“There was a man’s uniform in your laundry. I ironed it, but you should know that . . .”
“Okay, let’s do this: I won’t ask you how many times you made out with Mr. Curator to get a job, and you don’t ask me about the uniform.”
“June Madeline White!” Her scream got farther away as I put my hood over my head and went out into the rain and got onto my bike. I got to William’s house in twenty minutes. The rain went away quickly, making way for a dark, starless night sky.
I rang the doorbell after leaning the bike against the wall.
“Hi.”
I was so agitated that I almost didn’t realize that Will tried to kiss me before I walked in. Luckily, he didn’t seem too offended by it. He looked down at my gym shoes and smiled.
“Yeah, I’ll take them off,” I emphasized, taking off my drenched Converse.
Will’s living room looked unrecognizable. Clean, orderly, quiet. The last time I was here it had been full of wild people, and I’d just been thrown out.
The unpleasant feeling attached to that memory accosted me and got worse as soon as we set foot in the kitchen.
I put my wet backpack on the floor. Will had already organized his book and the English notes on the table. I tried to hide my disappointment, but my clichéd smile came out forced. Will had every intention of studying, and even though I knew we were here to do that, I thought we’d talk a little first.
I sat down and stared. For a moment I looked out the window at the huge yard in the dark and the image of our first kiss.
“Wanna start with physics or English?”
“Doesn’t matter,” I replied, putting my English book on the table.
The rain started falling again, tapping against the glass. Usually that was my favorite background noise for studying in the afternoon. But I couldn’t concentrate then. And Will noticed.
“Want something to eat?” he asked, fidgeting.
His light eyes got lost in mine, and I said the first thing that came to my head.
“I wanna see your room. Maybe talk a little bit.”
Immediately, I shut my mouth, regretting that absurd request. William stared at me confused.
“Oh, okay,” he mumbled hesitantly.
We went upstairs in rigid silence. The wooden stairs creaked underneath our feet until we stopped at a mahogany door. Will flung it open, then flipped on the switch. A cold light illuminated a sterile room. The room was so clean and organized that it would cause chaos in my head.
Nothing. There was nothing. The monochromatic colors on the walls captured my attention. They were black except for one behind the bed. Everything seemed really impersonal.
“Are you a minimalist?” I asked. I couldn’t say anything else. William seemed lost for words too.
“I fill it up with stuff sometimes, then I purge all of it. I purged everything.”
I tasted something bitter. “What do you mean?”
I could’ve nodded and saidOh, interestinginstead of asking questions, but my curiosity got the best of me.
William didn’t speak. It looked like he wasn’t even breathing.
“You okay?” I let a smile creep onto my face, hoping that his yes would be convincing.
At that point, he nodded and sat on the bed.
“Everything okay?” I prodded.
I tried to make eye contact. Will was still the same guy who’d said those wonderful things to me at Poppy’s party, even though it didn’t feel like it. There was something invisible that kept us apart from each other.
