The Wanderers by Richard Price Page B

Scottie backed away. "You gonna hit me?"
    "Nan."
    "Swear to God."
    "I swear."
    "Cross."
    Dougie crossed.
    "Swear on your mother."
    "I swear." Dougie smiled amiably.
    "Swear on Brother Timothy and Sister Theresa at Holy Rosary."
    "I swear," Dougie said patiently. Nervously, Scottie extended a hand. Dougie resisted pulling Scottie headfirst into the wall and struggled to his feet "So you don' like torture, hah?"
    "What?"
    "C'mon, I'll buy you a Coke." He ushered Scottie through the projects into the Pioneer Candy Store. As Scottie sipped his Coke, Dougie spun himself around on the rotating counter stool until he was dizzy. "Hite, ain't I your best friend in the whole world?"
    "What?"
    "Ain't I your greatest buddy?" He put an arm around Scottie's shoulders.
    Maxie, the bald immigrant soda jerk whose glasses reflected every bit of light they could catch, came over to them. "Twenty cent."
    "I'll pay for the whole thing." Dougie made a big deal of extracting a quarter from his jeans. "He's my best friend, and I'll pay for him any time." Maxie failed to be stirred and gave Dougie a nickel.
    Outside, they walked across the street to Big Playground. Dougie nudged Scottie with an elbow.
    "What?"
    Dougie pulled a dirty magazine from the front of his pants and gave it to Scottie. "I took it when he wasn't lookin'."
    "Wow!"
    "You din't see me take it either, you..." He stopped himself from calling Scottie a jerk. "It's yours."
    "Wow."
    "You like that, hah? You like them big titties there?" Dougie snickered.
    Scottie giggled idiotically as he stared at a seminaked girl with big jugs.
    "You wanna go up onna roof and look at the pictures?" Dougie suggested in a nasty whisper.
    "Yeah, O.K."
    "C'mon."
    They trotted through the projects to a building they'd never been in before near the park, Scottie chortling and giggling, Dougie silent. They took the elevator to the top floor, then took the stairs to the roof. Dougie pushed the big iron door with his shoulder.
    The roof was square, bordered by a jail-like four-foot-high iron grill. The ground was covered with a carpet of gravel, and the gravel was usually covered with a fine layer of black cinders that floated up from the mouth of an incinerator chimney. The only two structures on this flat terrain were the chimney and the huge iron door that led to the stairs.
    The boys felt a delicious sense of terror because sneaking onto a roof was the most forbidden thing they could do in the projects. Any second a big black porter could kick open the iron door or dash from behind the chimney in his dark blue work uniform and drag them down seven flights of stairs and over to the housing police. Scottie whooped and hollered as he ran to the iron grill and looked down to the impossibly small street.
    "We're on toppa the world!" he squealed.
    "How 'bout that?" Dougie stared serenely across the sea of dirty buildings. Scottie ran around the roof making noises of nervous delight.
    "Hey, Hite! C'mere wit' that magazine." Dougie squatted on the gravel. Scottie sat down next to him, and they thumbed through the pages, Dougie making cracks, Scottie drooling and laughing. "Hey, Hite, look a' that ass!"
    "Yeah!"
    "Hey, Hite, watch!" Dougie lifted the magazine to his mouth and kissed the winking girl's behind.
    "Wooo!" Scottie waved a limp wrist meaning shame-shame.
    "You do it."
    "Nah." Scottie giggled in embarrassment.
    "C'mon, g'head." Dougie shoved the magazine into Scottie's face. Scottie tried to twist away, then gave the magazine a quick peck. He redoubled his noises, approaching hysteria. Dougie smiled contemptuously. He held the magazine in front of his own face, the nudie photos facing Scottie, and spoke in a high-pitched voice, "Oh, Scottie Hite, you naughty boy! You kissed my tushie!"
    Scottie waved weakly in helpless, salivating, embarrassed laughter. Dougie got up and started chasing him around the roof with the pictures and squeaking, "Oh, Scottie! Kiss my tushie!"
    Scottie, howling and wiping his