Author: Robert Eggleton
Available In: eBook & Print.
Released: March 16th, 2012
Summary:
Rarity from the Hollow is adult literary science fiction with content that addresses social issues. Written in the colloquial voice of an eleven year old going on two million, this novel is not for the prudish, fainthearted or easily offended. It is a Children’s Story for Adults. Lacy Dawn is not a typical little girl, and if you think of her as such, you may be shocked. Lacy Dawn lives in a hollow with her worn-out mom, her Iraq War disabled dad, and her mutt Brownie, a dog who’s becoming very skilled at laying fiber optic cable. Lacy Dawn’s android boyfriend, for when she’s old enough to have one, has come to the hollow with a mission. He was sent by the Manager of the Mall on planet Shptiludrp (Shop ’till You Drop) to recruit Lacy Dawn. If she saves the Universe, Earth would be designated as a planet which is eligible for continued existence. Will Lacy Dawn’s magic enable her to save the universe, Earth, and, most importantly, her own family?
Excerpt
Rarity from the Hollow Excerpt, Chapter 2,Recess
……Designated to be consolidated, the school received little maintenance except to reduce liability. The playground had a chain link fence with vines growing through the diagonals, squeaky swings so loud that everyone on recess had to holler, and two teeter-totters with splinters that targeted fresh butt. Only one improvement had been added during the last three years of consolidation controversy. Pieces of shredded car tires were put under the monkey bars to cushion falls.
During recess, the teachers smoked cigarettes behind the corner of the brick school building. It was a designated smoking spot so that students wouldn't be exposed to bad influence. Consequently, the playground was without adult supervision.
"Why do you want to feel angry so often?" Lacy Dawn (the eleven year old protagonist) asked Faith (Lacy Dawn’s best friend and classmate).
"Why not?"
"It messes up your digestion and gives you the farts."
"I like to fart – silent and deadly," Faith said.
"I've noticed." Lacy Dawn moved toward the gang hanging out under the monkey bars. They were older kids who lived on the hard road and who had parents who had been employed before the coal mine shut down. They still thought they had money.
"My dad got a call about a job in Cleveland. What do you think, Lacy Dawn? Your mommy was born there. Is it cool? Will I meet Eminem?" the tallest kid asked.
"Does your daddy still hit your mommy when he gets drunk?” Lacy Dawn asked.
"Sometimes, but what's that got to do with Cleveland?"
"Everything."
The tall kid grabbed the monkey bars and went to its end. His tip-toes touched the shredded tires. It was easier because the ground was several inches higher than before the shreds had been laid. Nobody acknowledged the achievement and all awaited his response. “When we get to Cleveland, I'll stand up to him. I promise,"
"You'd better or she'll know," Faith pointed at Lacy Dawn.
"I know." The tall kid sat on the rung that had broken off his front tooth two grades before.
"Why'd you tell him that?" Lacy Dawn whispered in Faith's ear. "I ain't got that kind of magic yet and you know it. I can only see inside people when they’re right in front of me. Cleveland’s a long way off and, besides, Eminem’s from Detroit."
Faith shrugged.
"My mom and dad don't ever hit me. Sometimes, I wish they would. I do stuff so they will, but it don't ever work," the next tallest kid in line for therapy disclosed.
"Parents use different styles of redirection. Yours use guilt." Lacy Dawn said.
"Yeah, I cut myself once. See. It helped a little, but I would really appreciate a switch every now and then."
"Don't fetish,” Lacy Dawn said. “Relax. You're a good kid and your parents want switched, too. It's not your daddy's fault that the mine shut down. He feels guilty about not being a good provider and gets rid of it by giving it to you." Lacy Dawn kissed the scar on the kid's arm above the bottom of his shirt sleeve.
The crowd went "Ooohhhh…" when the scar seemed to fade.
"You're a good doctor, Lacy Dawn," echoed the crowd.
"Next!" a kid who lay on top of the monkey bars above the gang yelled.
"Give me your shit, Ronny,” Lacy Dawn instructed. “But, don't you ever say anything bad about Faith ever again. I'll vex you into eternity. You've been giving her a hard time since the first grade. It ain't fair."
"Sorry,” Ronny said. “I'm just so sad all the time. I take it out on anybody that will react and she's an easy target – fat and ugly."
"Next year, she'll be hot. She'll give you a hard-on that won't go down for days. You'll regret every mean thing you ever said to her."
Faith moved into position to punch his exposed belly.
"I already regret everything," Ronny said, “everything.”
"Your parents thought if they taught you how to predict consequences of your behavior you would exercise self-control. You learned it too good and now you go over and over every little detail. Before you do something mean, just take a few slow, deep breaths and you won't hit anybody anymore. Then, you will have less regret. When you stop being mean, I'll help you fix your depression. But, if you ever say one mean thing about Faith again, I'll let her kick your ass like it's never been before," Lacy Dawn said.
"My mommy don't do nothing but watch soaps," a girl in the second said.
"Mine too," three smaller children gathered for wisdom.
Cigarette smoke formed a cloud that floated from around the corner of the building. Only one female teacher still had a husband and he had been jailed for manufacturing meth after their house caught on fire. It was another tidbit of conversation during an extra-long recess disallowed by the State Board of Education. Recess was the most productive part of the school day because of Lacy Dawn's magic way of helping
others.
"I wish I had a husband," the only male teacher employed by the school yelled loud enough for the kids to hear above the squeaky swings.
“There goes Mr. I’m Gay again,” a boy said.
“He’s so boring,” another said. The crowd nodded.
"I wish I could fix my own family," Lacy Dawn whispered to Faith.
"It's a kid's job to help her parents and any kid who don't ain't much of a kid and maybe don't even deserve to live!" Faith yelled louder than Mr. I’m Gay. It was her daily speech to classmates.
The school bell rang to return to the classrooms. Another fifteen minutes was left before compliance was expected. Several kids gathered tighter around the monkey bars to try to get attention from Lacy Dawn. The healthier ones played more or less organized dodge and kick ball games in opposite corners of the playground.
Like the center on a football team’s front line, Faith tried to look mean by grimacing and folding her arms. It was a body-guard-like role so the others used her as an avenue to Lacy Dawn by lining up. A first grader pulled down her shorts to show a blue bruise on her butt. Faith rolled her eyes and turned away. A fourth grader opened his mouth and pointed inside but Faith didn't look. A girl in the fifth who sat beside her in class pointed to her crotch. Tears streamed. Faith winced for a moment but screened her out by turning her head. Not today, Britney. Lacy Dawn only has so much magic at any given time. She needs to recharge. Everybody has issues and tissues. You can be first tomorrow.
A fight broke out in the far corner of the playground. The games stopped and the
kids rushed for the better entertainment. Lacy Dawn and Faith followed to get a good place to watch. The teachers saw the action and either returned to the building or gathered behind the crowd to bet on the winner.
"She called my mommy a HO," a second grader with a bloody nose accused a sixth grader and swung air.
"But she is. My daddy told me. I didn't mean to make you mad," the sixth grader tried to maintain a distance by stepping back. "I'm sorry. I don't even know what it means."
"A Ho is a person who has a lot of indiscriminant sex," the smartest girl in school except for Lacy Dawn said to show off. She put on her headphones and walked toward the school to prepare for the next spelling bee, which would include the word “indiscriminate.”
Faith picked up the dodge ball and beamed her in the back of the head.
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