Looking Glass Lies by Varina Denman

Author:Varina Denman [Denman, Varina]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781503942707
Publisher: Waterfall Press
Published: 2017-05-01T18:30:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Six

Group text from Shanty: No one can MAKE you feel unattractive.

Nina: shurrrrr they can

Cecily: No they can’t, but sometimes it feels like it.

Not only did I agree to go out with Graham Harper, but I also agreed to go to the carnival, of all places. In twenty-four hours, the parking lot of the Westgate Mall had been transformed into an amusement park, filled with gangly teenagers, rough-looking carnies, and flustered parents searching for one more quarter to give their children.

And then there was Graham and me.

I walked beside him, careful not to bump his elbow with mine, but when we wedged ourselves into the cocoon-like pod of the Tilt-A-Whirl, our bodies touched all the way from shoulders to knees, and for once, he wasn’t fidgeting.

Our seats jerked to the left, then the pod began rotating smoothly, and I involuntarily leaned closer to him. “Sorry,” I said. “Centrifugal force.”

“No worries.” He yelled to be heard over the organ music that grew louder every time we whirled close to a speaker. “I haven’t done this in years!”

Our cocoon swung upward, and my stomach responded as though a harp had been strummed deep inside me, creating vibrations of gradually increasing pitch. I gasped in surprise, and then, feeling silly but not really caring, I laughed out loud. When our pod swung from side to side, Graham slid his arm around my shoulders and held me tight.

It happened so quickly. I didn’t have time to decide if I minded, and all I could think was how the ride was better because he was there. He hooted like a cowboy riding a bronco, and then the machine began to calm, spiraling back to earth, its movements slowing until it came to a jarring halt.

A worker trudged past our car, loudly clanking the locking mechanism and hoisting the door upward, and as I clambered to the ground, I felt Graham’s hand on my waist.

“Want to try the bumper cars?” he asked.

“Eww, I hate bumper cars.”

His eyes widened. “So do I. The cars never do what you tell them to do.”

“And all that banging gives me a headache.”

“How about the Ferris wheel?”

I looked at the top of the ride, high above the parking lot. “I guess.”

Five minutes later, we were stuck in a slow-moving line, and I crossed my arms, not knowing what to do with myself. Graham had both hands shoved in his back pockets.

“This is awkward, isn’t it?” he said, and my tension eased.

“I never pictured myself going out with you,” I said. When his smiled faded, I quickly added, “When we were young, I mean. Now I picture it. Obviously.” I was babbling.

He gave me an I-can’t-believe-I’m-about-to-tell-you-this smile. “Back in school? I thought about going out with you every single day.” His smile didn’t change, but his gaze bounced away, as though he were afraid of my reaction.

“Why didn’t you ask me out?”

Instead of answering, he looked me right in the eye and raised his eyebrows.

“What?” I asked.

“You just said you never pictured yourself going out with me.

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