home wrecker isn’t my style. “Let’s just not talk about it, okay?” Sounds of laughter and excited shouting drift down the hall. I walk over to her window and move the blinds aside. Lights flicker on outside the dining hall. The festivities have begun. “We should get going.”
She stands and walks over to look out the window with me. Her shoulders slouch a little. “I hope things get better.” I know she’s talking about her partner. I wrap my arm around her shoulder.
“They will. They have to.”
And for a moment, I think I believe this.
After Katie finishes preparing for the festival, she steps out of the bathroom wearing a black corset and black tulle skirt that rests just above her knees. Black socks with tiny purple broomsticks on them reach up to her knees. Her auburn hair is a perfect mess of curls that hang down past her glittering shoulders. She places a hand on her hip and pops it out. “What do you think?”
“I like your eyeliner,” I say, trying to sound unsure. I laugh when I get the reaction I want. She sucks her teeth and I stand up. “You look great, Kat. Duh.”
She sits on the chair outside her bathroom and grabs one of her boots. She pauses before sliding it on and looks up at me like she just realized something. “Aren’t you going to dress up? It’s Halloween. You have to. Everyone is.”
Of course she notices I hadn’t changed. “Everyone is also partnered with an affinity bond, and you don’t see me sailing on that ship, now do you.” She winces. “Kidding,” I add quickly, “I was thinking of wearing a mask. Do you have one I can borrow?”
She snorts. “Why, so you can hide? No way.”
I roll my eyes. “Kat, come on. That’s really what I want.”
She sighs, relents, and then walks over to her large suitcase sitting in front of her closet with clothes spewing out of it. She digs around, tosses a few things over her shoulder, and then stops. “Here,” she says, holding out a mask she used when she was Catwoman one year. She brought a few different costumes for the Samhain Festival just in case she changed her mind.
I move to take it, but she yanks it back.
“This mask comes with a complete costume, a costume you’re going to wear,” she says with a mischievous grin.
“Kat, you can’t be ser…”
She shushes me with her finger. “I am. Very. Put it on and let’s go. Black eyeliner is on the counter. So is the glitter and hairspray.” She pauses, gives me a once over, and then says, “Better yet, go put the outfit on first, and then let me fix your make up.”
I sigh, because I know with her, it’s a fight I won’t win. I head into the bathroom and emerge from it wearing a skin-tight Catwoman suit, a suit that swallows every curve of my body and lines it in confidence, a suit that squashes the fearful side of me.
She whistles on cue, and I bite back a smile. “See! I told you that you have an amazing figure. This is perfect.” I’ve become her test dummy and I actually don’t mind, not when it momentarily takes away the sting of being me.
She drags me into the bathroom and lines my eyes with dark liner. She runs red lipstick over my lips. She sprays my hair into a wild mess, and then pulls it back into a high ponytail. The last touch is the mask she carefully sticks on. When she steps away, and I look in the mirror, I don’t know who I am.
And I like it.
“Ready?”
“Yeah.”
We follow the few novices left in the hall out into the courtyard. Fast-paced rock music thumps from the inside of the dining hall. The air is lit with excitement. It’s alive with hope. Small orange and purple lights are strung from tree to tree, creating a glowing arc to walk under.
I feel alive for the first time in a long time and I’m not sure how I should feel about that. I know I should be worried about my parents and my future. I should be in some dark corner waiting for word from Mack, but I feel different beneath this costume. I feel like I
She stands and walks over to look out the window with me. Her shoulders slouch a little. “I hope things get better.” I know she’s talking about her partner. I wrap my arm around her shoulder.
“They will. They have to.”
And for a moment, I think I believe this.
After Katie finishes preparing for the festival, she steps out of the bathroom wearing a black corset and black tulle skirt that rests just above her knees. Black socks with tiny purple broomsticks on them reach up to her knees. Her auburn hair is a perfect mess of curls that hang down past her glittering shoulders. She places a hand on her hip and pops it out. “What do you think?”
“I like your eyeliner,” I say, trying to sound unsure. I laugh when I get the reaction I want. She sucks her teeth and I stand up. “You look great, Kat. Duh.”
She sits on the chair outside her bathroom and grabs one of her boots. She pauses before sliding it on and looks up at me like she just realized something. “Aren’t you going to dress up? It’s Halloween. You have to. Everyone is.”
Of course she notices I hadn’t changed. “Everyone is also partnered with an affinity bond, and you don’t see me sailing on that ship, now do you.” She winces. “Kidding,” I add quickly, “I was thinking of wearing a mask. Do you have one I can borrow?”
She snorts. “Why, so you can hide? No way.”
I roll my eyes. “Kat, come on. That’s really what I want.”
She sighs, relents, and then walks over to her large suitcase sitting in front of her closet with clothes spewing out of it. She digs around, tosses a few things over her shoulder, and then stops. “Here,” she says, holding out a mask she used when she was Catwoman one year. She brought a few different costumes for the Samhain Festival just in case she changed her mind.
I move to take it, but she yanks it back.
“This mask comes with a complete costume, a costume you’re going to wear,” she says with a mischievous grin.
“Kat, you can’t be ser…”
She shushes me with her finger. “I am. Very. Put it on and let’s go. Black eyeliner is on the counter. So is the glitter and hairspray.” She pauses, gives me a once over, and then says, “Better yet, go put the outfit on first, and then let me fix your make up.”
I sigh, because I know with her, it’s a fight I won’t win. I head into the bathroom and emerge from it wearing a skin-tight Catwoman suit, a suit that swallows every curve of my body and lines it in confidence, a suit that squashes the fearful side of me.
She whistles on cue, and I bite back a smile. “See! I told you that you have an amazing figure. This is perfect.” I’ve become her test dummy and I actually don’t mind, not when it momentarily takes away the sting of being me.
She drags me into the bathroom and lines my eyes with dark liner. She runs red lipstick over my lips. She sprays my hair into a wild mess, and then pulls it back into a high ponytail. The last touch is the mask she carefully sticks on. When she steps away, and I look in the mirror, I don’t know who I am.
And I like it.
“Ready?”
“Yeah.”
We follow the few novices left in the hall out into the courtyard. Fast-paced rock music thumps from the inside of the dining hall. The air is lit with excitement. It’s alive with hope. Small orange and purple lights are strung from tree to tree, creating a glowing arc to walk under.
I feel alive for the first time in a long time and I’m not sure how I should feel about that. I know I should be worried about my parents and my future. I should be in some dark corner waiting for word from Mack, but I feel different beneath this costume. I feel like I
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