Being Roy by Julie Aitcheson

Author:Julie Aitcheson [Aitcheson, Julie]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: young adult
ISBN: 978-1-63533-713-6
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Published: 2017-10-03T04:00:00+00:00

EIGHT “TOTALLY true” ghost stories later, mostly told by Immy with Academy Award-worthy flair, the hard pull of sleep started to suck us under. “It’s kind of like being inside an egg, you know?” Bugs whispered after we’d all been silent for a while. “Mmhmm,” Im sighed dreamily, rolling away onto her side and tucking her knees up into a fetal position. Hadley was already sawing logs, her back pressed into mine from behind so the knobs and dents of our spines nestled into each other, Lego-like.

“What do you mean an egg?” I asked. The rain drumming on the roof and our shared warmth lulled me, but something in Bugsy’s voice grabbed me back to the surface. In the thin, white glow from the streetlight outside, I could see the glint of Bugsy’s eyes as she stared at the ceiling.

“Well, it’s like we’re in this kind of capsule, you know? There’s just a thin shell between us and everything. Think about how thin an eggshell is, and how a baby chick goes from nothing to a whole bird in there. It’s a miracle any of them survive.”

“Isn’t that why the mother hen sits on it?”

“I guess, but, like, if it’s just a regular bird out in the world, not tended by a farmer or anything, the mother still has to go off and get food. A shell is nothing, an illusion of protection. A house is just a bigger version of a shell that could break anytime.” Bugsy’s voice was wobbly and a little nasal, like she’d just sneezed.

“Hey, are you calling my home an ‘illusion’?” I joked, nudging her shoulder with mine. She turned her head to me, eyes wide.

“No! God, Roy, this is the best place. Thank you so much for inviting me!”

“Relax, Bugs, I’m kidding.” She turned her head and fell silent again. Hadley rolled over and flopped a wrist over my waist, which was more comfortable for my back, but the feeling of her unbound breasts squashed against me was just… weird. I tried to inch away, but she was on me like static cling. I listened for the evened-out rhythm of Bugsy’s breathing to see if she’d drifted off.

“Roy?”

“Yeah, Bugs?”

“Does it ever leak?”

“The trailer? Sometimes, if it rains a lot.”

“Doesn’t that make you feel scared?”

“Of what?” Silence. I had the sense that I’d said something wrong.

“Nothing, never mind. ’Night.” Bugs rolled toward Immy with a sigh.

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