Spectacle (A Young Adult Novel) (27 page)
Read Spectacle (A Young Adult Novel) Online
Authors: Angie McCullagh
That was when she heard the toilet flush and saw, in the mirror, Emily emerge from a stall.
“Hey,” Trix said, stiffening. She grabbed a rough paper towel, drying her hands and throwing it in the garbage.
“Hey,” Emily said, her voice slow and gentle, as if she were talking to a wild animal she was trying not to scare away. “What’d you think?
“Of?” She still had a wall up when it came to Emily.
“The photo of you. From Green Lake.”
“I don’t even remember you taking it.”
“Oh, well. You were pretty … distraught.” Trix remembered well the days when Emily was her go-to if she was unglued. Luckily, the ungluing happened less now. “So,” Emily said. “How are things?”
Trix looked at her ex-friend. Only, instead of feeling torn up inside, a sort of dull, nostalgic placidity fell over her. They’d had a lot of good times. And, though they both knew their friendship was basically over, it didn’t have to be horrendously awkward when they ran into each other. They could make eye contact and say Hey. Right? They could be adults about this. She just hoped Emily wouldn’t say she missed her, or try to get her to talk about the downward spiral she’d been coasting on until a few months ago.
“Things are great,” Trix said and shrugged. She was mostly telling the truth. She’d shaken Marjorie and her druggie friends loose in a knock-down-drag-out the day after Christmas during which they screamed at each other in a Safeway parking lot.
Trix’s mom had broken up with Rodney the Octopus guy after realizing he was stealing from her, too.
There were no boys for Trix. After Jamie at the beach, she’d understood that she needed to pull her act together before she could go out with anyone. So, to reduce temptation, she wasn’t drinking, either. Which, considering that she was underage, was probably for the best.
“I noticed you’ve been in class more,” Emily said warily.
“Yeah,” Trix crossed her arms over her chest. “School’s good. I mean, it’s school, so how good can it be? But, it’s better.” She’d gotten her grades back up and was on track to graduate at the end of her junior year. She was going to apply to the Art Institute, and Irony’s friends, some who were already professional graphic designers and seamstresses and painters who’d gone there, said Trix would definitely make it.
Emily said, “I’m glad.”
“And you’re still taking photos I see.”
“My first love,” Emily said and winced. She cleared her throat.
Clearly, they wouldn’t touch the topic of Ryan.
Trix poked at her eyeliner in the mirror, then moved toward the door. “Okay, well, see you.”
“Around. Yeah.”
Trix was preternaturally calm as she found her way back to her seat, feeling oddly cleansed by her face to face with Emily and brimming with a sense of possibility. She imagined a bird—a sparrow or pigeon that had somehow swooped in through the front doors and flew around the auditorium’s rafters.
Below the bird, notes were passed, insults were whispered, kisses were exchanged, feelings were hurt, friendships dissolved while others solidified.
And from up there, no one looked so different from anyone else, they were all just one big, undulating mass of people in various states of learning that they were okay.
Acknowledgments:
I’d like to thank Kristy Alley for being such an astute and helpful reader, Tricia Scott for her discerning critique of
Spectacle’s
cover, Betsy Hudson for her keen eye and mad copyediting skills, Sarah Piazza for catching several of my ridiculous errors, my husband and kids for their patience while I wrote and revised and wrote and revised, Alice Peck for her encouragement, and the literary agents whose rejections led me to pursue my exciting e-publishing path.
About the Author
Angie McCullagh, who is crazy tall herself, has published several short stories in various literary journals. She also blogs, enjoys photography, and alternately struggles with the fit of her jeans and existential angst. She lives with her husband, two kids, and imaginary cat in Seattle, Washington.
Table of Contents
14. If I Could Chat with Anyone , It Would Be You
23. Everyone Wants To Be Liked
35. A Disappointment to Everyone
52. Fear and Loathing on the Dark Side
