Read Online Pieces of Us by Margie Gelbwasser - Free Book Online Page A

now. She smiles and bumps me with her swing.
    “Hey,” I say, smiling back.
    Then I pull the swing back and push off. I keep pumping my legs faster and harder until Kyle and I are at the same level. Until Katie, Alex, and the dirt below me are nothing but dust.

Alex
     
    F ucking Julie kicks up a shitload of dust as she takes off, and now my eyes are watering. What is it with girls and swings anyway? Katya once said something about them being an escape. From what? If you have a problem, just deal.
    Of course, it figures that my faggy brother is even higher than the girls. I get the speed part of it. Hell, I’d give them props if it was just about the speed. If it was just about how fuckin’ quick you could move your legs. But it’s more than that. It’s like they’re possessed, their faces blank like fuckin’ ghosts. Looking at them is scary as shit. That’s all I’m saying.
    Now they’re done swinging, and Kyle is back to staring at nothing. I bet he’s trying to get Katya’s boobs out of his head. I feel bad for the kid. If she was some whore back home, I’d have let him cop a feel by now, put him out of his blue-ball misery. But Katya isn’t a ho. Simple as that.
    Julie, on the other hand, would be good for Kyle. Not that she’s a hoochie either, but she’s one of those chicks who will do anything to be wanted. He wouldn’t have to work too hard; it might up his confidence. I’ll have to tell him to hit that later.
    Right now, though, all the pussies are tired, and it’s my turn to soar. I grab an empty swing and pull it back. “Watch how it’s done!” I shout as I slice through the air. I’m faster than any of them were. I’m higher. The stars raise their palms and give me some skin. They are my bitches. That’s how fucking close I am.

Katie
     
Yulya and I used to be close
I’m the one who taught her to touch the stars
To pump her legs, quicker, stronger, faster
To force the swing higher and higher into the air
And then lean back, her hair flying behind her,
Her voice a delighted squeal
The world upside down and rushing past her
These days, she acts like the swings are torture
I drag her there at night, hoping
To talk, to figure her out, to understand what I did that broke us apart
To find that moment when I stopped being the girl she could fly with
And instead became the one she wanted to fly from
Tonight I gave up
I took Sasha instead
He, at least, didn’t put up a fight
But he didn’t sit beside me either
“I’ll push you,” he said, not waiting for me
to answer
Just pulled the swing back, back, back
And then let go
Not giving me a chance to look behind me
As I flew, flew, flew
Alone

Kyle
     
    Y ou knock on the screen door to Julie’s cottage like you always do, even though it’s wide open.
    “Let’s go, Molasses,” you say. Your mother use to say this to you and Alex back when you were in pre-K, before the shit hit the fan. Funny that you remember it now.
    “Sorry,” says Julie, out of breath as she runs to the door. She’s wearing a yellow towel over her bathing suit, so all you can see are green straps. “I’m wearing my new suit.” She rolls her eyes, and her voice is shy.
    “And what? You couldn’t figure out how to get it on? Straps on top. You got it.”
    “Ha ha.” She gives you a playful shove and then walks in silence.
    What’s with the awkwardness? You can’t figure out why she’s acting weird. You and Julie are what’s easy. You never have to think when you talk to her—not like with girls.
    “Uh, so, you want to see it?” she finally says.
    You’re about to joke and say something like As long as I don’t have to show you mine , but she looks so nervous and unJulielike that you just say, “Sure.” You throw in a smile, hoping it will calm her down.
    She blushes and takes off the towel and you don’t know what you’re supposed to say, but know she’s expecting something. You guess it’s nice—all green with a little pink bow at the top. The