Since I had attended public elementary and junior high schools, but am now attending a private high school, I had two different sets of friends.I happ...n to live in one of the not-so-great suburbs of Chicago. You know the kind. There's only one town between Chicago and us, and even though people say my city's bad we call the town next to us the "ghetto". You see, I live in the far northeast corner of the city, which is basically our "ghetto". It's not a real ghetto but it sucks; in our part of. She seemed oblivious to the things that get would make guys notice her.She was near the end of this drink and about to leave in defeat again when an average looking young man asked if he could sit with her. He gave her another of the drink she had almost finished and proceeded to introduce himself as Howard. This attention was much better than nothing, but not real close to the fantasy of the good-looking guy her age who would take her away and fuck her senseless.He bought her the drink so she. I reached out and took it, but before he could let go, I had laid my other hand on his."Billy! You're trembling! What's the matter?"He released the dryer and snatched his hand away. "Nuthin'. I'm fine, thanks."I studied him carefully. At long last, I realized what I'd done wrong. "Oh. You don't go out. You never leave these rooms, do you? You never let anyone SEE you!" He took a step back and shuffled his feet. I dropped the device onto a chair and advanced the step he had retreated. As I. Some kid, barely fifteen and with bad teeth and acne, grinned at her from amongst the mob. She turned away from him."Up against the wall, motherfuckers!" She couldn't be sure if that was a cop or a dissident. She figured it didn't matter. The crowd surged forward, and she heard the convention building roar with anger, saw it bristling like a wild beast. Carl Sandburg was right. Chicago was alive."Here," he said, finishing a bottle of beer with one hand, and holding up a piece of paper to her.