Smashed the metal plate down on his stupid head I got a beating from my uncle for it but Sanjay always left at least some food behind after that He got back at me in other ways though Sneaky ways Like kicking me at night so it was hard to go to sleep He called me names like pig-face and dirt-brain I tried to insult him back but my words didn’t have as much power as his He knew he was worth more than me We both knew it I was afraid to throw rocks but I couldn’t let him see that And I couldn’t let his friends see that I was scared If they did they would be on me faster than a goat on garbage I walked quickly into the middle of the pack and picked up a rock Just looking at the targets made me shake On the other side of the tracks a stone’s throw away monsters lived among the garbage dumps and dung heaps
Their faces were not human Some had no noses Some had hands without fingers that they waved in the air as they tried to protect their heads from our rocks But I didn’t care as long as they stayed on their side of the tracks They were unclean foul creatures They carried the sins of a former life and if you got too close they would turn you into one of them That’s what my uncle said You eat too much he would scream when the pain in his chest got bad and he had no money for drink to make it better I’ll break your arms and send you down the tracks to beg with those animals You are a curse to me And then in the night his voice quiet and his breath in my ear telling me to make no noise or the monsters would grab me in my sleep drag me away and tear me apart And I would tremble and bite my lip and pray to the gods for the sun to rise I slowly pulled my arm back to get ready for the throw I closed my eyes and let my rock fly I didn’t know if it hit one of them or not One of the stones came flying back at us Sanjay bent down to pick it up Don’t touch it You’ll turn into a monster just like them one of my cousin’s friends shouted That’s one of the ways they get their victims Sanjay picked up another rock instead They were all too
bags and started to run with a thud into the dirt I managed to take a few steps before a kid slammed me busy throwing and laughing to pay attention to me I slipped back until I was behind the group The boys had dropped their coal bags to free their arms for throwing stones Their bags had coal in them Coal that would look better in my bag than it did in theirs I crouched down In an instant I grabbed one of the coal Thief Coal thief Coal thief The others piled on top of me I swung my arms and kicked and tried to get away But I couldn’t throw off so many kids They worked together pounding me and pulling my hair They lifted me up I saw the ground fall away Throw her to the monsters Let them eat her That will teach her I screamed I tried harder to get away from their clutches I pulled and twisted but they hung on tight They carried me over the railway tracks getting closer to the monsters with every step And then they threw me And I landed Right in the middle of the monsters I landed on monster arms and legs and laps and elbows I was smothered by rags and dirt and bodies I could feel them reaching for me grabbing at me
bumping up against me I knew they were getting ready to eat me or tear me apart I screamed I breathed in filth and foulness and felt like I was going to throw up I could hear the kids laughing on the other side of the tracks They would stand there and watch me be torn to shreds and devoured and they would just keep on laughing I punched and kicked and twisted until I broke free and rolled away hitting my head on the track rail Then I jumped to my feet and ran I ran with my eyes full of tears I stepped in dung and pushed people out of my way but I didn’t care I bolted across the tracks and screamed as a train whistle blew I left the tracks and walked back to the coal fields I walked until the shakiness left me and I could feel a bit of victory I had escaped from the monsters They hadn’t eaten me And then I kept walking because I had no place to go no place where people wanted me to be with them I kept on walking because I didn’t know what else to do Then I heard the bell It was a bicycle bell ringing over and over getting closer and closer Along with the ringing a man’s voice called out School today Free school Everyone is welcome at my school Come to school today
