The sound of laughter brought him up short. Ahead of him, children with sparklers ran around. Their parents sat on the front porch, talking and drinking beers. For a moment, Barney wished he could run around with a sparkler and laugh. But he knew he was scary-looking. He not only walked funny, but his face was messed up, too. Nobody will accept you, boy. Not a soul. The world will break your heart. You remember that, Barney. Nobody gonna like you. That's just how things are.
He should cross the street. Keep walking. But he paused by an oak tree that hid most of his bulk. He liked walking in this neighborhood because they didn't have streetlights. It was dark. Really dark. He smiled as he watched the children chase each other. One boy was bigger than the others. He would chase the little girls and push them down. Barney didn't like that. The boy should protect the kids smaller than him. Barney frowned. He didn't understand. Why would the boy do that? It was mean.
