4. I like staring at myself in the mirror. I like the way my face looks.
Why? he asks.
Because I remember what I look like.
She leans back on the couch; it’s token symbolism, but comforting nonetheless.
Is there still pain?
Yeah, of course, she snorts, nostrils flaring.
Pain is good, the man says. It means you’re alive. You’re there.
This time she snorts again without the flare.
3. I put the grrr in girl
She tells him, twisting the lipstick tube until the pink tip shows.
So? he asks. So do they. He gestures behind him; at the quad filled with girls, with skin, with scent.
The lipstick retreats into the tube like a turtle back in its shell. She licks her now-tinted lips.
That’s what you think.
2. Undercapitals
That’s not a word, she tells the man. It’s called lowercase. He’s the first one she’s ever seen on the streets.
Maybe it is, maybe it ain’t; but it’s my word.
She pauses, considering it. She gives him her dollar.
Maybe you’re right.
The mother asks. And she really means it too. She really wants to know.
And yet, the girl doesn’t know. She’s 10 years old and isn’t sure of anything except that she better not change TV channels again unless she wants another verbal lashing.
They’ll get worse with age, only she won’t stick around to hear them.
Yes, I’ve been MIA…although I am a bad author as I take very long (but not needed) hiatuses. Alas…that’s how I roll, kids.
Next up… “Quotes to Live By (And Some to Run From)”.
Thanks for the read.
