Chapter 17

I got there a little early so I just sat down on one of those leather couches right near the clock in the lobby and just watched the girls. There were millions. Some standing, some sitting, just waiting for their dates to show up.

Finally, old Sally started coming up the stairs, and I walked down to meet her. She looked remarkable. She really did. I’m crazy. I didn’t really like her that much, but as soon as I saw her, I wanted to marry her.

I knew she would go made when I told her we were going to see the Lunts.

At first she didn’t want because of her lipstick, but we horsed around in the cab a little bit on the way to the theatre.

We went out with all the other honeys after the first act for a cigarette. She noticed one of the guys and when he finally noticed her he came over and said hello. It was nauseating. It really was. You would’ve thought they’d taken baths together when they were babies or something.

Then I really messed things up. We were having a drink and I had this crazy idea. I started gong on about running away and getting married. I get really carried away with myself sometimes.

Chapter 16

I finished my breakfast around twelve, but I wasn’t meeting Sally until two. So I decided I would take this really long walk. But all I could think about were the two nuns. The old beat up straw basket that they collected their money in.

I walked over to Broadway. I wanted to go to this record store to find Phoebe’s favourite record. ‘Little Shirley Beans.’ It was very hard to get. It was about this kid that wouldn’t go out of the hue because she didn’t have her two front teeth.

I saw this family walking infront of me. A father, mother and a little kid. The father and his wife were just talking, not paying any attention to the kid. The kid was swell. Instead of waking on the sidewalk he walked right next to the curb. He kept singing. ‘If a body catch a body coming through the rye.’ It made me feel a little bit better. I wasn’t so depressed.

Chapter 15

It was around ten ‘o’ clock when I woke up. I didn’t sleep that long. I had a cigarette and felt pretty hungry. I thought of giving old Jane a buzz, again, but I wasn’t in the mood.

What I did do though, I gave old Sally Hayes a buzz instead and asked her if she wasn’t busy. She wasn’t. Anyway, we chewed the fat for a while. Correction, she chewed the fat. Boy, she could talk for days if she wanted to.

After I made the date with old Sally I got up, got dressed and got a cab to Grand Central Station, close to where I was meeting Sally later.

I started talking to these two nuns. They got up and left after a while, and I kind of felt sorry tat I’d only given them ten bucks for their collection, but I needed some dough for when I met Sally anyway. Goddam money. It always end up making you blue as hell.

Chapter 14

After she left, I just smoked a couple of cigarettes. It was getting light outside. You can’t imagine how depressed I was feeling. Sometimes, when I get depressed I think about Allie. Years ago, I told him to get his bike and meet me infront of this guy Bobby Fallon’s house. Once he heard me and Bobby talking about going to shoot some BB guns and he wanted to come. It wasn’t like I didn’t use to take him anywhere because I did. But that one day, I didn’t. That’s what I think about when I’m depressed.

The next thing I know the elevator guy, Maurice and Sunny (The prostitute) burst through the door. Asking me to cough up the money I owed to Sunny. But when I wouldn’t hand it over, he smacked me.

Chapter 13

I walked all the way back to the hotel. Forty-one magnificent blocks. I wished I knew the phoney that swiped my gloves. I’m not saying I would have done anything about it or anything because I wouldn’t have. I’m one of these very yellow guys. I’d feel I ought to sock the guy in the jaw - break it or something. Only, I wouldn’t have the guts to do it, but I’d make an attempt to look tough. Yeah, so that’s what I thought about on my way back to the hotel. Boy, it depressed me. I felt sort of lousy and depressed. I almost wished I was dead.

The elevator guy asked me if I was innarested in having a good time. Boy, I got myself into a mess. I should have just said no. We didn't even do anything.

Sonnet

His shiny red hair, glowing in the sun
In my mind are memories full of fun
Covered in green writing, his baseball mitt
It makes me smile when I think of his whit

Little Shirley beans her favourite song
I could sit and talk with Phoebe all night long

My hands and mind both frozen with fear
What I want and can’t have, is a pint of beer

I miss phoebe loads I really do
And my little brother Allie, of course I miss him too

She keeps her kings in the back row
I wonder if Jane knows where the ducks go?

Kicked out of Pencey Prep I have nowhere left to go
I still have just one question, where do the ducks go?

Chapter 12

The cab smelled horrific. It really did. It smelt like someone had left dirty nappies on the back seat. The streets were pretty much empty. I mean every now and again I saw a couple crossing the road or a group of phoney guys with their dates.

I sort of just started talking randomly to the driver. Horwitz was his name. “Hey, Horwitz. Do you know where they ducks go in winter?”
“Where who goes where?”
“The ducks. You know from the little lagoon in central park?”
“Erm.“
“Take that as a no then.”
“The fish don’t go anywhere.”
“I’m not talking about the fish.” We dropped the whole thing about fish after a while. It was getting pretty annoying. It really was. I asked him if he wanted to come for a drink with me. But he didn’t want to.

After I waited around for like five hours I finally got a table. The next thing I know I had this girl in my face.
“Holden Caulfield!”
Her name was Lillian Simmons, she knew my brother. She asked me how he was and everything. She seemed pretty nice. She asked me if wanted to sit with her, but I told her I was leaving. I had to leave after that. I didn’t have a choice. So that’s what I did. Left. People are always ruining things for you.

Chapter 11

I got her on the brain again. Old Jane Gallagher. For some reason, I couldn’t get her off. I got to know her quite intimately. I don’t mean in a physical way or anything.

I remember how I met her. This goddam dog she had always used to relieve itself on our lawn. A few days later, I saw her lying by the pool so I went and said hello to her. After that, we got to be good friends and we saw each other all the time.

We were sat in her porch once, and this guy with a really lousy personality came out and started asking Jane if she knew where his cigarettes were. She didn’t answer. He asked her again. Still no answer. We he finally went inside, I asked her what the hell was going on. All of a sudden, a tear plopped down on the board, she just ignored me and wiped it away with her finger. Before I knew it, I was kissing her all over, her neck, ears, nose, head everywhere except for her mouth.

Chapter 10

You never saw a kid prettier than her. Phoebe I mean. She’s so smart, she’s got sort of red hair and in the summer time she puts it behind her ears. She got really pretty ears. I really wanted to shoot the crap with Phoebe. The best bit is, if you tell her something she knows exactly what you mean. You can take her anywhere. She’s great. You’d like her if you met her.

I went in the Lavender room. I met these girls. There were three of them. I danced all of them. Bernice. Boy, was she dopey, but she was a terrific dancer. I told her she oughta be a pro. The two ugly ones were Marty and Laverne. Laverne wasn’t too bad, but let’s just say I would have rather been dead than have had to dance with Marty. She was terrible. Really terrible.

Chapter 9

I wanted to buzz someone from this phone booth I was stood in outside the station, but I couldn’t think of anyone to buzz. I wanted to talk to Phoebe but if I rang home my mum or dad would have most likely answered, it was a bit too late to call Jane. I thought of calling Sally Hayes, this girl I used to hang around with but my mum and her mum are friends, and if she answered the phone and found out I was in New York, I could see her breaking every bone in her body just to get to the goddam phone and tell my mum.

I wanted to go back downtown so I caught a cab. “Hey, you know central park? In the winter, when the little lake freezes over? Do you happen to know where the ducks go?”
“No idea.”
He didn’t really talk much afterwards, I don’t think he was interested.

After I checked in at the hotel, I just looked out of the window. You’d be surprised how many people don’t pull their shades down. You really would. I saw this weird looking guy walking up and down his room wearing women’s clothes, corsets, heeled shoes and everything! Then right over form his window there were people just in hysterics. I’m not kidding when I say, that hotel was full of perverts!

Chapter 8

I met this lady that had just got on the train. I spose it was better than reading one of those phoney magazines. I could usually read one when I’m on the train. When she noticed my Pencey Prep sticker she asked me if I knew her son, Ernest. I knew him because he went to my school. I didn’t want to tell her my real name or anything so I told her my name was Rudolf Schmidt. She was a pretty nice lady, good looking and all. Especially when she was smoking. She didn’t wolf the smoke down she just inhaled it, nicely. Then she asked me about Ernest. I didn’t want to tell her the truth, just incase it upset her. I mean Ernest was a shy and modest guy. Like we wanted him to be class president but he wouldn’t even let us nominate him. I asked her if she wanted to come for a drink with me but she didn’t.