Trailer Trash

Chapter 1-2

A full chest of anger blossomed inside Rox, making him automatically clench his fist, reach out and grab Rich Boy’s collar, and draw his fist back to hit him.

Dezi quickly put up his hands and said, “Okay. I’m sorry.”

What the rich boy didn’t see was the rush of tears that misted Rox’s eyes. He’d heard slurs like that one too many times, and trying to fight it was like trying to stop a hurricane. To keep Dezi from seeing his tears, he pushed him away, turned, sat down on the bed, and hung his head. “I guess I can’t blame you. It seems I’ll never be anything else.”

“Hey, what’s wrong?”

“What’s wrong,” Rox mumbled with a derisive chuckle. “You’ve just propositioned me and called me trailer trash for the umpteenth time, and now you want to know what’s wrong. What turnip truck did you just fall off of? Get the hell out of here before I really lose my temper.”

“Sorry, but I don’t understand why you’re so upset.”

Rox looked at the rich boy who was born with a silver spoon in his mouth, who hadn’t worked a day in his life, and felt sick to his stomach. “Don’t you understand, rich boy?” Rox finally asked. “I know it’s not much, but I worked hard to get this trailer. You weren’t far off when you said I paid ten dollars for it. I paid fifty. It was everything I had. Hell, I don’t even have electricity or running water. Whatever I need I get at the Texaco station on the corner. The truth is, my folks are dead, my friends are off in another part of the world, and I had nowhere to go. I was thumbing it out on the highway when I saw this trailer out here alone and abandoned. I managed to find the owner, we talked, and it seemed like the answer at the time, so I took it. It’s a roof over my head and a bed to sleep in, so I thought I’d give it a try. You might say I’m hiding out more than anything else.”

“So what are you hiding from?”

“You mean who, don’t you?”

“Okay, so who are you hiding from?”

“Who do you think? People like you.” Rox got up and began pacing. “Rich people who think all they have to do is wave a few dollars in my face, and I’ll lie down for them.” He looked over at Dezi accusingly. “But it’s usually older men, not someone of my own fuckin’ generation.”

“Well, hell, Rox, look at yourself. You scream s*x appeal. You’re the hottest guy I’ve seen in a long time. Being a man yourself, you must know how men are. They’re pigs.”

“Oh, yeah, I know,” Rox said. “Especially those who’ve got so much money they’ve got no feelings left for someone like me. You ever tried to get a job in the middle of a recession? If I am trailer trash, it’s not by choice. It’s because I have no other choice.”

“Look, I’m sorry if I insulted you, but hell, I’m only human.”

“Be as fuckin’ human as you want to be, but not with me.” He suddenly turned and pulled a satchel out of his tiny little closet. “I’ll be out of here as soon as I can get packed. I guess I’ll just have to leave the trailer. I don’t have any way of hauling it around.”

“Where will you go?”

“Nowhere to go. I know this trailer isn’t much, but it kept me out of the weather, and I had a place to sleep. Hell, maybe I can sell it to someone who can move it off the land. Can you do one decent thing and give me a little time to find someone?” Without waiting for an answer, he said, “Thanks.”