The next Weekly Rumpus features fiction from Helen Ellis. Here’s an excerpt:
Relocation. That is a big word! It means change. Like when you change from your two-piece into your Little Orphan Annie outfit for talent. You contacted me because you want to change your life. You want to change mommies. You don’t want to be hollered at to “Shake it, GIRL! Get it!” until you’re eighteen years old. To change you’ll need to do what I say and look like I say and talk like I tell you to talk. No more y’alls. No more mamas. We’re on our way to New York City. That’s right, New York City! Lose your accent and no one will know you were a Miss Anything anymore. Don’t and you’ll be on the next bus back to Birmingham. I’m sorry, sweetie, but I’m not going to prison because you can’t quit saying cain’t. Don’t ma’am me. Ma’ams are a tip-off. A ma’am in Manhattan is like a dirty bomb.
Helen Ellis is the author of the novel Eating the Cheshire Cat (Scribner). Her short stories have appeared recently or are forthcoming in FiveChapters, Blue Mesa Review, Monkeybicycle and The Normal School.
Today’s the day! Subscribe to the Weekly Rumpus.
