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Joined: 25 Oct 2011
Posts: 16
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 Posted: Tue Oct 25, 2011 4:29 am Post subject: Daniel went to take the blanket from her |
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One of them - a ninth - grader in what looked like her ninth month - smiled at Trixie, and the action was so unexpected, she nearly stumbled . packersldquo ; There packersrsquo ; s room, packersrdquo ; the girl said, and she slid her backpack off the table so that Trixie could sit down . A lot of kids at Bethel High made fun of the Heater Hos, but Trixie never had . She found them too depressing to be the butt of jokes . They seemed to be so nonchalant about throwing their lives away - not that their lives were the kind that anyone would have wanted in the first place, but still . Trixie had wondered if those bellybaring T - shirts they wore and the pride they took in their situation were just for show, a way to cover up how sad they really were about what had happened to them . After all, if you acted like you really wanted something even when you didn packersrsquo ; t, you just might convince Maurkice Pouncey Jersey yourself along with everyone else . Trixie ought to know . packersldquo ; I asked Donna to be Elvis packersrsquo ; s godmother, packersrdquo ; one of the girls said . packersldquo ; Elvis ? packersrdquo ; another answered . packersldquo ; I thought you were going to name him Pilot . packersrdquo ; packersldquo ; I was, but then I thought, what if he packersrsquo ; s born afraid of heights ? That would suck for him . packersrdquo ; Trixie dipped a french fry into a pool of ketchup . It looked weak and watery, like blood . She wondered how many hours it had been since she packersrsquo ; d talked out loud . If you didn packersrsquo ; t use your voice, ever, would it eventually shrivel up and dry away ? Was there a natural selection involved in not speaking up ? packersldquo ; Trixie . She looked up to see Zephyr sliding into the seat across from her . Trixie couldn packersrsquo ; t contain her relief - if Zephyr had come over here, she couldn packersrsquo ; t be mad anymore, could she ? packersldquo ; God, I packersrsquo ; m glad to see you, packersrdquo ; Trixie said . She wanted to make a joke, to let Zephyr know it was okay to treat her like she wasn packersrsquo ; t a freak, but she couldn packersrsquo ; t think of a single thing to say . packersldquo ; I would have called, packersrdquo ; Zephyr said, packersldquo ; but I packersrsquo ; ve sort of been grounded until I packersrsquo ; m forty . packersrdquo ; Trixie nodded . It was enough, really, that Zephyr was sitting here now . packersldquo ; So . . . you packersrsquo ; re okay, right ? packersrdquo ; packersldquo ; Yeah, packersrdquo ; Trixie said . She tried to remember what her father had said that morning : If you think you packersrsquo ; re fine, you packersrsquo ; ll start to believe it . packersldquo ; Your hair . . . packersrdquo ; She ran her palm over her head and smiled nervously . packersldquo ; Crazy, isn packersrsquo ; t it ? packersrdquo ; Zephyr leaned forward, shifting uncomfortably . packersldquo ; Look, what you did . . . well, it worked . No questionyou got Jason back . packersrdquo ; packersldquo ; What are you talking about ? packersrdquo ; packersldquo ; You wanted payback for getting dumped, and you got it . But Trixie . . . it packersrsquo ; s one thing to teach someone a lesson . . . and a whole different thing to get him arrested . Don packersrsquo ; t you think you can stop now ? packersrdquo ; packersldquo ; You think . . . packersrdquo ; Trixie packersrsquo ; s scalp tightened . packersldquo ; You think I made this up ? packersrdquo ; packersldquo ; Trix, everyone knows you wanted to hook up with him again . It packersrsquo ; s kind of hard to rape someone who packersrsquo ; s willing . packersrdquo ; packersldquo ; You packersrsquo ; re the one who came up with the plan ! You said I should make him jealous ! But I never expected . . . I didn packersrsquo ; t . . . packersrdquo ; Trixie packersrsquo ; s voice was as thin as a wire, vibrating . packersldquo ; He raped me . packersrdquo ; A shadow fell across the table as Moss approached . Zephyr looked up at him and shrugged . packersldquo ; I tried, packersrdquo ; she said . He pulled Zephyr out of her chair . packersldquo ; Come on . packersrdquo ; Trixie stood up, too . packersldquo ; We packersrsquo ; ve been friends since kindergarten . How could you believe him over me ? packersrdquo ; Something in Zephyr packersrsquo ; s eyes changed, but before she could speak, Moss slid an arm around her shoulders, anchoring her to his side . So, Trixie thought . It packersrsquo ; s like that . packersldquo ; Nice hair, G . I . Ho, packersrdquo ; Moss said as they walked off . It had gotten so quiet in the cafeteria that even the lunch ladies seemed to be watching . Trixie sank down into her seat again, trying not to notice the way that everyone was staring at her . There was a one - year - old she used to babysit for who liked to play a game : He packersrsquo ; d cover his face with his hands and you packersrsquo ; d say, packersldquo ; Where packersrsquo ; s Josh ? packersrdquo ; She wished it was that simple : Close your eyes, and you packersrsquo ; d disappear . Next to her, one of the Heater Hos Aaron Smith Jersey cracked her bubble gum . packersldquo ; I wish Jason Underhill would rape me, packersrdquo ; she said . Daniel had made coffee for Laura . Even after what she had done, even after all the words that fell between them like a rain of arrows, he had still done this for her . It might not have been anything more than habit, but it brought her to the verge of tears . She stared at the carafe, its swollen belly steaming with French roast . It occurred to Laura that in all the years they had been married, she could literally not remember it being the other way around : Daniel had been a student of her likes and dislikes ; in return, Laura had never even signed up for the proverbial course . Was it complacency that had made her restless enough to have an affair ? Or was it because she hadn packersrsquo ; t wanted to admit that even had she applied herself, she would not be as good a wife as Daniel was a husband ? She had come into the kitchen to sit down at the table, spread out her notes, prepare for her afternoon class . Today, thank God, was a lecture, an impersonal group where she got to do all the talking, not a smaller class where she might have to face the questions of students again . In her hands was a book, open to the famous Dore illustration for Canto 2 9, where VirgilDante packersrsquo ; s guide through hellberated his curiosity . But now that Laura could smell the grounds, inhale that aromatic steam, she couldn packersrsquo ; t for the life of her remember what she was going to say about this drawing to her students . Explaining hell took on a whole new meaning when you packersrsquo ; d been recently living smack in the middle of it, and Laura envisioned her own face on the sketch, instead of Dante packersrsquo ; s . She took a sip of her coffee and imagined drinking from the River Lethe, which ran back to its source, taking all your sins with it . There was a fine line between love and hate, you heard that cliche all the time . But no one told you that the moment you crossed it would be the one you least expected . You packersrsquo ; d fall in love and crack open a secret door to let your soul mate in . You just never expected such closeness, one day, to feel like an intrusion . Laura stared down at the picture . With the exception of Dante, nobody chose to go willingly to hell . And even Dante would have lost his way if he hadn packersrsquo ; t found a guide who packersrsquo ; d already been through hell and come out the other side . Reaching up to the cabinet, Laura took out a second mug and poured another cup of coffee . In all honesty, she had no idea if Daniel took it with milk or sugar or both . She added a little of each, the way she liked to drink it . She hoped that was a start . In the latest Steelers Jersey issue of Wizard magazine, on the list of top ten comic book artists, Daniel was ranked number nine . His picture was there, eight notches below Jim Lee packersrsquo ; s number one smiling face . Last month, Daniel had been number ten ; it was the growing anticipation for The Tenth Circle that was fueling his fame . It was actually Laura who had told Daniel when he was becoming famous . They packersrsquo ; d gone to a Christmas party at Marvel in New York, and when they entered the room, they were separated in the crush . Later, she told him that as he walked through the crowd, she could hear everyone talking in his wake . Daniel, she had said, people definitely know you . When he packersrsquo ; d first been given a test story to draw, years ago - a godawful piece that took place inside a cramped airplane - he packersrsquo ; d worried about things that he never would have given a second thought to now : having F lead in his pencil instead of something too soft, testing the geometry of arches, mapping the feel of a ruler in his hand . If anything, he had drawn more from the gut when he was starting out - emotional art, instead of cerebral . The first time he packersrsquo ; d penciled Batman for DC Comics, for example, he packersrsquo ; d had to reimagine the hero . Daniel packersrsquo ; s rendition had a certain length ear and a certain width belt that had little to do with the historical progression of art on that character and far more to do with poring over the comic as a kid, and remembering how Batman had looked at his coolest . Today, though, drawing wasn packersrsquo ; t bringing him any joy or relief . He kept thinking about Trixie and where she would be at this hour of the day and if it was a good thing or a bad thing that she hadn packersrsquo ; t called him yet to say how it was going . Ordinarily, if Daniel was restless, he packersrsquo ; d get up and walk around the house, or even take a run to jog his brain and recover his lost muse . But Laura was home - she had no classes until this afternoon - and that was enough to keep him holed up in his office . It was easier to face down a blank page than to pull from thin air the right words to rebuild a marriage . His task today was to draw a series of panels in hell with adultery demons - sinners who had lusted for each other in life, and in death couldn packersrsquo ; t be separated from each other . The irony of having to draw this, given his own situation, had not been lost on Daniel . He imagined a male and a female torso, each growing out of the same root of a body . He pictured one wing on each of their backs . He saw claws that would reach in to steal a hero packersrsquo ; s heart, because that was exactly how it felt . He was Heath Miller Jersey cheating today, drawing the action sequences, because they were the most engaging . He always jumped around the story, to keep himself from overdoing it on the first panel he drew . But just in case he started running out of time on a deadline, it was easier to draw straight lines and buildings and roads than to dynamically draw a figure . Daniel began sketching the outline of an ungainly, birdlike creature, half man and half woman . He roughed in a wing . . . no, too batlike . He was just blowing the eraser rubbings off the Miraweb paper when Laura walked into his office, holding a cup of coffee . He set down his pencil and leaned back in his chair . Laura rarely visited him in his office . Most of the time, she wasn packersrsquo ; t home . And when she was, it was always Daniel seeking her out, instead of the other way around . packersldquo ; What are you drawing ? packersrdquo ; she asked, peering down at the panels . packersldquo ; Nothing good . packersrdquo ; packersldquo ; Worried about Trixie ? packersrdquo ; Daniel rubbed a hand down his face . packersldquo ; How couldn packersrsquo ; t I be ? packersrdquo ; She sank down at his feet, cross - legged . packersldquo ; I know . I keep thinking I hear the phone ring . packersrdquo ; She glanced down at her coffee cup, as if she was surprised to find herself clutching it . packersldquo ; Oh, packersrdquo ; she said . packersldquo ; I brought this for you . packersrdquo ; She never Hines Ward Jersey brought him coffee before . He didn packersrsquo ; t even really like coffee . But there was Laura with her hand outstretched, offering the steaming mug . . . and in that instant, Daniel could imagine her fingers reaching like a dagger between his ribs . He could see how a wing that grew from between her shoulder blades might sweep over the muscles of her trapezius, wrapping over her arm like a shawl . packersldquo ; Do me a favor ? packersrdquo ; he asked, taking the mug from her . He grabbed a quilt that he kept on the couch in his office and leaned down to pull it around Laura . packersldquo ; God, packersrdquo ; she said . packersldquo ; I haven packersrsquo ; t modeled for you in years . packersrdquo ; When he was just starting out, he packersrsquo ; d pose her a hundred different ways : in her bra and panties holding a water gun ; tossed halfway off the bed ; hanging upside down from a tree in the yard . He would wait for the moment when that familiar skin and structure stopped being Laura and became, instead, a twist of sinew and a placement of bone, one he could translate anatomically into a character sprawled just the same way on the page . packersldquo ; What packersrsquo ; s the quilt for ? packersrdquo ; Laura asked, as he picked up his pencil and started to draw . packersldquo ; You have wings . packersrdquo ; packersldquo ; Am I an angel ? packersrdquo ; Daniel glanced up . packersldquo ; Something like that, packersrdquo ; he said . The moment Daniel stopped obsessing about drawing the wing, it took flight . He drew fast, the lines pouring out of him . This quick, art was like breath . He couldn packersrsquo ; t have told you why he placed the fingers at that angle instead of the more conventional one, but it made the figure seem to move across the panel . packersldquo ; Lift the blanket up a little, so it covers your head, packersrdquo ; he instructed . Laura obliged . packersldquo ; This reminds me of your first story . Only drier . packersrdquo ; Daniel packersrsquo ; s first paid gig had been a Marvel fill - in for the Ultimate X - Men series . In the event that a regular artist didn packersrsquo ; t make deadline, his stand - alone piece would be used without breaking the continuity of the ongoing saga . He packersrsquo ; d been given a story about Storm as a young child, harnessing the weather . In the name of research, he and Laura had driven to the shore during a thunderstorm, with Trixie still in her infant seat . They left the sleeping baby in the car and then sat on the beach in the pouring rain with a blanket wrapped around their shoulders, watching the lightning write notes on the sand . Later that night, on his way back to the car, Daniel had tripped over the strangest tube of glass . It was a fulgurite, Laura told him, sand fused the moment it was struck by lightning . The tube was eight inches long, rough on the outside and smooth through its long throat . Daniel had tucked it into the side of Trixie packersrsquo ; s car seat, and even today it was still delicately displayed on her bookshelf . It had amazed him : that utter transformation, the understanding that radical change could come in a heartbeat . Finally, Daniel finished drawing . He put down his pencil, flexed his hand, and glanced down at the page : This was good ; this was better than good . packersldquo ; Thanks, packersrdquo ; he said, standing up to take the blanket off Laura packersrsquo ; s shoulders . She stood, too, and grabbed two corners of the quilt . They folded it in silence, like soldiers with a casket packersrsquo ; s flag . When they met in the middle, Daniel went to take the blanket from her, but Laura didn packersrsquo ; t let go . She slid her hands along its folded seam until they rested on top of Daniel packersrsquo ; s, and then she lifted her face shyly and kissed him . He didn packersrsquo ; t want to touch her . Her body pressed against his through the buffer of the quilt . But instinct broke over him, a massive wave, and he wrapped his arms so tightly around Laura he could feel her struggling to breathe . His kiss was hungry, violent, a feast for what he packersrsquo ; d been missing . It took a moment, and then she came to life beneath him, grabbing fistfuls of his shirt, pulling him closer, consuming him in a way he could not ever remember her doing before . Before .
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