but then again , i had that squirming splinter tucked firmly against my palm . he looks back at me , shocked . junior high in general is kind of scary , plus she 's off my back now . my father was a clever man when it came to money . `` what would a bum be doing anywhere ? `` so , you just were n't going to get back to me ? '' i spent the whole day calling him . `` not for a day or an hour or a minute . 