Rolling the R's A novel by R. Zamora Linmark Now in paperback!! Book Description . About the Author . Excerpt . Reviews . Events . Buy Books Now Edgar Ramirez is a faggot. Mrs. Takemoto knows it. She's always telling him to stop putting his hair behind his ears. "And cut your hair, Edgar," she says. "It's getting long again." Edgar Ramirez is a faggot. Christopher and Rowell, the fifth-grade bulls, know it. They're always tackling him in flag football. "A flag for a fag," they say. "Fag flag." Edgar Ramirez is a faggot. Nelson and Prudencio, the other fifth-grade bulls, know it. They're always shooting him with their slingshots or tripping him each time he walks by, swaying his hips hula-style. "What, cannot walk without heels?" they say. Edgar Ramirez is a faggot. Caroline, Judy-Ann, and Maggie, the Hot-to-Trot girls, know it. They're always fighting over him because he looks like a Filipino John Travolta. "Edgar, you wanna come over my house?" they ask at the same time. "We can play Chinese Jacks," Caroline says. "We can read my 16 or Teen Beat magazines," Judy-Ann says. "We can listen to my Peaches & Herb tape," Maggie says. Edgar Ramirez is a faggot. His mother and father know it. They're always grounding him because he spends all his money on life-size John Travolta or Shaun Cassidy or Scott Baio posters. And pins them up on the walls, ceilings, doors, in his father's workout room, and next to the altar. "Anak, go to confession," his devout mother says. His father doesn't say anything. He just grabs the gardening shears and chops at Edgar's hair until he's bald, or burns the posters and shoves the cinders down Edgar's throat. Edgar Ramirez is a faggot. His friends Katrina, Vicente, Loata, Mai-Lan, and Florante know it. Even Edgar himself knows it. "Since when, Edgar?" Katrina asks. "Ever since I saw my father naked," he says. "So what are you going to do about it?" Vicente asks. "Nothing," Edgar says. "Nothing."