Read Online Binary Star by Sarah Gerard - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Sarah Gerard
Tags: Contemporary, Adult
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class.
You think so?
Of course.
You haven’t asked me what it is.
What is it?
Vegan ethics. I’m going vegan.
The periodicity of Earth’s mass extinctions is estimated at 27 million years, the same as Nemesis’s orbit.
That summer, I take John to a party at a friend’s house in Brooklyn. We get there in the rain and the streets are black and shimmering in the storefront lights. We hold our coats over our heads.
Inside, bodies heave together and the music is turned up so loudly it shakes the fixtures. Red Solo cups cover the floor. In the kitchen, a game of doubles beer pong has drawn a crowd. John looks around for the keg.
Where’s your friend?
I don’t know. I’ll go and find him.
I haven’t seen my friend since before I went to Chicago, halfway through the spring semester. I find him talking to a girl on the couch. They look happy. He is happy to see me.
When you have a minute, I want you to meet John, I say.
He’s here?
He’s here!
We walk around in circles and finally find John standing in a corner. He’s holding a Solo cup and looking desultory.
This is the person whose corner you’re standing in, John.
I hear you’re taking a class in the city, says my friend.
Not anymore.
It’s over?
No, the people who ran it are idiots.
My friend is speechless.
I’m sorry to hear that. What are you going to do now?
Nothing to do. Get drunk.
My friend looks at me.
You’ve come to the right place, I joke.
Good start, says my friend.
John holds up his cup and pretends to drink to my friend, then looks away. My friend looks back at the couch.
Well, it was nice to meet you, John. I’ve heard a lot about you.
Yeah, nice to meet you, John says.
My friend returns to his girl friend.
He’s nice, isn’t he?
He’s okay. Kind of a tool.
I see a girl I know from a class and we fall into talking about deep time. John listens at first, but quickly grows bored and disappears into a room with some people. They shut the door.
A little while later, I see my friend talking to our other friend in the kitchen. They see me. I wave. My friend comes over.
You have to get your boyfriend out of here.
What happened?
He punched someone in the face.
He wouldn’t do that.
Now he’s in the backyard yelling with a two-by-four.
John?
No, our friend. John’s laughing at him out the window.
I walk to the room where John disappeared. He’s talking to someone on the street and slurring his words, and laughing.
What did the guy do? I ask my friend.
Look, I don’t like your boyfriend. We can chill whenever you want, but not with him. To be honest, I don’t know what you’re doing with him. He’s a prick.
He’s really not.
He certainly seems that way.
John follows a few steps behind me toward the subway. I keep my eyes on the ground as it disappears behind my Converse.
That guy went down so fast. He screamed like a baby.
What did he do to you?
He was just talking shit, like the people at the Free School. Nobody knows what the fuck they’re talking about. Nobody’s willing to be militant. They’re all a bunch of pussies who don’t know what they believe.
You’re wearing a leather belt.
I had this before I went vegan. It would be disrespectful to the cow if I threw it away.
Fair enough. But why is it okay to hit someone and not okay to hurt an animal?
Because that guy should know better. A monkey in a vivisection laboratory doesn’t know better. He gets locked in a cage and abused, and he internalizes it, and then when someone comes to hurt him one day, he acts out and bites the hand that hurts him. That’s understandable. That ape at the party deserves to get punched.
Maybe that guy has internalized his oppression, too.
That guy is not oppressed.
People don’t like it when their beliefs are challenged, John. They’re fragile enough already.
We walk past a dollar store and a discount clothing store and two bodegas. I stop to look closely at the ads.
I just didn’t want to
You think so?
Of course.
You haven’t asked me what it is.
What is it?
Vegan ethics. I’m going vegan.
The periodicity of Earth’s mass extinctions is estimated at 27 million years, the same as Nemesis’s orbit.
That summer, I take John to a party at a friend’s house in Brooklyn. We get there in the rain and the streets are black and shimmering in the storefront lights. We hold our coats over our heads.
Inside, bodies heave together and the music is turned up so loudly it shakes the fixtures. Red Solo cups cover the floor. In the kitchen, a game of doubles beer pong has drawn a crowd. John looks around for the keg.
Where’s your friend?
I don’t know. I’ll go and find him.
I haven’t seen my friend since before I went to Chicago, halfway through the spring semester. I find him talking to a girl on the couch. They look happy. He is happy to see me.
When you have a minute, I want you to meet John, I say.
He’s here?
He’s here!
We walk around in circles and finally find John standing in a corner. He’s holding a Solo cup and looking desultory.
This is the person whose corner you’re standing in, John.
I hear you’re taking a class in the city, says my friend.
Not anymore.
It’s over?
No, the people who ran it are idiots.
My friend is speechless.
I’m sorry to hear that. What are you going to do now?
Nothing to do. Get drunk.
My friend looks at me.
You’ve come to the right place, I joke.
Good start, says my friend.
John holds up his cup and pretends to drink to my friend, then looks away. My friend looks back at the couch.
Well, it was nice to meet you, John. I’ve heard a lot about you.
Yeah, nice to meet you, John says.
My friend returns to his girl friend.
He’s nice, isn’t he?
He’s okay. Kind of a tool.
I see a girl I know from a class and we fall into talking about deep time. John listens at first, but quickly grows bored and disappears into a room with some people. They shut the door.
A little while later, I see my friend talking to our other friend in the kitchen. They see me. I wave. My friend comes over.
You have to get your boyfriend out of here.
What happened?
He punched someone in the face.
He wouldn’t do that.
Now he’s in the backyard yelling with a two-by-four.
John?
No, our friend. John’s laughing at him out the window.
I walk to the room where John disappeared. He’s talking to someone on the street and slurring his words, and laughing.
What did the guy do? I ask my friend.
Look, I don’t like your boyfriend. We can chill whenever you want, but not with him. To be honest, I don’t know what you’re doing with him. He’s a prick.
He’s really not.
He certainly seems that way.
John follows a few steps behind me toward the subway. I keep my eyes on the ground as it disappears behind my Converse.
That guy went down so fast. He screamed like a baby.
What did he do to you?
He was just talking shit, like the people at the Free School. Nobody knows what the fuck they’re talking about. Nobody’s willing to be militant. They’re all a bunch of pussies who don’t know what they believe.
You’re wearing a leather belt.
I had this before I went vegan. It would be disrespectful to the cow if I threw it away.
Fair enough. But why is it okay to hit someone and not okay to hurt an animal?
Because that guy should know better. A monkey in a vivisection laboratory doesn’t know better. He gets locked in a cage and abused, and he internalizes it, and then when someone comes to hurt him one day, he acts out and bites the hand that hurts him. That’s understandable. That ape at the party deserves to get punched.
Maybe that guy has internalized his oppression, too.
That guy is not oppressed.
People don’t like it when their beliefs are challenged, John. They’re fragile enough already.
We walk past a dollar store and a discount clothing store and two bodegas. I stop to look closely at the ads.
I just didn’t want to
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