Spats & Crunch stared at each other. How could a girl know Uncle John? What was Uncle John doing giving some girl all his advice & counsel? Why their seniors, the real Geechee Capitans, held counsel with Uncle John. Very impressed, a little riled, the two boys folded their arms cross their chests & began a culturally recognized & universally feared ritual: The Geechee Capitan Cock Walk. Spats took off his sweatshirt with no sleeves, a slit down the middle, turned inside-out anyway, threw it on the ground. Crunch peeled his black tee-shirt from his ample torso, threw it on the ground. They clapped their hands. Clap. Clapclap. Clap. Spit on the ground, once to the east & once to the west. Then they walked in a circle round Indigo. Slow-n-don’t-mess-round clockwise. Slow-n-this-might-be-the-last-time counter clockwise. Again. Humph. Again. Humph. Clap. Clapclap. Clap.

Indigo’d been round long enough to know that she was either being initiated or ’bout to die. Crunch was not too excited ’bout the powers of her fiddlin’. Spats was probably more physical than his slight frame intimated. Indigo held her breath. Next thing was gonna happen, was somebody’d break the rhythm & whoever that was had better be on the case or die.

Spats moved first, fast. Had Indigo on his small shoulders ’fore Crunch could move all of himself anywhere. There was still the possibility that Crunch might plow into them or belly-whip ’em to a tumble. Spats glanced up at Indigo, who was delighted to be such a prize & safe. Crunch kept his flat face straight: “Awright man, she in.” Indigo jumped offa Spats, jubilant. The real world was workin’ its way up. Crunch didn’t like that she was a girl, but whoever could scare a G.C., even the Jr. G.C.’s, had the right to be initiated or die. Plus, a somebody who was already a G.C. hadta put his honor on the line: to really save the person from all the rest, or do harm to the person in the face of all the other G.C.’s. Now it was also true there were only two members of the Jr. Geechee Capitans, Spats & Crunch. That’s ’cause they hadn’t met anybody could fight as well as they could. Till Indigo. Crunch really didn’t like that she was a girl. Spats liked that.