party energy through the living room toward the dining room and, no doubt, the kitchen, where the beers were waiting. Gaia wondered a bit warily if Heather would recognize her.
As it turned out, she did.
“Oh, my God!” Heather shrieked, wheeling around to face Gaia straight on. “It’s Klutz Girl! What are you doing here?”
Suddenly all eyes really were on Gaia. Her social success was evaporating quickly.
“I would watch out for this girl,” Heather warned loudly. “Don’t give her anything to eat or drink, or you’ll end up with it on your shirt.”
Heather’s friends tittered loyally.
“Who let you in here?” Heather demanded.
Gaia studied the small place on the girl’s neck just below her chin. She could deliver one swift blow to that spot and put her out.
“I invited her,” Ed said, filling the awkward silence at least momentarily.
“Excuse me,
Ed
,” Heather said nastily. “I didn’t realize it was your party.”
“I didn’t realize it was yours,” Ed responded.
Allison, the actual party giver, was watching the scene unfold with the rest of them. Heather turned to her.
“Al, did you realize this bitch was coming to your party?”
Poor Allison looked frightened.
“Don’t worry about it, Allison. I’m going,” Gaia said. She strode through the apartment without looking back.
It didn’t matter so much that she was back on the outside, Gaia consoled herself as she opened the front door and passed through it. This was Heather’s time. Let her have it. Ten years from now Heather’s awfulness would have caught up with her, and she’d
be a disgruntled wretch pining for the glory days. Let her have high school. Gaia was holding out for something better.
Gaia stood sullenly at the elevator bank and punched the down arrow. Mercifully the elevator doors opened right away.
At least she was back in her comfort zone.
Some
things I like:
Chess
Slurpees
Road Runner cartoons
Eye boogers
W. B. Yeats
Ed
Some things I don’t like:
Heather
Ella
Skim milk
Butterflies
Baking soda toothpaste
Myself
A thing I hate:
My dad
meeting sam moon
Rain plastered thick dark cords of hair to his forehead. Now that it was no longer perfect, she could see it was beautiful.
People Like Him
“HI, ZOLOV.”
The old man squinted at Gaia for a few seconds before he recognized her, then he smiled.
“Hey, Curtis,” she said to Zolov’s opponent. “Where’s Renny?”
The fifteen-year-old chess fixture shrugged. “He hasn’t been coming around anymore.”
Gaia nodded and looked for a free table. She was happy to be there, even without Renny. She was glad that the bleak sky threatened rain and that the air was finally turning cold. All that warm sunshine seemed to demand perkiness and pastel-colored clothing.
She watched Curtis leaning far over the board, studying Zolov’s sequence. She almost laughed to herself. She couldn’t believe she was watching an ancient Jewish man in a threadbare wool overcoat teaching the Ruy Lopez opening to a black kid dressed head to toe in Tommy.
She turned her affectionate gaze to the right, and suddenly her mood went into free fall.
Him.
What the hell was
he
doing here?
God, he was good-looking. He was wearing that same gray jacket, this time with a pair of jeans and just the right shade of dark, perfectly scuffed leather shoes.
Go away, she ordered him silently. Go back to where you belong.
He didn’t go away. Instead he came very close, and her mouth felt dry. Why did she all of a sudden care that she hadn’t run a brush through her hair that morning? So she looked like a homeless person. What was it to him?
Oh, shit. He was looking at the board set in front of her. His eyes glanced over the empty chair across from her.
He was stopping!
He was sitting down!
He was staring right at her!
Then she felt mad. What, was he on some kind of field trip from normal-people land? Was he the Jane Goodall of the popular set, here to take notes?
It
As it turned out, she did.
“Oh, my God!” Heather shrieked, wheeling around to face Gaia straight on. “It’s Klutz Girl! What are you doing here?”
Suddenly all eyes really were on Gaia. Her social success was evaporating quickly.
“I would watch out for this girl,” Heather warned loudly. “Don’t give her anything to eat or drink, or you’ll end up with it on your shirt.”
Heather’s friends tittered loyally.
“Who let you in here?” Heather demanded.
Gaia studied the small place on the girl’s neck just below her chin. She could deliver one swift blow to that spot and put her out.
“I invited her,” Ed said, filling the awkward silence at least momentarily.
“Excuse me,
Ed
,” Heather said nastily. “I didn’t realize it was your party.”
“I didn’t realize it was yours,” Ed responded.
Allison, the actual party giver, was watching the scene unfold with the rest of them. Heather turned to her.
“Al, did you realize this bitch was coming to your party?”
Poor Allison looked frightened.
“Don’t worry about it, Allison. I’m going,” Gaia said. She strode through the apartment without looking back.
It didn’t matter so much that she was back on the outside, Gaia consoled herself as she opened the front door and passed through it. This was Heather’s time. Let her have it. Ten years from now Heather’s awfulness would have caught up with her, and she’d
be a disgruntled wretch pining for the glory days. Let her have high school. Gaia was holding out for something better.
Gaia stood sullenly at the elevator bank and punched the down arrow. Mercifully the elevator doors opened right away.
At least she was back in her comfort zone.
Some
things I like:
Chess
Slurpees
Road Runner cartoons
Eye boogers
W. B. Yeats
Ed
Some things I don’t like:
Heather
Ella
Skim milk
Butterflies
Baking soda toothpaste
Myself
A thing I hate:
My dad
meeting sam moon
Rain plastered thick dark cords of hair to his forehead. Now that it was no longer perfect, she could see it was beautiful.
People Like Him
“HI, ZOLOV.”
The old man squinted at Gaia for a few seconds before he recognized her, then he smiled.
“Hey, Curtis,” she said to Zolov’s opponent. “Where’s Renny?”
The fifteen-year-old chess fixture shrugged. “He hasn’t been coming around anymore.”
Gaia nodded and looked for a free table. She was happy to be there, even without Renny. She was glad that the bleak sky threatened rain and that the air was finally turning cold. All that warm sunshine seemed to demand perkiness and pastel-colored clothing.
She watched Curtis leaning far over the board, studying Zolov’s sequence. She almost laughed to herself. She couldn’t believe she was watching an ancient Jewish man in a threadbare wool overcoat teaching the Ruy Lopez opening to a black kid dressed head to toe in Tommy.
She turned her affectionate gaze to the right, and suddenly her mood went into free fall.
Him.
What the hell was
he
doing here?
God, he was good-looking. He was wearing that same gray jacket, this time with a pair of jeans and just the right shade of dark, perfectly scuffed leather shoes.
Go away, she ordered him silently. Go back to where you belong.
He didn’t go away. Instead he came very close, and her mouth felt dry. Why did she all of a sudden care that she hadn’t run a brush through her hair that morning? So she looked like a homeless person. What was it to him?
Oh, shit. He was looking at the board set in front of her. His eyes glanced over the empty chair across from her.
He was stopping!
He was sitting down!
He was staring right at her!
Then she felt mad. What, was he on some kind of field trip from normal-people land? Was he the Jane Goodall of the popular set, here to take notes?
It
Similar Books
