by Alex Flinn
She was kneeling by a bed of miniature roses. “They’re so precious.”
“Girls always like little things, I guess. I prefer the climbers. They’re always looking for the light.”
“They’re beautiful too.”
“But this one…” I knelt to point out a light yellow miniature I’d planted a little over a week ago. “This one’s called a Little Linda rose.”
She gave me a weird look. “Do all your flowers have names?”
I laughed. “I didn’t name it. The horticulturalists, when they develop a new rose variety, they name it. And this one happens to be called ‘Little Linda.’”
“It’s so perfect, so delicate.” She reached for the rose. When she did, her hand knocked against mine, and I felt a chill of electricity run through my body.
“But strong.” I pulled my hand away before she could be disgusted by it. “Some of the miniatures are heartier than the tea roses. Would you like me to cut some for your room, since it’s your namesake?”
“It would be a shame to cut it. Maybe…” She stopped, holding the small bloom on two fingers.
“What?”
“Maybe I’ll come back to see them.”
She said she’d come back. But maybe.
Just then, Will came in.
“Guess who’s here, Will?” I said, like I hadn’t talked to him about it. “Lindy.”
“Wonderful,” he said. “Welcome, Lindy. I hope you’ll liven things up. It’s pretty boring with just Adrian.”
“It takes two to be boring,” I said.
Then, as I knew he would, he said, “We’ll be discussing Shakespeare’s sonnets today. I thought we’d start with number fifty-four.”
“Did you bring the book?” I asked her. When she shook her head, I said, “We could wait for you to go get it. Right, Will? Or you could share with me?”
Her eyes still drifted to the rose garden. “Oh, I guess we can share. I’ll bring my own book tomorrow.”
She’d said, “Tomorrow.”
“All right.” I pushed the book over, so it was closer to her than to me. I didn’t want her thinking I was trying to make a move on her. But still, I was closer to her than I’d ever been. I could have touched her so easily, and made it seem like an accident.
“Adrian, do you want to read it aloud?” Will asked.
A softball, as he’d said. Teachers had always praised my reading. And I’d read this poem over and over.
“Sure,” I said.
“O! how much more doth beauty beauteous seem
By that sweet ornament which truth doth give!
The rose looks fair, but fairer we it deem
For that sweet odour, which doth in it live.”
Of course, with her sitting so close, I screwed up, stumbling over “beauty beauteous seem.” But I kept going.
“The canker-blooms have full as deep a dye
As the perfumed tincture of the roses,
Hang on such thorns, and play as wantonly
When summer’s breath their masked buds discloses:
But, for their virtue only is their show,
They live unwoo’d, and unrespected fade;
Die to themselves. Sweet roses do not so;
Of their sweet deaths are sweetest odours made:
And so of you, beauteous and lovely youth,
When that shall vade, my verse distills your truth.”
I finished and glanced up. Lindy wasn’t looking at me, though. I followed her eyes and saw that she was staring out the French doors, at the roses. My roses. Did the beauty of my roses make up for the ugliness of me?
“Adrian?” Will was saying something, maybe for the second or third time.
“I’m sorry, what?”
“I asked what the rose symbolizes in the poem.”
Having read the poem twenty times, I thought I knew what it meant. But now I held back. I realized I wanted to let her be smart. “What do you think, Lindy?”
“I think it signifies truth,” she said. “Shakespeare talks about how the rose has perfume that makes it beautiful on the inside. And the scent of the rose can last even after the bloom dies.”
“What’s a canker-bloom, Will?” I asked.
“A dog-rose. It looks like a rose, but it doesn’t have the perfume.”
“So it looks good, but it’s not as true?” I said. “Like Lindy was saying. Just because something is beautiful doesn’t mean it’s good. That’s his point.”
Lindy looked at me like I was smart, not just ugly. “But something with inner beauty will live forever, like the scent of a rose.”
“But does the scent of a rose live forever?” Will asked Lindy.
Lindy shrugged. “I once had a rose someone gave me. I pressed it in a book. The scent didn’t last.”
I stared at her, knowing the rose she meant.
The morning passed quickly, and even though I hadn’t pre-studied the other subjects, I managed not to look like a total moron, but always I let her be a little bit smarter. It wasn’t difficult.
At twelve thirty, Will said, “Will you be joining us for lunch, Lindy?”
I was glad he’d asked and not me. I held my breath. I think we both did.
“Sort of like the school cafeteria?” Lindy said. “Yes, that would be nice.”
If anyone thinks I hadn’t prepped Magda for this, they’d be wrong. I’d woken her up at six too—though she was nicer about it than Will—and we talked about possible menus that included no soups, no salads, no messy items that I might spill with my clawed hands. I hated that being a beast made me eat like a beast. But I’m happy to say I didn’t make an ass of myself, and we studied that afternoon too.
That night, I lay in bed, remembering the moment when her hand touched mine. I wondered what it would be like to have her touch me not by accident, to maybe have her let me touch her.
* * *
Mr. Anderson: Thanks for coming. This week we’re going to talk about transformation and food.
BeastNYC: But I wanted to talk about this girl. I have a girl. We’re friends but i think we could be more.
Grizzlyguy joined the chat.
Froggie: hi, grizz.
Grizzlyguy: I have news! I’m human! I’m not a bear anymore!
BeastNYC: Human?
Froggie: congratz.
BeastNYC: <—Very jealous of Grizz.
Grizzlyguy: The girl, her name is Snow White (not *that* Snow White), she followed me out into the woods when they were leaving for their summer place. She saw the evil dwarf who put a spell on me, and she helped me kill it.
Froggie: U killd a dwarf
Grizzlyguy: an *evil* dwarf.
Froggie: stil……
Grizzlyguy: It wasn’t a crime for me to kill the dwarf because I did it as a bear.
SilentMaid joined the chat.
SILENTMAID: I’m afraid I have some very bad news.
Froggie: Grizzlyguy is a guy agin!
SILENTMAID: That’s wonderful. But I’m afraid it hasn’t been going as well with me.
BeastNYC: What happened, Silent?
SILENTMAID: Well, I thought it was going really well. He said I reminded him of the girl who saved his life (which was me, of course) and even though his parents wanted him to go meet this other girl, this girl with rich parents, he said he’d rather be with me.
Grizzlyguy: That’s great, Silent. I’m sure it will work out.
BeastNYC: Yeah, he won’t care about her!
SILENTMAID: But that’s the problem. He does. His parents said, “Well, at least *she* can talk” and set him up on a blind date. And would you believe, now he thinks *she’s* the one who saved his life. And since I can’t talk, I can’t tell him different.
Mr. Anderson: I’m so sorry, Silent.
SILENTMAID: I saw them kissing. He’s with her. I failed.
BeastNYC: #@*!
BeastNYC: I’m sorry. Isn’t there any way out of the spell, Silent?
SILENTMAID: My sisters tried to
get the Sea Witch to let me out of the spell. They gave her their hair and everything. But she said the only way I could get out of the spell is for me to kill him.
Froggie: R U going 2 do it?
BeastNYC: Ask Grizzlyguy to help you. He & his gf killed a dwarf.
Grizzlyguy: It’s not funny, Beast.
BeastNYC: I’m sorry, Grizz. Sarcasm is how i deal w/being upset.
SILENTMAID: I understand, Beast. You all have been very good friends.
Froggie: hav been? Tht means u arnt going 2 do it?
SILENTMAID: I can’t, Froggie. I can’t kill him. I love him too much. It was my mistake to make, and I made it.
BeastNYC: Let me get this straight—UR going 2 be sea foam
SILENTMAID: I’m told that if I wait 300 years, the sea foam I am will float to heaven
Froggie: 300 yrs! Thts nothing.
Grizzlyguy: Frog’s right. It’ll seem like a day or two. You’ll see.
SILENTMAID: I think I need to go now. Thanks for everything. Bye.
SilentMaid has left the chat.
BeastNYC: Wow. I can’t believe it.
Froggie: mee eithr.
Grizzlyguy: I don’t really feel in the mood for chatting today.
Mr. Anderson: Maybe we should just adjourn until next time.
* * *
PART 5
Time Lapses, Autumn and Winter
1
Outside the closed windows, leaves began to fall, but inside, everything stayed the same. Everything except Lindy and me. We changed. We studied together, and I saw that while she was smart, I wasn’t glaringly not smart. I didn’t think she hated me anymore. Maybe. Maybe she even liked me.
One night, there was a storm, a big one with lightning like sheets of metal across the sky and thunder that showed it was all way too close. It shook my bed, rattled the world, and woke me. I stumbled upstairs to the living room, only to find myself not alone.
“Adrian!” Lindy was sitting in the dark on the sofa, watching the sky light up from the farthest distance out the window. “I was frightened. It sounded like gunfire.”
“Gunfire.” I wondered if she’d heard gunfire at night where she was from. “It’s just thunder, and this old house is sturdy. You’re safe.”
I realized how crazy it was, saying she was safe when I was holding her prisoner. But she said, “Not every place I’ve lived has been safe.”
“I notice you’ve chosen the spot farthest from the window.”
“You think I’m being silly.”
“Nah. I’m here, aren’t I? The noise woke me up. I was going to pop some popcorn and see if there’s anything on TV. Want some?” I moved toward the kitchen. I was being careful. I decided it was best to move away, not to scare her by being too close. It was the first time we’d been alone since that day in the rose garden. Always, we had Will when we studied, Magda at meals. Now, alone with everyone else asleep, I wanted her to know she could trust me. I didn’t want to screw it up.
“Yes, please. Can you make two bags, though? I really like popcorn.”
“Yeah.” I entered the kitchen and found the microwave popcorn. Lindy flipped through the television channels and landed on an old movie, The Princess Bride. “This is a good one,” I said as the popcorn started popping.
“I’ve never seen it.”
“You’ll like it, I think. It has something for everyone—sword fights for me, princesses for you.” The first bag finished popping, and I took it out. “Sorry. That was probably sexist.”
“It’s okay. I’m a girl. Every girl pretends she’s a princess at one point, no matter how little her life is like that. And I like the idea of ‘happily ever after.’” She left the television on that channel. I stood there watching the second bag swell up and considered what to do with them—put the popcorn in a bowl to share, like Magda would have with girls I used to know, or leave it in a bag.
Finally, I said, “Should I put them in a bowl?” I didn’t even know where Magda kept the bowls. How sad was that?
“Oh, no, don’t go to all that trouble.”
“It’s no trouble.” But I took the bag out, opened it, then carried both bags over to the living room. Probably, she’d asked for her own bag so our hands wouldn’t touch. I didn’t blame her. I sat about a foot away from her watching the movie. It was the scene where Westley, a pirate, has challenged the killer, Vizzini, to a battle of wits.
“You fell victim to one of the classic blunders!” Vizzini said onscreen. “…Never go in against a Sicilian when death is on the line!”
By the time Vizzini fell over, dead, I’d finished my popcorn and put the bag down. I wanted some more. It seemed like the beast was always hungry. I wondered, if I was transformed back, would I be fat?
“Do you want some more?” she said.
“Nah. You said you really like popcorn.”
“I do. But you can have a little bit.” She held the bag out to me.
“Okay.” I moved a few inches closer. She didn’t scream or move away. I took a handful of popcorn, hoping I wouldn’t drop it. There was a terrific clap of thunder, and she jumped, spilling half of what was left.
“Oh, sorry,” she said.
“Don’t be.” I picked up the obvious pieces and threw them into my empty bag. “We can get the rest in the morning.”
“It’s just that I get really scared of thunder and lightning. When I was little, my father used to go out at night, after I went to sleep. And then, if some noise woke me, I’d find him not there. I’d get so scared.”
“That must have been hard for you. My parents used to yell at me when I got up at night. They’d tell me to be brave, which meant leave them alone.” I passed her the popcorn. “You have the rest.”
“Thanks.” She picked at it. “I like…”
“What?”
“Nothing. It’s just…thanks for the popcorn.”
She was so close I could hear her breathing. I wanted to move closer, but I wouldn’t let myself. We sat in the blue-white light of the television, watching the movie in silence. Only when it was over did I see she’d fallen asleep. The storm had subsided, and I wanted just to sit there, watching her sleep, staring at her as I stared at my roses. But if she woke, she would think it was strange. And she already did think I was strange enough.
So I turned off the television. The room was pitch-black, and I picked her up to carry her to her room.
She woke halfway up the dark staircase. “What the…?”
“You fell asleep. I was carrying you to your room. Don’t worry. I won’t hurt you. I promise. You can trust me. And I won’t drop you.” Her weight was barely anything in my arms. The beast was strong too.
“I can walk,” she said.
“Okay, if you want to. But aren’t you tired?”
“Yes. A little.”
“Trust me, then.”
“I know. I thought if you were going to hurt me, you’d have done it already.”
“I’m not going to hurt you,” I said, shuddering to know that was what she’s been thinking about me. “I can’t explain why I want you here, but it’s not for that.”
“I understand.” She settled back into my arms, against my chest. I carried her to the top of the stairs and tried the doorknob. She grabbed it. Her voice came through the darkness. “No one’s ever carried me, not that I can remember.”
I tightened my grip on her. “I’m very strong,” I said.
She didn’t say anything else after that. She’d fallen back asleep. She trusted me. I trod on in the darkness and into her bedroom, thinking it must always be like this for Will, being careful, hoping for no obstacles. When I reached her bed, I lay her down and pulled the soft down comforter around her. I wanted to kiss her, there in the darkness. It had been so long since I’d even touched anyone, really touched them. But it would be wrong to take advantage of her sleeping, and if she woke, she might never forgive me.
Finally, I said, “Good night, Lindy,” and started to move aw
ay.
“Adrian?” At the door, I heard her voice. “Good night.”
“Good night, Lindy. Thanks for sitting up with me. It was nice.”
“Nice.” I heard her shifting on the bed, rolling over, maybe. “You know, in the darkness, your voice seems so familiar.”
2
It got colder and wetter, and I got so I could talk to Lindy without worrying about every word. One day, after our tutoring session, Lindy said, “So, what’s on the fifth floor?”
“Huh?” I’d heard what she said, but I wanted to stall and think up an answer. I hadn’t been up to the fifth floor since she’d come. To me, the fifth floor meant hopelessness, meant sitting at the window reading The Hunchback and feeling as lonely as Quasimodo. I didn’t want to go up there.
“The fifth floor,” Lindy said. “You’re on one, the kitchen and living room are on two, I’m on three, and Will and Magda are on four. But when I came here, I saw five sets of windows.”
Now I was ready. “Oh, nothing. Old boxes and stuff.”
“Wow, that sounds interesting. Can we go look?” Lindy started toward the stairs.
“It’s just boxes. What’s interesting about that? It will make you sneeze.”
“Do you know what’s in the boxes?” When I shook my head, she said, “That’s what’s interesting. There could be buried treasure up there.”
“In Brooklyn?”
“Okay, maybe not real treasure, but other treasure—old letters and pictures.”
“You mean junk.”
“You don’t have to come. I can look by myself, if it isn’t your stuff.”
But I went. Even though the idea of the fifth floor brought a sense of dread that sat in my stomach like rotten meat, I went because I wanted to spend time with her.
“Oh, look. There’s a sofa by the window.”
“Yeah, it’s pretty cool to sit there and watch the people go by. I mean, it must have been for whoever lived here.”
