I went down to the can. I chewed the fat with him while he was shaving. Everyone was still at the game so we were the only ones there. He kept whistling. Boy he had an annoying whistle. It was one of those piercing ones that are never ever in tune. He always ruins songs.

Stradlater’s a slob. Kinda like Ackley. But Stradlater was more of a secret slob. He always looked okay, but you should’ve seen the rusty razor he was using. It was full of lather and hair and crap. Boy it was disgusting. He looks alright when he cleans himself up, but he’s still a slob. A secret one. The only reason he fixed himself up, was because he was obsessed with himself.

Anyway, I just sat on the washbowl next to him.“Hey” he said. “Fancy doing me a big favour?” He always asked you to do him a big favour.
“You see, I’ve got a hundred pages to read for history by Monday. And I’ll be up the creek if I don’t get it done.”
“What do you want me to do about it.?”
“How bout writing a composition for English for me?”
I was quite ironic. “I’m flunking out of the goddam place and your asking me to write you a goddam composition!”
He asked me again but I didn’t answer him straight away. He called me his ‘Buddyroo’. But I knew he was only sayin that just to get me to write him a composition.
“What on?”
“Anything descriptive. But don’t go sticking commas in all the right places. I don’t want it to look too good.”
Boy, that gives me a royal pain in the ass. I mean he asks me to do him a favour and then tells me how to do it!

I decided to dance a little bit. You know, imitating one of those dancing guys from the films. It probably looked ridiculous as hell but I didn’t really care. I hated movies with a passion, but I got a kick out of imitating them. I stopped when I got out of breath. “So who’s your date then? Fitzgerald?”
“Hell no! I told you I’m through with her.”
“Who then?”
“I forgot to tell you. She knows you. My date.”
“Really? What’s her name?”
“Hold on. I’m thinking…….. Jean Gallagher I think her name is.”
My heart stopped for a second.
“Jane Gallagher?”
“Yeah that’s it. You know her?”
I jumped up from the washbowl. I damn nearly died I was that excited. “Hell yeah I know her. She lived practically next to me the summer before last. She had this goddam dog that kept coming in our garden that’s how I -.”
“Holden! For chrissake. Get out of my goddam light.”
That was it. Once I started talking about jane, I couldn’t stop. I think it kinda got on Stradlater’s nerves. I didn’t care. I was way to excited.
“Willya do me a favour and ask her if she still keeps her kings in the back row?”
“Ask her what?”
“I used to play checkers with her all the –.”
“Checkers! For chrissake Holden.”
“Oh and don’t tell her I got kicked out willya?”
“Why would I tell her that?”
“I dunno I just-.”
“Where the hell are my cigarettes?”
“Over on the desk.”