Shadow Man Read Free

hungry for abalone.
    I get upset if he dives when the ocean is rough. He’s not afraid of the water. But he knows you have to respect it. The ocean fills me with awe. Think of it, wrapped around the planet, touching everything, like God.
    I’ve seen Gabe and his dog standing on the sea, on a rock that was almost gone; waves crashing over them, Jack barking, scared. He hates being out there, but he won’t desert his master. Get out of there! I’m screaming. Gabe’s smile is gleaming. He throws his head back to drain his can of beer. Then he jumps into the water—
    He always makes it back to shore. By then I’m frantic, angry.
    What’s the matter with you? I yell at him. Do you want to get killed?
    He grins.
    It feels so odd to be here on a school day. Gabriel thinks I take school too seriously. It floors me when he says that school’s not important. You’ve got to have a good education. Do you want to work in a mill all your life, I say, making coffins and losing your hearing?
    What? Gabe shouts. You’ll have to speak up!
    He’s too smart to play dumb. He’s brilliant. And I’m not just saying that because I love him. Mrs. Sanders thinks so too, even though he’s always had problems with school. She thinks he might have a learning disability; but Gabe’s not interested in being tested. He says he’s done all right so far.
    His family is a big part of the problem. They think school is a waste of time. His mother didn’t care when he dropped out. She didn’t want him going away to college; she wanted him to stay in town. My parents are the opposite. Their biggest fear is that I’ll marry Gabe and settle down here and get a job selling hot dogs at the drive-in.
    We do want to marry, but we have big plans. Big plans! Gabe laughs when he hears me say that.
    Judging by the sun, I’d guess it’s almost nine. I’ve been out on the rock for about an hour. The first time Gabriel showed me this place, I was afraid to come out here. I’m not the world’s best swimmer. He told me that it’s perfectly safe, as long as you keep track of the time. When the tide is low we simply cross from shore, walking way out on glistening stone steps to a rock throne in the middle of our own secret cove, hidden from the top of the cliffs.
    You have to get back to shore before the tide comes in and reclaims the throne where you’ve been sitting.
    It won’t be in for a few more hours. By then Gabe will have rescued me from this terrible dream I can’t stop dreaming.

5
    Carolyn Sanders
    The news hit school like a bomb. Within seconds, kids were falling apart; boys with their fists in their pockets, scowling; girls clutching one another and sobbing.
    For a while they were just milling around in the halls, asking one another, “Did you hear about Gabe?” then repeating the details like a litany.
    Gabe was like a god to a lot of these kids. They thought he was indestructible.
    I’ve finally corralled my kids in class. The intercom keeps crackling. The principal is expected to make an address. In the meantime, the kids talk among themselves. Girls’ faces are puffy and red.
    There’s a political struggle in the front office. A group of the teachers want a school assembly, to acknowledge and discuss the accident. The anti-Gabe faction, led by Coach Troy Decker, wants to press ahead with business as usual. We don’t want to make him a hero, the coach says.
    As if we’ll get a damn thing done today. A boy these kids loved has just been killed and I’m supposed to preach the importance of punctuation?
    Gabe’s brother Gerald was here a while ago, tearing the place apart, looking for James. He burst into my classroom, shouting: “Where the hell is he? He’s dead meat!”
    James happens to be absent today. With a terrible hangover, no doubt.
    I said, “What do you want, Gerald?” I taught him, or