Skyler shrugged. “She runs The End Is Neigh. Lucas and his mom are really close, so I think if she says he’s good, she’s probably right. She says they finally talked about Darren.”
I was gnawing on my knuckles. “Who’s Darren?”
“He’s— Well, hewasLucas’s boyfriend.” Skyler shrugged again. “He was not a nice person, if you ask me.” He scratched the back of his neck, then glanced up at me, a smile pulling at the corners of his mouth. “So have you guys run into each other yet?”
I shook my head, still partially stuffing my fist into my mouth.
“Then he doesn’t know you’re this worried about him?”
I accidentally bit down and all but broke the skin of my thumb. “Gwha? What? No! That is, aye, yes, Iamworried, w-wouldn’t you be? A-aren’t you?” I tried to shove my hands into my pockets but my jeans were too tight to achieve this while seated. I abandoned the attempt and crossed my arms, trying to ignore the softly amused smile Skyler was giving me.
“Nottooworried. I mean”—Skyler thoughtfully ran a hand through his hair—“if Cheyenne says he’s doing better ... But I think I’ll call him tomorrow morning, just to make sure. Areyouokay?”
“Aye, quite, ehrm, yes.”
“Are you sure?”
“Oh just shut up and take your clothes off.” I stood and started preparing the dais. “Just, er, let me know if you hear from him, will you?”
“I will.”
I could practicallyhearthe grin in his voice.
I turned my efforts to the imminent lesson, doing my best to take Skyler at his word and keep my worry in check.
July 28th
I sat on the couch in the living room, staring at the now-clean but also very now-empty fish tank.
I was a killer.
Through no fault of their own, Gaston and LeFou had left me for the great big fish tank in the sky. They had deserved better than me, someone who hadn’t even noticed the malfunction in their water filter until it had been too late.
After saying a few words and, as gently as I could, laying them to rest in the toilet before flushing them to oblivion, I ordered a new filter and scrubbed the grimy tank until it was good as new. As if the two fish I’d murdered had never lived there.
At least Armand had been here, which was a thought as guilt-inducing as it was perplexing. Because why had I found out that my fish had shuffled off this mortal coil via a Post-it note with three hand-scribbled emojis: a skull and crossbones, a crying face, and a freezer. The most enigmatic eulogy I’ve ever come across, but it was unnervingly kind of him to have preserved their little bodies until I could give them a proper send-off.
My phone buzzed.Not now, Mom—but it was Skyler.
“Hey.”
“Lucas? Hi, I didn’t know if you’d pick up.” His voice was hesitant but gentle. “How are you doing? I heard your fish died. I’m so sorry.”
I blinked at my phone and then at the empty tank. “How’d you know that?”
“Oh!” Skyler paused. “Right, I’ve been meaning to tell you. I kind of ... met Armand? Your roommate? Mothman?”
I nearly dropped my phone. “Youwhat?”
“Yeah, I got a part-time gig doing life modeling for the workshop he’s running at Norsemen. I guess he found Gaston and LeFou yesterday before class? He sounded super worried about you.”
This was far too much information all at once. I stood up from the couch and began pacing the living room. “Okay, okay, okay, back up. So you work with Armand ... What—” There were so many questions I wanted to bombard Skyler with. “What’s he like? Give me as much detail as you can because you know what I’ve been working with here.”
Skyler huffed a soft laugh. “Well, I think he’s a bit shy talking in front of people, but once you get him talking about something he’s comfortable with, like art, he’s actually really knowledgeable. Like,Idon’t understand a lot of the techniques that he’s teaching, but that’s why I get to just stand there while everyone else does the work.”
For a moment I became sixty years old, lamenting that modern technology had left me without a phone cord to twirl as I paced the room. My eyes fell on the stack of comic pages I’d picked up from the floor a few hours ago. “And what are the chances he explained what his comic is about?”
“Oh, none. He doesn’t seem to like talking about his own work that much. But he’s extremely patient with the class. And he made me feel more comfortable than I ever expected about being naked in front of fifty people.”
