The Naked and the Dead - Norman Mailer [307]
The air shaft that connects the bathrooms from floor to floor is filling up with trash and an occasional discharge of garbage. When it reaches the second story the janitor will set fire to it.
Improvised incinerator.
The house is exactly like every other one on the block and the square mile surrounding it.
Casimir ("Polack") Czienwicz, age of nine, wakes up in the morning and scratches his head, sits up on the pile of quilting spread out upon the floor, and looks at the stove in the center of the room, which has gone out. There are three other children besides himself sleeping there, and he rolls over, pretends he is still asleep. Soon his sister Mary will be waking, moving about and dressing, and he wants to watch her.
Outside the wind is begging against the windowpanes, slinking between the cracks to slide freely along the floor.
Jesus, it's cold, he mutters to his brother sleeping beside him.
She up yet? (The brother is eleven.)
Soon. He holds his finger against his lips.
Mary rises shivering, pokes at the stove abstractedly, and pulls her cotton slip down about her shoulders, letting the nightgown fall as the slip travels down her body. The two boys catch a glimpse of bare flesh, giggle quietly in their beds.
What are you looking at, Steve? she shouts.
Haw, I saw ya, I saw ya.
You didn't.
I did.
He has put out his hand to stop Steve too late. Casimir shakes his head in disgust, mature disgust. Wha'd ya go and do that for, now ya ruined it.
Aaah, shut up.
You dope, Steve.
Steve takes a poke at him, but Casimir has ducked, is darting about the room, avoiding him. Stop it, Steve, Mary screams.
Cut it out, cut it out, Polack yells.
The father, a huge heavy man, has come in from the other room, wearing only his pants. You kids stop it, he shouts in Polish. Seeing Steve he cuffs him. Don't look at the girl.
Casimir did it first.
I di'n't, I di'n't.
Leave Casimir alone. He cuffs Steve again, his hands still smelling from the cattle blood in the stockyards.
I'll get ya, Steve whispers later.
Awwww. But Casimir grins to himself. He knows Steve will forget, and if he doesn't there will be a way to escape. There always is.
In the classroom everybody is shouting.
Who put gum on the seats, who put the gum on?
Miss Marsden looks ready to cry. Quiet, children, quiet please. John, you and Louis can start cleaning it up.
Why do we have to, teacher, we didn't put the gum on?
I'll help, teacher, Casimir says.
All right, Casimir, that's a good boy.
The little girls are snuffling their noses, looking about with interest now and indignation. Casimir did it, they whisper, Casimir did it.
Miss Marsden hears them at last. Did you do it, Casimir?
Me, teacher, why would I do it?
Come up here, Casimir.
He walks up to her desk, leans against her arm when she puts it about him. Looking at the class and winking as he lays his head on her shoulder. (Snickering.)
Now, Casimir, don't do that.
Don't do what, teacher?
Did you put the gum on the seats? Tell me the truth, I won't punish you.
No, teacher.
There isn't any gum on Casimir's seat, Miss Marsden, Alice Rafferty says.
Why isn't there any? she asks him.
I dunno, teacher, maybe the kid who did it was scared of me.
Who did it, Casimir?
Oh, I dunno, teacher. Do ya want me to help clean the seats?
Casimir, you should try to be a good boy.
Yes, Miss Marsden. He walks back to his seat and on the pretense of helping the other boys, he whispers to the girls.
In the summer the kids stay out late at night, play hide-and-seek in the empty lots, bathe in the hydrants, which have been turned on for them. There's always some excitement in summer. A house is burning down, or they can go up on the rooftops and peek at the big kids fooling around with the girls. If it's hot enough they can sneak into the movies 'cause the exit