lighter back to her. I sifted a Coke can out of the garbage and held it out between us. “Go on. Ash in this or you’re going to burn the building down.”
She managed to push about half the burning end in the opening and smeared cinders down the side of the can when she pulled it away.
“This cigarette is stale.”
“Well, my goodness, that’s gratitude.”
“It tastes like you’ve had it in the bottom of a drawer for a year. Feels cool to be holding, doesn’t it? Except who is ever going to suspect you of anything?”
She looked at me, softened for a second and then recalled how pissed off she was. “Since when do rowers smoke? You should be paranoid about your health.” She was doing better with it now, taking smaller puffs and not looking like she was going to choke to death after.
“I’m almost a pack a day at home, if you count secondary smoke as smoking. All the best science says you should. If they catch us doing this, it’s twenty hours of work. A black mark on your perfect record, Ruth.”
“My record isn’t perfect. Please stop saying that.” But she flushed and looked away and I knew I’d scored a point.
“So you want to take up smoking? That’s the best rule you can break?”
“I’ve been giving some thought to taking up a lot of things.” She tried to inhale and then coughed on it. You had to feel sorry for her but I wasn’t going to put mine out and give her an excuse to bag hers as well. She held the cigarette away from her face, straight up, like she’d seen on TV. She let it burn. “I’ve seen you on the water a few times.” She looked away from me. The hallway was dark and close, too warm and humid from the ancient heaters. I heard banging in the walls, heat struggling upward. “Can I say something to you? And you won’t be offended or take it the wrong way?”
“Half of what people say to me I take the wrong way and I wind up in trouble.”
“When I heard you were the PG rower I didn’t believe it, not at first. I really didn’t. You seem so different. I think you are, anyway. You were supposed to be in Channing’s English class but he transferred you out. He can’t stand rowers in his class. Everyone knows that.”
“Why?”
“Because rowers usually aren’t smart. They’re idiots. He’s the rowing coach, he should know.”
“Who was on the phone?”
She waved her cigarette at the pay phone and the ash fell onto the little steel writing ridge where she rubbed it in with her finger. “My mother. She’s supposed to live in this country. She should be here now but decided to go to England when I wanted to see her for a weekend.” She threw her hair back and changed the subject. “So, you’re from Niccalsetti, New York. Upstate New York. The Black Rock Rowing Club, right?”
“You’re the first person I’ve met here who knows about it.”
She looked at me evenly, like she was inspecting me. “You’ll make the team if you want to—Paul Wendt’s place from last year, the number three seat. I didn’t think you stood a chance at first. I do now.”
“Why didn’t you?”
“Because you’re not arrogant enough. You’re something else, but not arrogant. You need to be arrogant to make the team.”
“Are you arrogant?”
“I’m the first female to coxswain the God Four in the history of the school. When they elected me to the team, twenty of the rowing alumni sent back their colors.”
“Did you keep them?”
“Channing gave me their ties and I used them to stuff two throw pillows.”
“Don’t exhale like that.”
“Excuse me? Like what?”
“Like you’re blowing a fly away from your face, out the side of your mouth. If you’re going to smoke, do it right.”
“Like this?”
“Now you’re not inhaling.”
She just went on as if she hadn’t heard me. She regarded me through all the smoke. “I want you to be a good rower. I’m hoping you’ll help us beat Warwick. It was dumb to stand there in front of everyone and
She managed to push about half the burning end in the opening and smeared cinders down the side of the can when she pulled it away.
“This cigarette is stale.”
“Well, my goodness, that’s gratitude.”
“It tastes like you’ve had it in the bottom of a drawer for a year. Feels cool to be holding, doesn’t it? Except who is ever going to suspect you of anything?”
She looked at me, softened for a second and then recalled how pissed off she was. “Since when do rowers smoke? You should be paranoid about your health.” She was doing better with it now, taking smaller puffs and not looking like she was going to choke to death after.
“I’m almost a pack a day at home, if you count secondary smoke as smoking. All the best science says you should. If they catch us doing this, it’s twenty hours of work. A black mark on your perfect record, Ruth.”
“My record isn’t perfect. Please stop saying that.” But she flushed and looked away and I knew I’d scored a point.
“So you want to take up smoking? That’s the best rule you can break?”
“I’ve been giving some thought to taking up a lot of things.” She tried to inhale and then coughed on it. You had to feel sorry for her but I wasn’t going to put mine out and give her an excuse to bag hers as well. She held the cigarette away from her face, straight up, like she’d seen on TV. She let it burn. “I’ve seen you on the water a few times.” She looked away from me. The hallway was dark and close, too warm and humid from the ancient heaters. I heard banging in the walls, heat struggling upward. “Can I say something to you? And you won’t be offended or take it the wrong way?”
“Half of what people say to me I take the wrong way and I wind up in trouble.”
“When I heard you were the PG rower I didn’t believe it, not at first. I really didn’t. You seem so different. I think you are, anyway. You were supposed to be in Channing’s English class but he transferred you out. He can’t stand rowers in his class. Everyone knows that.”
“Why?”
“Because rowers usually aren’t smart. They’re idiots. He’s the rowing coach, he should know.”
“Who was on the phone?”
She waved her cigarette at the pay phone and the ash fell onto the little steel writing ridge where she rubbed it in with her finger. “My mother. She’s supposed to live in this country. She should be here now but decided to go to England when I wanted to see her for a weekend.” She threw her hair back and changed the subject. “So, you’re from Niccalsetti, New York. Upstate New York. The Black Rock Rowing Club, right?”
“You’re the first person I’ve met here who knows about it.”
She looked at me evenly, like she was inspecting me. “You’ll make the team if you want to—Paul Wendt’s place from last year, the number three seat. I didn’t think you stood a chance at first. I do now.”
“Why didn’t you?”
“Because you’re not arrogant enough. You’re something else, but not arrogant. You need to be arrogant to make the team.”
“Are you arrogant?”
“I’m the first female to coxswain the God Four in the history of the school. When they elected me to the team, twenty of the rowing alumni sent back their colors.”
“Did you keep them?”
“Channing gave me their ties and I used them to stuff two throw pillows.”
“Don’t exhale like that.”
“Excuse me? Like what?”
“Like you’re blowing a fly away from your face, out the side of your mouth. If you’re going to smoke, do it right.”
“Like this?”
“Now you’re not inhaling.”
She just went on as if she hadn’t heard me. She regarded me through all the smoke. “I want you to be a good rower. I’m hoping you’ll help us beat Warwick. It was dumb to stand there in front of everyone and
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