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Popbo Thighhigh

A Scene from Zoot Suit Dispute

Popbo Thighigh

The sound of a fairground organ floats into your room, waking you. It is the middle of the night. You press your face to the cold glass of the window and listen, but the sound seems fainter somehow. You open the window and look outside. Everything is still and quiet.

Back inside, the sound of the organ is louder than before. You listen for a while, then creak across the floorboards of the bedroom and out into the hall. The sound is coming from downstairs.

You tiptoe down the stairs. It is here in the house. Everything is dark. A weak glow spills from beneath the cellar door.

You stand at the top of the cellar steps. The music is very loud now. He calls your name. How can he know your name? You walk down the stairs. Why are you walking down the stairs?

There he is at the bottom of the stairs. Dimly lit. Grinding out the fairground organ. It is Popbo Thighhigh. Greased white face. Greased red smile. Greased black eyes. Who else could it have been? He grinds the organ faster. You stay still. What point is there to run?