"Oh, allow me hun," the black guy then says to me, quick as a flash, ashe lights my cigarette for me."Thanks babes," I hear myself telling him as I bl...w out a lovely thickcloud of smoke.I'm more than a little surprised at how easy I'm smoking this cigaretteas I have never smoked in my life but now I find it quite relaxing andeven sexy as well. This is strange, very strange, but also quite nicetoo."Your welcome hun. Now, what would you like to drink my darling?" I hearmy new black friend say. Another time, the week after a surprising little story she had turned in was well-received during class discussion (an erotic, admirably sensual piece, with an O. Henry twist at the end—that is, if O. Henry believed in vampires), she charmed the class by bringing in a plate of homemade apple cake for all to share. “This is good,” he said. “Thank you.” The other chimed in their thanks as well. “I’m surprised, though,” he said. “You left the peel on the apples in this. I’ve never seen anyone do. His father deserved all of his respect, but because he had earned it, not just because it was Cal's duty as the child.Why did he suddenly think of himself as equal to all of the adults in his life? He was still just fifteen, not yet qualified to drive. Did killing a man really change his perspective that much? Ken's words came back to him. Facing death and taking life really were as significant as Ken had said. They were things only a small percentage of men experienced. No one could truly. ”He was greeted with silence. Surrounded by all things alien to him, including his own body, his pyrrhic victory was all the more raw. Gilly had been right, even though in his heart of hearts he wanted to deny it. Everything that he had just accomplished would be discarded and replaced with a decapitating swing of a blade. ‘How primitive we biological entities are,’ he lamented.Porter appreciated that Gilly would say something much more diplomatic and productive than he was able to formulate in.