Free Interference & Other Stories by Richard Hoffman

screeching to a halt inside the brilliant station of his head. But he can also see, in the mirror the barber holds, that he has already emerged from his cerebrations intact, already turned toward the future, behind him that is, and away from what is now, today, staring him right in the face.
    The barber is already sweeping up as Guy gets to his feet and fumbles in his wallet. The barber, about to sweep the gathered pile into a long-handled dustpan, sees Guy’s quizzical look when he notices the several numbers swept into a pile with the hair.
    â€œFootnotes,” the barber says.

LUCKY GARDEN
    I n a Chinese restaurant a block up the hill from the high school, the kind with a green and yellow neon dragon in the window, a beaded curtain in the entry and booths along the walls, a young man in the dress uniform of the Marine Corps, several rows of ribbons above his heart, sat with his white hat and gloves on the seat next to him, across from a young African American woman. With just a hint of Latin America in his voice, he asked her if she had brought the papers with her.
    â€œI have them here, all filled out.” She took a manila envelope from her school bag.
    The Marine looked at the menu, a laminated card. “That’s good. That’s good. So. Let’s order first, okay? I’m starving. You hungry? I could go for a nice big pupu platter.”
    The young woman continued to hold out the envelope to him. “I want to be able to fly. To any place I want to go.”
    â€œI don’t see no pupu platter here. Do you?”
    She withdrew the envelope, holding it beside her face. “I don’t know,” she said. “I don’t know what that is.”
    â€œDon’t worry. You can fly to all kinds of places for free. So long as there is a plane going there and they have room, you can get on it. To anywhere you want.”
    â€œNo, I mean can I fly the plane? I want to fly planes.” She set the envelope aside.
    â€œYou want to fly them?”
    â€œYeah, fly them.”
    â€œWell, you have to be an officer.”
    â€œHow do I become an officer?”
    â€œYou have to have a degree.”
    â€œYou mean like college? Four years?”
    â€œI think that in the Corps you can get a degree in three years. I have to check it out, though. What do you like to eat? You would like the pupu platter. I don’t see no pupu platter on the menu, but I bet they have it.”
    The young woman turned the menu back and forth as if it were hopeless. “I don’t know,” she said. “I’ll have the egg drop soup.”
    â€œYou never had a pupu platter? Girl, you don’t know what you’re missing.”
    â€œI just want soup.”
    â€œBut what about some food? You know? Real food? A Marine can’t live on soup.”
    â€œI’m not a Marine.”
    â€œWe’ll get to that. You have to start building yourself up.”
    â€œThat’s all I want right now. When I get home, I’m going to sit in front of TV, pig out, and do my homework.”
    â€œThat’s good. Homework’s good. You got to get good grades. Especially if you want to try for officer.”
    â€œWhat about medical school?”
    â€œMedical school!” He sniffed, frowned, and looked down at the menu. “If they don’t have the pupu platter, I’ll get moo goo gai pan.” “What?”
    â€œIt’s like a kind of chicken. It has pea pods and other vegetables and stuff. You would like it. Why don’t you get some?”
    â€œI’m good with the soup. So if I want to go to med school will you help me?”
    â€œI thought you wanted to be a pilot.”
    â€œI told you before. I was thinking I could be a doctor who flies to places, wherever, you know, like where people are sick.”
    â€œI’m going to have to check on that. But I think you can. As long as you pass all the tests and like that.”
    â€œWhat