Read Online Adam by Ariel Schrag - Free Book Online

mattresses were being delivered and who was going to take which bedroom. Ethan said he really didn’t care, and June
insisted
that Casey take the large one. Like Casey was June’s pregnant wife or something.
    Ethan busted out his iPod dock and put on some weird electronic music while everyone moved their stuff into their respective rooms. All of Ethan’s things looked new and expensive. An iMac, with a 36-inch monitor. Some kind of recording gear. A plastic tub lined with spotless sneakers: Pumas, Nikes, more Adidas. Maybe he and Ethan were the same size? Adam also noticed that all of June’s stuff looked like shit. She walked into her room carrying a CD-player boom box that still had cassette decks.
    Adam dumped his bags into his room and examined the closet-size space. It looked like solitary confinement—no windows, low ceiling. He wondered if it would make him go crazy. The idea was sort of exciting. He saw a small object in the corner he couldn’t identify and went over to examine it. It was a black plastic square, about an inch and a half long on each side, with a round plastic circle on top. The whole thing was caked in dust. Adam poked it with his toe. Nothing happened. He considered picking it up, but then decided to leave it. He’d put his mattress on top of it and pretend it wasn’t there.
    ***
    That evening Casey and June were going to some girl’s apartment for an
L Word
party. The girl’s name was Schuyler, and she was a friend of their friend Roxanne from college. Schuyler was older and lived in Williamsburg. Casey and June seemed really excited to have been invited.
    â€œWe’re in the neighborhood now,” said Casey. She was leaning against the wall drinking from their third six-pack of the day. “We’re not some dorks all the way up on Morningside Heights.”
    They’d plugged a couple of the desk lamps in and set them on the floor, giving the near-empty living room a cozy glow. Casey, June, and Adam were all drinking, but Ethan was in his room. Adam wished he would come out.
    â€œI was totally down to go with Roxanne when she used to go,” said June. “You were the one who was always like, ‘It’s too far! It’s a school night!’” June followed this with a nervous laugh, waiting to see if her poking fun at Casey would fly.
    â€œIt’s not like I actually gave a shit about schoolwork,” said Casey. (Adam was pretty sure she did—Casey was obsessed with doing well at school.) “It would have been embarrassing to trek all the way across the city just to watch a TV show with people we barely know. It would totally look like we were trying too hard.”
    June nodded as if she’d already thought that herself.
    â€œThis is way more casual,” continued Casey. “It’s like, we’re in the neighborhood; sure, we’ll stop by.” Casey took a nonchalant swig of beer, and Adam instinctively did too. He was feeling nice and buzzed.
    â€œGod, if Casey isn’t there, I’m gonna kill myself,” said Casey.
    June gave a weak smile. “Isn’t Casey, like, Schuyler’s best friend? I wouldn’t worry about it.”
    Casey sighed. “This is a good outfit, right? I look hot, right?”
    â€œYou look hot.”
    June still annoyed Adam, but he couldn’t help feeling a little sorry for her. It was just too tragic.
    â€œWait, you have a crush on someone named Casey?” he asked Casey.
    Casey laughed and rolled her eyes. As if she’d heard it a million times but wouldn’t mind hearing it a million more. “
Yes.
I have a crush on someone named Casey. I
know.
”
    â€œI guess that’s just something you have to deal with when you’re gay,” said Adam.
    Casey and June exchanged a look.
    What? That was offensive?
    â€œOK, we should leave in, like, fifteen minutes,” said Casey, moving on, “and I need to be at least