Half In Love With Death by Emily Ross

Author:Emily Ross
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: F+W Media

CHAPTER 17

Jangling electric chords pierced the air, punctuated every now and then by drumrolls. Edie tapped me on the shoulder. “You know what would make this a lot more fun? Getting high.”

“What?” I said.

“Don’t tell me you’ve never gotten high.” When I told her I hadn’t, she said, “I have to see you high.” She grabbed my hand and took me out to the pool. There were kids all around, but they didn’t even notice us. Something about the way they stood together talking, smoking, staring, made me feel like I was part of something bigger than I was, bigger than all of us. I felt a surge of excitement.

Edie lit up a joint, inhaled, and handed it to me. It smelled really bad.

“Maybe not,” I said.

She frowned. “It’s only pot.” She guided the joint to my lips. “Trust me. You’re just gonna feel a little happy.”

I inhaled and coughed violently. It was like I’d swallowed fire.

“That wasn’t so bad, was it?” Edie said.

“No,” I replied, still coughing. She handed it back to me a bunch more times. Nothing was really happening yet, but finally I told Edie I didn’t want any more. Much as I liked reading about drugs, I was feeling a little anxious.

She frowned. “This is Moose’s. It’s good shit. But suit yourself. All the more for me.” When she’d finished the joint we went back inside. The murmur of the crowd was like bees buzzing. Everything grew distant. It was like the world was spinning away from me. Edie hovered over Tony as he tuned his guitar. Debbie leaned against the fireplace mantel, smoking a cigarette, and talking to Peter, who was gesturing wildly. Lizzie was rocking her baby. I couldn’t make out what anyone was saying. Except for the surreal humming in the background, it was like a silent movie. Everyone had someone to talk to except me. I began counting the small blue flowers that patterned the wallpaper, numerous as stars. Though probably only a few minutes had passed, it felt like I’d been standing there forever.

Edie grabbed my arm, shaking me from my dream. “Oh my God, we forgot the cake,” she said. The batter was still sitting in the bowl. As she was pouring it into the pans, she didn’t even notice that she’d missed, and was spilling it on the kitchen counter. That really cracked us up.

She scooped some up with her finger and licked it off. “Want to know a secret?”

I caught my breath. “What?”

She smiled. “I like cake better before it’s cooked.” We both cracked up again, then poured the rest into the pans. While it was baking, we drank Coke and ate Cheez-Its. Nothing had ever tasted so good. When the cake was almost done, Edie peeked in the oven. It had risen over the tops of the pans and rolled down the sides onto the bottom of the oven.

“It’s the cake that took over the world,” she said, and we laughed some more. I’d never laughed so hard.

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