Elizabeth Ellen

She did not cry and this was surprising! She believed in her ability to be funny, too. She entered the house and the house was silent in a way that had not occurred to her. She thought about all the jokes she could tell. She climbed the stairs to the girl’s bedroom. She could not kid herself… There was no other reason to climb the stairs. One of the girl’s friends had drawn a penis on the outside of the bedframe. He had drawn the penis in permanent marker so that the penis could not be easily washed away. She remembered telling him he should go into comedy. "You should be a comedian," she had said to the girl’s friend many times. "You are so funny," she had said to him again. She wondered if the girl was ever jealous. The girl had wanted to be a rapper for a while. They had classes for white kids, you know. Now the girl’s friend was old enough for the woman to see his penis. The girl said, "I don’t want to be friends with Saul anymore." She still believed in his ability to be funny.