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Show Fair Forever 36 "I might," I lie. Lindley stares harder at my shirt. She twitches in her seat, like she can't relax- like every muscle in her skinny body is filled with questions and wants to talk at the same time. Finally, she edges forward and blurts out, "Do you know whose heart you took? I mean . . . was it like, somebody normal?" Katie looks down at her food. I want to say something clever, something that will show how dumb her question really is, but I resist. The question is too important. Too real. I think back, remembering the day I came home from the hospital. Remembering the letter I wrote to the parents of the donor-the picture of me I included, sitting in my skiff, pretending to be rowing. "The boy was seventeen," I say quietly. "He would have been a senior this year. He loved running track, playing with his little sister, and going to the beach. He wanted to be a marine biologist. He lived in Virginia, on the water, and he had his own skiff." My words hang in the air, heavy and sober, like a prayer at a funeral. I look at Katie. Something glistens in the comer other left eye. . Lindley slumps back and shakes her head, quiet for a moment, but only for a moment. "That is, like, so totally gruesome, " she continues. Then she leans forward eagerly. "How did he die?" I close my Algebra book. "Riding a skateboard. He fell off. No helmet." Katie isn't eating. She wipes her eye and stands. "Guess I'll see you in Social Studies," she mumbles. Her voice sounds tight. Lindley is still shaking her head as she follows. - |
