Hey! You! Get Out of My Way! Part 17 Back in Albany New York

I carry Crawford into the bathroom with me. She seems nervous and edgy and keeps pressing her body into me. She is extremely active and can’t seem to stop moving. 


I try to put her on the counter but she wants nothing to do with that and climbs right back up my arm.

I get ready for bed and let her sit on my shoulder. As I walk back into the bedroom I lean over to open her cage and she wants nothing to do with going back in there, so I climb into bed with her and throw the covers over us. Crawford rolls into a ball and pushes into my chest.

The next morning I wake up and Jonathan has already left. I didn’t hear him get up and leave. I lean up on my elbows and Crawford immediately climbs up on my chest and pushes her nose to my mouth. I kiss her on the head and hug her little body. I place her onto my shoulder and head into the kitchen.

I need to be in school today, I have missed too much and I received a warning from Parsons Child and Family Center. I am supposed to be in school or I jeopardize my living situation.  My situation is not so good but it’s better than living on the street, so I need to remember that. I quickly make coffee and breakfast. I run into the shower where Crawford follows me and plays under the water.

School is hell and Albany High needs to have a metal detector. Security lines the hallway and students are randomly frisked. Well in reality none of the white kids get frisked which really pisses me off and I walk into the frisking line to prove a point. Security tells me to get out of the line or risk getting dragged to the principal’s office.

The day drags on and on and I find myself in the parking lot smoking weed with Myla, Rich and Michael. Actually Myla drinks out of a paper bag as well. “Man, Janis was so misunderstood,” says Myla handing the joint to me and raising her bag to the sky. “She didn’t go to school and got to live her dream.” I look at Rich who silently shakes his head.  Janis is dead as far as I know and I believe that she died from a heroin overdose. I’m not really sure why Myla wants to emulate her. It’s clear that she is in a dark place.

Myla’s parents are out of town this weekend and she is planning a huge party. So this weekend I have Myla and next weekend Liz is coming for dinner. My dance card is filling up.

For the next couple of days it is school and rehearsal. We work on the opening number entitled Colonel Buffalo Bill. It is a huge opening number filled with enough box steps in every direction, not to mention swaying and pulsing in place. Mimi is not at rehearsal tonight so the Walrus is extra cruel to the cast.

When he wants your attention he claps his hand twice after he says what he thinks is your name. His direction consists of him telling you how many steps to take and then the exact way to say your line. Liz reminds me under her breath that she is going to the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City. I ask her “If she can’t learn everything she needs from the Walrus?” She responds by rolling her eyes.

Liz drives me home from rehearsal again. I bid her “Good Night,” and open the front door. I wave to Liz as she drives away.

I can hear Jonathan yelling at someone upstairs. I quietly climb the stairs and peer over the landing. Jonathan walks out of the bedroom and walks to the sink. He is still muttering something about someone not being a friend.

I quickly climb the stairs. Jonathan turns around and is completely surprised to see me.

“Who are you yelling at?” I ask him.

To be continued…..

Geoffrey Doig-Marx holds all written and electronic rights to his writing "A Day in the Life". It can not be reprinted in part or whole without his written consent.