hopping in on the driver’s side.
He cranked the engine and retracted the roof. Jenny ran her fingers along the smooth gray interior.
“ Won’t Ashleigh be waiting for you?” Jenny asked, then wanted to kick herself.
“ She drives herself,” Seth backed out, then drove for the exit. She looked back nervously at the school’s rows of dark, narrow windows, and felt very exposed in the convertible. She hoped nobody saw them.
Jenny had spent too much time thinking about taking him out of class, and not enough planning for what would happen after that. What was she going to do with Seth? What did she expect from him? What did he expect from her? What was she thinking?
When they arrived at Jenny’s, she didn’t want to take him in to see her cluttered house. Her yard was bad enough. He stood in her red dirt driveway, looking around at the house, the shed with all the old advertising signs tacked to it, the completely mismatched, random lengths of fencing in the yard, the scattered pieces of automobiles, dishwashers, refrigerators.
“ Is your dad an artist or something?” Seth asked.
“ Totally,” Jenny answered. Rocky bounded out of the shed, ducked back when he saw Seth, then crept back out shyly, tail wagging. He must have recognized Seth, because he didn’t bark, but he didn’t get close enough to let Seth pet him.
“ He looks good,” Seth said. He pointed at the hairless band of scar tissue. “I guess that won’t grow back.”
“ It’s okay, I don’t think that bothers him. Anyway, I’ve been looking into this stuff—Rogaine? Heard of it?”
Seth laughed and shook his head. “I can’t do cosmetic healing, sorry. Injuries only.”
“Wait here.” Jenny hurried inside. She removed the cigar box from under her bed and quickly rolled a thick spliff for them to share. The weed was from the patch her dad grew for a little extra side income, since side income was all he had. It wasn’t grown on their land, of course, but a couple miles away, on unused, overgrown land owned by the bank. She realized that, technically, it was grown on land owned by Seth’s family. This struck her as funny, but she couldn’t tell Seth. She wasn’t about to narc out her own dad.
She held up the joint when she returned outside.
“ The trail’s this way,” she said. Jenny led him into the shadowy woods. The woods were still green and alive in September, but here and there you could see something gone brown and dry, the early flickers of fall. It was still hot enough that the cicadas filled the trees with their buzzing songs.
She took him along the path full of honeysuckle and wild blackberries. It was the long way, going around the first two hills instead of over them, but it was the prettiest.
“ So,” she asked, “Are you going to be like a doctor or something?”
“ Not you, too,” Seth said.
“ What?”
“ The doctor thing. I tell people I want to do maybe physical therapy. So, you know, I can put my hands on injured people and heal them and get away with it. But then everybody hears physical therapy and says I should be a doctor. My parents, my family…Ashleigh, Ashleigh’s parents…”
“ That’s a lot of opinions,” Jenny said.
“ Yeah!” Seth said. “And I want to say, look, I’m really not all that good with the science and math, you know? Or school in general. I don’t even think I’d make it into medical school. And why should I spend twelve years on that when I’m not really using medicine to heal people? Just seems like a waste.”
“ You should do what you want to do,” Jenny said.
Seth laughed, then stopped walking and looked at her.
“What is it?” Jenny said.
“ Nobody ever says that,” Seth said. “Here, let me give you something.” He reached his hand toward her face, which was horribly, dangerously bare, with all her hair pulled up and pinned in place. The rest of her was still
He cranked the engine and retracted the roof. Jenny ran her fingers along the smooth gray interior.
“ Won’t Ashleigh be waiting for you?” Jenny asked, then wanted to kick herself.
“ She drives herself,” Seth backed out, then drove for the exit. She looked back nervously at the school’s rows of dark, narrow windows, and felt very exposed in the convertible. She hoped nobody saw them.
Jenny had spent too much time thinking about taking him out of class, and not enough planning for what would happen after that. What was she going to do with Seth? What did she expect from him? What did he expect from her? What was she thinking?
When they arrived at Jenny’s, she didn’t want to take him in to see her cluttered house. Her yard was bad enough. He stood in her red dirt driveway, looking around at the house, the shed with all the old advertising signs tacked to it, the completely mismatched, random lengths of fencing in the yard, the scattered pieces of automobiles, dishwashers, refrigerators.
“ Is your dad an artist or something?” Seth asked.
“ Totally,” Jenny answered. Rocky bounded out of the shed, ducked back when he saw Seth, then crept back out shyly, tail wagging. He must have recognized Seth, because he didn’t bark, but he didn’t get close enough to let Seth pet him.
“ He looks good,” Seth said. He pointed at the hairless band of scar tissue. “I guess that won’t grow back.”
“ It’s okay, I don’t think that bothers him. Anyway, I’ve been looking into this stuff—Rogaine? Heard of it?”
Seth laughed and shook his head. “I can’t do cosmetic healing, sorry. Injuries only.”
“Wait here.” Jenny hurried inside. She removed the cigar box from under her bed and quickly rolled a thick spliff for them to share. The weed was from the patch her dad grew for a little extra side income, since side income was all he had. It wasn’t grown on their land, of course, but a couple miles away, on unused, overgrown land owned by the bank. She realized that, technically, it was grown on land owned by Seth’s family. This struck her as funny, but she couldn’t tell Seth. She wasn’t about to narc out her own dad.
She held up the joint when she returned outside.
“ The trail’s this way,” she said. Jenny led him into the shadowy woods. The woods were still green and alive in September, but here and there you could see something gone brown and dry, the early flickers of fall. It was still hot enough that the cicadas filled the trees with their buzzing songs.
She took him along the path full of honeysuckle and wild blackberries. It was the long way, going around the first two hills instead of over them, but it was the prettiest.
“ So,” she asked, “Are you going to be like a doctor or something?”
“ Not you, too,” Seth said.
“ What?”
“ The doctor thing. I tell people I want to do maybe physical therapy. So, you know, I can put my hands on injured people and heal them and get away with it. But then everybody hears physical therapy and says I should be a doctor. My parents, my family…Ashleigh, Ashleigh’s parents…”
“ That’s a lot of opinions,” Jenny said.
“ Yeah!” Seth said. “And I want to say, look, I’m really not all that good with the science and math, you know? Or school in general. I don’t even think I’d make it into medical school. And why should I spend twelve years on that when I’m not really using medicine to heal people? Just seems like a waste.”
“ You should do what you want to do,” Jenny said.
Seth laughed, then stopped walking and looked at her.
“What is it?” Jenny said.
“ Nobody ever says that,” Seth said. “Here, let me give you something.” He reached his hand toward her face, which was horribly, dangerously bare, with all her hair pulled up and pinned in place. The rest of her was still
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