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Girls Like Me

Page 12

by Lola StVil

“WHAT???” Boots asks

  I Try to Be

  Logical one

  Point out Dash too impulsive

  Boots too sick

  Dash pays me no mind

  Announces proudly

  “I have the perfect party hair

  For tonight!!!”

  Note to self: Logic is useless in face of

  Stubborn Trekkie

  And boy with extensive

  Wig collection

  “NO. N-O. NO!”

  I protest loudly

  Boots uses her best “sick person” half smile

  “NO!”

  I remain firm

  Boots tries again

  “Shay, I Don’t Want . . .”

  I don’t want my last days to be spent

  In this bed in this room

  I don’t want my last glimpse

  To be of me in paper gown

  I don’t want my last breath to be taken

  In a place so filled with last breaths

  “Shay, please?”

  Damn. Them.

  “Okay, Okay!”

  Dash says

  We will show those

  B@$@#$%

  I am still unsure

  Till he reminds me

  What I gave up

  Have Perfect “Screw ’Em” Costume

  Dash lights up

  When words

  Pass his lips

  He Says, “They Think You’re a Pig?”

  Be MOST

  Fab

  Pig

  Ever!

  Miss PIGGY, Baby!

  Noooooooo!!!

  But the more Dash pushes

  The more I

  Like it

  Boots Sneaks Past

  Nurses’ station

  And heads to

  Exit

  Meet Up at My House

  Dress Boots up as

  Mental patient

  Dash Dresses Up Like Soldier

  Pink fatigues

  And lip gloss

  He Dresses Me in Bedazzled

  Pig snout

  Curly tail

  Blond ringlets

  He Makes a Call

  Out in the hallway

  Won’t let us listen in

  Before We Can Object

  He rushes us off to

  Crash and party

  As We Near Hudson’s House

  It starts

  Pain inside chest

  Losing Godot

  Still hurts

  Enter Hudson’s Home

  “Fairies” “Monsters” “Rappers” “Cops”

  Eating. Laughing. Dancing.

  All stop

  They Look Up As

  “Mental Patient” “Soldier” “Piggy”

  Enter

  Maybe This Is Bad Idea

  Dash holds hand tight

  The Room Fills With

  Laughter. Mocking. Pointing.

  Dash Does

  Not Care

  Boots’s Glare

  Scares Them

  Me?

  Yes, I Care . . .

  Remember

  When I once had Godot

  As a shield

  Now I’m defenseless

  How Could I

  Have given him up?

  How do you hand happiness over?

  In His Emails

  Texts

  Sounded

  Lost. Sad. Broken.

  Tears. Now???

  No No No

  Don’t cry

  Here

  Too Late

  They come slow

  But steady

  Dash Turns Me

  To face staircase

  Everyone Watches Him

  He Wears

  Green Gloves. Green Makeup. Green Collar.

  Godot Is . . .

  Kermit!

  As he parts crowd

  And heads for . . .

  Me

  I Want to Be Cool, Godot Says

  But how could you

  Cut me off just like that?

  Just like that . . .

  I Explain It to Him, Best I Can

  Alone and I are old friends

  Grew up together

  Meet the girl who couldn’t outrun

  Emptiness out to get her

  She hides secrets behind her eyes

  And hopes her tears won’t give her away

  Godot Reveals

  Alone and I are old friends

  Grew up together

  Meet the boy “trending” and “accepted”

  Who doesn’t care to be either

  He Wants Her to Know

  It’s okay

  To not be okay

  It’s all right

  To not be all right

  He wants her to know

  He loves places where she is fractured

  Gaps in confidence cracks in her armor

  He wants her to know

  It’s okay if she’s broken

  ’Cause he’s broken too

  He wants her to know

  The one who gets overlooked

  Is the only one he sees

  I Wonder

  Could Godot really be

  My Romeo Tristan Edward

  Even if I am not

  Juliet Isolde Bella

  Beautiful?

  Godot, Girls Like Me—

  He stops me midsentence

  His fingers on my lips

  His fingers . . .

  My lips . . .

  Shay, There Are

  NO girls

  Like

  You

  He Extends His Hand

  Asks if I’d like to dance

  He asked ME!

  Shay Summers . . .

  I Swallow

  Hard and confess

  “I DON’T OWN ANY SKINNY JEANS!”

  He Beams

  One less article of clothing

  To try and get you out of

  I laugh

  He brushes my cheek

  With warm hands

  So . . . You Wanna Dance?

  He asks again

  Miss Piggy, Would You Like to Dance?

  Can’t Find Words

  Where

  Did

  I

  Misplace

  Them

  Damn it!!!

  Just Nod, Shay . . .

  We head to dance floor

  I’m floating

  In arms of frog

  Everyone

  Is too stunned

  To move

  Crowd Fades

  From mind

  Only us

  Us . . .

  The Poet

  Uses words because

  She never learned how to

  Apply makeup

  And now she is

  Out of words . . .

  Defenseless, Huh? Godot Says

  Then smiles, whispers

  You can lower armor

  You can drop shield

  You can be here

  Here

  Where weapons

  Aren’t needed

  “Godot, I’m—”

  My name is Blake.

  Not Godot.

  Not Kermit.

  BLAKE.

  Hi, Blake

  Hi, Shay

  Dash Explains That He Called Godot Blake

  And told him

  Why I

  Let him go

  Blake Says He Doesn’t Want

  Them

  He

  Wants

  Me

  I Ask a Very Important Question

  “So, Blake, how do you feel about turkey bacon?”

  We laugh.

  “So . . . you really like me, huh?” I say.

  “No, Ms. Piggy. I love yo
u. You get that?”

  “Yeah, I think I finally got it . . .”

  It’s Just That for So Long . . .

  He doesn’t let me finish

  His kiss

  Stops

  E V E R Y T H I N G

  Hudson Comes Over

  The two stare

  Each other down

  Midnight

  In bad gunslinger flick

  Hudson Turns to Me

  “Blake says you’re funny. Say something funny”

  “Funnier than your haircut?”

  “Unnecessary roughness . . . I like that”

  Blake, We Good?

  Hudson

  Waits . . .

  He Admits

  No invite was

  Kelly’s idea

  Something in Me

  Has Had Enough

  I March Up to the Canyon

  She looks like gator

  After swallowing live prey whole

  “What is your problem with me?”

  The music stops

  No one

  Dances. Moves. Breathes.

  “Excuse Me?” She Says Innocently

  “Why are you always on me, Kelly? What’s your problem?”

  Pause

  Pause

  Pause

  “You’re a Fat Loser Who Doesn’t Deserve Anything”

  There.

  Plain. Simple.

  Black. White.

  “Got it, piggy?”

  Fearlessly

  I stare

  Into the Void

  That is Kelly

  And say

  “Maybe We Are All Animals . . .

  And maybe I eat too much

  But better a pig

  Than a

  Bitch”

  I Hear Laughter

  As the Void stands in shock

  Blake reaches for my hand

  Blake: Miss Piggy, shall we?

  Shay: Yes, Kermit.

  We head back to the dance floor.

  “You Were Wrong to Go Along, Hudson”

  “Yeah, I know. My bad”

  “Whatever, man”

  “C’mon . . . what do you want, tears?”

  “Yeah, and maybe a serenade or two”

  They Exchange a Look

  Friendship intact

  Hudson walks away

  Some Still Whisper About Us

  Blake and I

  Too in love

  To care

  Slowly Shock

  Wears off crowd

  Dance music comes on

  Dave Cutter smiles at Boots

  From across the room

  Boots whispers

  “Tonight, Dave may go where

  No man has gone before”

  We laugh while

  She heads for Dave

  Dash eyes Sam dressed as

  Human “bedazzle” machine

  They exchange

  Suggestive smiles

  Blake and I

  Go back to dancing

  And Just for a Moment

  The Pig and the Frog

  Blend in

  SingularReads.com

  About the Author

  LOLA STVIL was seven when she first came to the United States from Port-au-Prince, Haiti. She now lives in Hollywood, California, where she also acts and writes screenplays. Lola is the author of the best-selling Guardians series and the Noru series.

  Visit her website at www.lolastvil.com

 

 

 


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