Chapter 6

Some things are hard to remember. Like I cant remember what I was doing when I heard Stradlater’s goddam footsteps coming down the corridor, he was back from his date with Jane. I was so worried. I told him I finished his composition. He stood and read it while unbuttoning his shirt and stroking his chest. He was mad about himself. He was sore as hell that I wrote it about Allie’s baseball mitt. He looked at me and said, “No wonder you’re flunking the hell out of here, you don’t do one damn thing you’re suppose to.” I went over and tore it up then lay on the bed. I lit a cigarette, mainly to annoy Stradlater it drove him crazy when you broke any rules. I asked him about Jane, “You were back pretty late considering she only signed out for nine-thirty.” He was cutting his goddam toenails. “Who the hell signs out for nine-thirty on a Saturday night.” God, I hated him.

He asked me to smoke in the can. I ignored him. “If you didn’t go to New York where’d ya go with her?” I could hardly keep my voice from shaking all over the place. He told me they just sat in Ed Banky’s car. Ed Banky was the basketball coach and let Stradlater borrow his car whenever he wanted to. It wasn’t allowed but all the athletic bastards stuck together. “What’d you do?” I said “Give her the time in Ed Banky’s car?” My voice was shaking something awful.

The next part I don’t remember so hot. I got up and tried to sock him one with all my might, right smack in the toothbrush so it would split his goddam throat open. Only I missed and got him on the side of the head. It probably hurt but not as much as I wanted. Next thing I knew I was on the floor and he was sitting on my chest. I kept telling him to get the hell offa my chest, he wouldn’t do it though. I can’t remember what I even said to him. I called him a goddam moron. He hated it when you called him that. All morons hate it when you call them a moron. He kept telling me to shut up and I said I would if he got off me. Then he got off and I called him a stupid sonuvabitch of a moron. That really got him mad. He kept warning me but I carried on anyway. Then he really let one go on me, I don’t remember if he knocked me out or not. Stradlater was stood over the top of me, “Why the hell don’tcha shut up when I tellya to?” He sounded pretty nervous. He probably thought he’d fractured my skull or something.

I was so mad I was practically bawling. I got up when Stradlater went to the can. I couldn’t find my goddam hunting hat anywhere. Finally I found it and put it on. I had a feeling Ackley’d probably heard all the racket and was awake. So I went through the shower curtains to see what the hell he was doing.