thought of her, or what
she did. If the upper dwells gave her hell or looked down on her
for coming from the slums, she’d punch them in the face then ask
who was next. She took the same approach in her friendships. This
was why she was my only friend. She didn’t care I was a freak since
she figured she was already one too.
Ambling over to our bench, I sat on the table
surface and tucked a leg under my butt, left the other hanging.
Stuffing a bread roll into her mouth, Alex
pretended to roll her eyes in the back of her head. “It’s all bad,
Rae. Real bad,” she said around her mouthful. “I slept terrible,
and there’s a bad storm coming in. My hair be all static.”
She made a big hair gesture with her
hands.
Overly excited or emotional, Alex tended to
slip deeper into her colloquial roots to twang like crazy. I used
to have to concentrate on what she was saying when we first
enrolled, her slum speak was one of the most broken and slow I’d
ever heard, but after a year or so I understood her babble
easy.
Relaying the horror of how a third grade had
tried to ask her out, but puked, she paused to screw her eyes up.
“S’up with you? You look all shiny and more frazzled than
usual.”
I should take up cards because my face didn’t
twitch. Keeping a neutral expression I shrugged. “Not that
much.”
Her eyebrow climbed. Maybe my face was a
little too composed. “You gonna share or keep evading? Don’t make
me beat it out of you. I went to your room this morning to eat
breakfast, but you weren’t there. Where you go? I tore this place
up looking.” She leaned in, her voice hinting at naughtiness as she
said, “You do something prohibited?”
My gaze flicked to then from hers, down to
the floor. “I met a boy,” I said and felt my cheeks warm.
Gods, could I have not managed anything
better? I knew what she’d think I’d been doing.
“I knew it, a secret rendezvous. Tell me. Is
it Jono? He’s an ass, but I won’t mind if you like him. Honest. Zoe
has her she-devil eyes on him but he’s had a big thing for you for
months.”
I ignored the comment, held down a sigh. “You
won’t understand.”
“What’s not to understand? I don’t mind who
you fool with.” She slid a considering look my way. “That is, as
long as it’s not Ro.”
I rubbed at my scratchy eyes and pushed some
hair out of my face. Taking a second to think on it, I decided it’d
cause no harm to tell a little more of what happened. “This
morning, I went for a run and I–” I frowned and searched for words
that wouldn’t make her freak out. Alex had a penchant for the
melodramatic. “This… boy,” I said and flushed when I thought of
Breandan. “He bumped into me. Or rather I bumped into him since he
seemed to expect me. It was the weirdest feeling, like I was meant
to be with him.”
“Was he familiar? Someone you’d met in the
upper dwells, perhaps.” She sounded suspicious.
I couldn’t help but smile at comparing the
magnificent mental image of Breandan, next to one of the skinny,
pot-hole-faced pubescent boys the dwells produced in an alarming
quantity considering the human race was near extinction.
“No. He was not from the slums either before
you ask. His name’s Breandan.”
“Hold up.” She pinched the bridge of her nose
then rubbed at the runes on her cheek. This told me she was
agitated and I braced myself for a lecture. “This boy you met was
Outside, as in beyond the Wall?”
Fiddling with the skin peeking through a
slash in my jeans, I nodded. “I know what you’re thinking but it’s
fine. Do not tell anybody. I’m dealing with it.”
Her eyes widened and I realized my mistake.
“You know what he is don’t you? What kind of demon he is.” I said
nothing. To open my mouth at such a point would be a bad thing. I’d
already told her much more than I had meant to. But it was nice to
tell someone, who would not think I was clinically insane, and
release some pressure.
“You know I
she did. If the upper dwells gave her hell or looked down on her
for coming from the slums, she’d punch them in the face then ask
who was next. She took the same approach in her friendships. This
was why she was my only friend. She didn’t care I was a freak since
she figured she was already one too.
Ambling over to our bench, I sat on the table
surface and tucked a leg under my butt, left the other hanging.
Stuffing a bread roll into her mouth, Alex
pretended to roll her eyes in the back of her head. “It’s all bad,
Rae. Real bad,” she said around her mouthful. “I slept terrible,
and there’s a bad storm coming in. My hair be all static.”
She made a big hair gesture with her
hands.
Overly excited or emotional, Alex tended to
slip deeper into her colloquial roots to twang like crazy. I used
to have to concentrate on what she was saying when we first
enrolled, her slum speak was one of the most broken and slow I’d
ever heard, but after a year or so I understood her babble
easy.
Relaying the horror of how a third grade had
tried to ask her out, but puked, she paused to screw her eyes up.
“S’up with you? You look all shiny and more frazzled than
usual.”
I should take up cards because my face didn’t
twitch. Keeping a neutral expression I shrugged. “Not that
much.”
Her eyebrow climbed. Maybe my face was a
little too composed. “You gonna share or keep evading? Don’t make
me beat it out of you. I went to your room this morning to eat
breakfast, but you weren’t there. Where you go? I tore this place
up looking.” She leaned in, her voice hinting at naughtiness as she
said, “You do something prohibited?”
My gaze flicked to then from hers, down to
the floor. “I met a boy,” I said and felt my cheeks warm.
Gods, could I have not managed anything
better? I knew what she’d think I’d been doing.
“I knew it, a secret rendezvous. Tell me. Is
it Jono? He’s an ass, but I won’t mind if you like him. Honest. Zoe
has her she-devil eyes on him but he’s had a big thing for you for
months.”
I ignored the comment, held down a sigh. “You
won’t understand.”
“What’s not to understand? I don’t mind who
you fool with.” She slid a considering look my way. “That is, as
long as it’s not Ro.”
I rubbed at my scratchy eyes and pushed some
hair out of my face. Taking a second to think on it, I decided it’d
cause no harm to tell a little more of what happened. “This
morning, I went for a run and I–” I frowned and searched for words
that wouldn’t make her freak out. Alex had a penchant for the
melodramatic. “This… boy,” I said and flushed when I thought of
Breandan. “He bumped into me. Or rather I bumped into him since he
seemed to expect me. It was the weirdest feeling, like I was meant
to be with him.”
“Was he familiar? Someone you’d met in the
upper dwells, perhaps.” She sounded suspicious.
I couldn’t help but smile at comparing the
magnificent mental image of Breandan, next to one of the skinny,
pot-hole-faced pubescent boys the dwells produced in an alarming
quantity considering the human race was near extinction.
“No. He was not from the slums either before
you ask. His name’s Breandan.”
“Hold up.” She pinched the bridge of her nose
then rubbed at the runes on her cheek. This told me she was
agitated and I braced myself for a lecture. “This boy you met was
Outside, as in beyond the Wall?”
Fiddling with the skin peeking through a
slash in my jeans, I nodded. “I know what you’re thinking but it’s
fine. Do not tell anybody. I’m dealing with it.”
Her eyes widened and I realized my mistake.
“You know what he is don’t you? What kind of demon he is.” I said
nothing. To open my mouth at such a point would be a bad thing. I’d
already told her much more than I had meant to. But it was nice to
tell someone, who would not think I was clinically insane, and
release some pressure.
“You know I
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