Burnout by Adrienne Maria Vrettos

Author:Adrienne Maria Vrettos
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books

Duke’s isn’t far, only on Eighth Street, but I’m so cold I can’t bear the thought of walking the ten blocks. And I’ve started to shake so much I’m not sure that I’d make it without falling over on the sidewalk, a quivering, shivering mess.

I jump the subway turnstile without paying and wait on the edge of the subway platform. At least it’s slightly warmer once I’m underground. My shivering slows down to just the occasional full-body shudder. I stare down at the subway tracks, and my vision blurs a little. I back away to lean against the wall.

There’s a woman in a business suit and heels standing next to me. It’s one of those suits with a narrow skirt, her legs bare. She must be freezing. Out of the corner of my eye I see her pull a white folded handkerchief from her satchel and pat her forehead with it. I try not to stare, but is she sweating? She must be ill.

She looks at me and smiles. “It’s boiling down here. You’d think they’d fix the heat so they don’t fry us to death before winter even gets here.”

I nod and try to smile. I look furtively around us and see dozens of moist faces, jackets taken off and slung over arms. One woman pulls at the neck of her blouse, trying to create a breeze.

I am freezing to death, and everyone else is on fire.

I pull my hat down farther, shielding my ears from the blasts of hot air that only seem to chill me.

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