Universal Dependencies - English - GUM

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Everyone’s just watching the weird retarded girl except this one chubby guy who’s trying to get her to put down the lights but who’s afraid to touch her.

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“Not supposed to touch those,” he says.

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“Where’s your mom?

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Is your mom here?”

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“Sorry!” I say.

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The chubby guy frowns at me.

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“Cara,” I say.

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“No hands.”

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Cara looks at me, looks at the lights.

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I gently try to take them.

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“No!” she wails.

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“Pretty!”

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“I’m sorry,” I say, “I’m her brother.

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She’s developmentally delayed.

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Cara!

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Cara, no.

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No hands.”

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She wails, but lets me disentangle her hands.

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“I’m sorry,” I say again, the concerned big brother.

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“I was just looking around and thought she was right with me, you know?

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Our mom’s down at Dillard’s.”

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Chubby guy kind of hovers until I get the lights away from Cara and as soon as I put them on the shelf he grabs them and starts straightening them out and draping them back over the display.

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I herd Cara towards the front of the store, mouthing sorry at the front cashier.

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She’s kind of pretty.

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She smiles at me.

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Nice big brother with retarded sister.

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Back out in the mall, Cara is wailing, which could start an asthma attack, so to distract her I say, “You want a cookie?”

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Mom has Cara on a diet, so of course she wants a cookie.

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She perks up the way Shelby, our Shetland Sheepdog does, when you say ‘treat.’

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I take her to the food court and buy her an M&M cookie and buy myself a Mountain Dew and then while she’s eating her cookie, I pull the deck of cards out of my pocket and unwrap it.

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We’ve got another fifteen minutes before we have to meet my mom.

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The idea is to play fish except every time you get a match you’re supposed to do what it says.

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Tie partner’s hands with a silk scarf.

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Kiss anywhere you like and see how long your partner can keep from moving or making any noise.

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The one who lasts the longest gets to draw an extra card.

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Tame, but pretty cool.

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I can’t wait to show Toph and Len.

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Cara has chocolate smeared on her mouth, but she lets me wipe her face off.

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“You ready to go back to see Mom?” I say.

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When we pass Spencer’s again, she stops.

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“Uhhh,” she says, pointing to the store.

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Mom always tries to get her to say what she wants, but I know what she wants and I don’t want to fight with her.

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“No,” I say.

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“Let’s go see Mom.”

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Cara’s face crumples up and she hunches her thick shoulders.

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“Uhhh,” she says, mad.

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“It’s okay,” I say.

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“Come on.”

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She swings at me.

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I grab her hand and pull her behind me.

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She tries to sit down, but I just keep on tugging and she follows me, gulping and wailing.

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“What did you do?” my mom says when she sees us.

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My mom had to buy stuff, like gym shorts for me and underwear for herself, so I told her that I’d take Cara with me while she bought her stuff.

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She’s holding a Dillard’s bag.

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“She wanted to go in Spencer’s,” I say.

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“We went in but she kept grabbing stuff and I had to take her out and now she’s upset.”

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“Robert,” my mom says, irritated.

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She crouches down.

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“Ah, Cara mia, don’t cry.”

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We trail out of the store, Cara holding Mom’s hand and sniffling.

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By the time we get to the car, though, Cara’s wheezing.

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Mom digs out Cara’s inhaler and Cara dutifully takes a hit.

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I tried it once and it was pretty dreadful.

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It felt really weird, trying to get that stuff in my lungs, and it made me feel a little buzzy but it didn’t even feel good, so it’s pretty amazing that Cara will do it.

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Cara sits in her booster seat in the back of the car, wheezing all the way home, getting worse and worse, and by the time we pull in the driveway, she’s got that white look around her mouth.

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“Robert,” Mom says,

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“I’m going to have to take her to the Emergency Room.”

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“Okay,” I say and get out of the car.

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“You want to call your dad?” Mom asks.

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“I don’t know how long we’ll be.”

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Mom checks her watch.

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It’s three something now.

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“We may not be home in time for dinner.”

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I don’t want to call my dad who is probably with Joyce, his girlfriend, anyway.

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Joyce is always trying to be likable and it gets on my nerves after awhile — she tries way too hard.

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“I can just make a sandwich,” I say.

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“I want you to stay at home, then,” she says.

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“I’ve got my cell phone if you need to call.”

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“Can Toph and Len come over?” I ask.

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She sighs.

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“Okay.

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But no roughhousing.

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Remember you have school tomorrow.”

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She opens the garage door so I can get in.

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I stand there and watch her back down the driveway.

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She turns back, watching where she’s going, and she needs to get her hair done again because I can really see the gray roots.

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Cara is watching me through the watery glass, her mouth a little open.

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I wave good-bye.

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I’m glad they’re gone.