would steal her two The
Weakerthans CDs.
“Thank you. I stole 3 lemons and sushi. My mom let me walk to Price Chopper today.”
“You should have told me,” said Haley Joel Osment.
“I could have met you for 5 minutes. Spending $24 and like 8 hours travel time.” Dakota Fanning said “I thought you would say that is too short for the long train ride so I didn’t call you and I didn’t expect to be able to go for a walk.”
“I know,” said Haley Joel Osment. “I was being sarcastic. I feel sarcastic right now.”
The next day he rode the 8:12 a.m. train to New Jersey.
When he stepped off the train Dakota Fanning was standing on the platform looking at him with a scared facial expression. She was wearing a new dress she had talked about on Gmail chat. The dress was light blue with white spots.
“You look angry,” said Haley Joel Osment and they
hugged.
“I was very afraid and nervous, you took a while to get off the train,” said Dakota Fanning. “I thought you didn’t come. I thought you were lying to me.”
“No,” said Haley Joel Osment. “Why would I lie?”
“I don’t know. I thought maybe you just wanted to get rid of me.”
“But we text-messaged when I was on the train. Did you really think I would lie like that?”
“I don’t know,” said Dakota Fanning with a concerned facial expression.
mhp-yates-01.indd 84
mhp-yates-01.indd 84
7/9/10 7:48:42 AM
7/9/10 7:48:42 AM
85 • Richard Yates
“We texted like four minutes ago,” said Haley Joel Osment grinning.
“You look really good,” he said. “I like the dress a lot.”
Dakota Fanning was grinning a little. She pointed at a feature of her dress and asked Haley Joel Osment if he liked it. Haley Joel Osment said he liked it. They held hands and walked toward her house. On the steel bridge Haley Joel Osment looked at her face then ahead. “She is really pretty, I feel nervous to look at her face,” he thought. “Maybe that is why she never looked at my face that much. Because she was nervous. Not because she wasn’t interested.”
In her room Dakota Fanning asked Haley Joel Osment if he wanted to use the bathroom. Haley Joel Osment said she could use the bathroom fi rst. “Thank you for asking,” he said. “You’re welcome,” said Dakota Fanning. “I want to take a shower to clean myself.” Haley Joel Osment hugged her and sat on her bed. There were no posters or drawings or photos on the walls. Dakota Fanning returned from the bathroom and Haley Joel Osment pointed at something and said “I’ve never seen this. What is this?”
“It’s been there,” said Dakota Fanning.
“Oh. I don’t remember it.”
“The head spins around,” said Dakota Fanning.
Haley Joel Osment tried to spin the head and it didn’t move. He looked at Dakota Fanning. They grinned at each other. They lay on her bed and kissed. He licked her tongue.
“She has bad breath a little maybe, or something, or I do, but I don’t think it is me, but that is okay,” he thought. “I feel happy. She is good now. I should be happy. I am.” Dakota Fanning left the room and returned with lemons. They mhp-yates-01.indd 85
mhp-yates-01.indd 85
7/9/10 7:48:42 AM
7/9/10 7:48:42 AM
Tao Lin • 86
rubbed the lemons on each other and laughed. They licked the lemon juice and had sex. They put the used lemons in a plastic bag.
“Lemon sex,” said Haley Joel Osment.
“Lemon sex,” said Dakota Fanning.
In the shower she hugged him from behind. They dried each other and put on clothes. Haley Joel Osment said he wanted a small yellow apple. They walked to the health food store. Dakota Fanning bought an organic pear. Haley Joel Osment bought a bag of toasted nori. Dakota Fanning photographed him eating toasted nori. They walked into a residential area. Three teenage boys were sitting on a porch facing the street.
“Hi,” said a teenage boy. “How are you?”
“Alright,” said Dakota Fanning.
“How old are you?”
“25,” said
Weakerthans CDs.
“Thank you. I stole 3 lemons and sushi. My mom let me walk to Price Chopper today.”
“You should have told me,” said Haley Joel Osment.
“I could have met you for 5 minutes. Spending $24 and like 8 hours travel time.” Dakota Fanning said “I thought you would say that is too short for the long train ride so I didn’t call you and I didn’t expect to be able to go for a walk.”
“I know,” said Haley Joel Osment. “I was being sarcastic. I feel sarcastic right now.”
The next day he rode the 8:12 a.m. train to New Jersey.
When he stepped off the train Dakota Fanning was standing on the platform looking at him with a scared facial expression. She was wearing a new dress she had talked about on Gmail chat. The dress was light blue with white spots.
“You look angry,” said Haley Joel Osment and they
hugged.
“I was very afraid and nervous, you took a while to get off the train,” said Dakota Fanning. “I thought you didn’t come. I thought you were lying to me.”
“No,” said Haley Joel Osment. “Why would I lie?”
“I don’t know. I thought maybe you just wanted to get rid of me.”
“But we text-messaged when I was on the train. Did you really think I would lie like that?”
“I don’t know,” said Dakota Fanning with a concerned facial expression.
mhp-yates-01.indd 84
mhp-yates-01.indd 84
7/9/10 7:48:42 AM
7/9/10 7:48:42 AM
85 • Richard Yates
“We texted like four minutes ago,” said Haley Joel Osment grinning.
“You look really good,” he said. “I like the dress a lot.”
Dakota Fanning was grinning a little. She pointed at a feature of her dress and asked Haley Joel Osment if he liked it. Haley Joel Osment said he liked it. They held hands and walked toward her house. On the steel bridge Haley Joel Osment looked at her face then ahead. “She is really pretty, I feel nervous to look at her face,” he thought. “Maybe that is why she never looked at my face that much. Because she was nervous. Not because she wasn’t interested.”
In her room Dakota Fanning asked Haley Joel Osment if he wanted to use the bathroom. Haley Joel Osment said she could use the bathroom fi rst. “Thank you for asking,” he said. “You’re welcome,” said Dakota Fanning. “I want to take a shower to clean myself.” Haley Joel Osment hugged her and sat on her bed. There were no posters or drawings or photos on the walls. Dakota Fanning returned from the bathroom and Haley Joel Osment pointed at something and said “I’ve never seen this. What is this?”
“It’s been there,” said Dakota Fanning.
“Oh. I don’t remember it.”
“The head spins around,” said Dakota Fanning.
Haley Joel Osment tried to spin the head and it didn’t move. He looked at Dakota Fanning. They grinned at each other. They lay on her bed and kissed. He licked her tongue.
“She has bad breath a little maybe, or something, or I do, but I don’t think it is me, but that is okay,” he thought. “I feel happy. She is good now. I should be happy. I am.” Dakota Fanning left the room and returned with lemons. They mhp-yates-01.indd 85
mhp-yates-01.indd 85
7/9/10 7:48:42 AM
7/9/10 7:48:42 AM
Tao Lin • 86
rubbed the lemons on each other and laughed. They licked the lemon juice and had sex. They put the used lemons in a plastic bag.
“Lemon sex,” said Haley Joel Osment.
“Lemon sex,” said Dakota Fanning.
In the shower she hugged him from behind. They dried each other and put on clothes. Haley Joel Osment said he wanted a small yellow apple. They walked to the health food store. Dakota Fanning bought an organic pear. Haley Joel Osment bought a bag of toasted nori. Dakota Fanning photographed him eating toasted nori. They walked into a residential area. Three teenage boys were sitting on a porch facing the street.
“Hi,” said a teenage boy. “How are you?”
“Alright,” said Dakota Fanning.
“How old are you?”
“25,” said
Similar Books
