After this, the little brother, one day he doesn’t show up at school. The X-rays show the truth, some¬thing long and thin, bent double inside his bladder. Sticking stuff inside yourself. Stick¬ing yourself inside stuff. The thin wax rod, it’s slipped inside. This kid and his folks, his whole fam¬ily, them looking at the black X-ray with the doctor and the nurses stand¬ing there, the big V of wax glowing white for everybody to see, he has to tell the truth. This kid talking on the phone from his hospital bed, in the background you can hear bells ding, people scream¬ing. The demand for (...)