The Game of Boys and Monsters by Rachel M. Wilson

Author:Rachel M. Wilson
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: HarperCollins

Excerpt from Don’t Touch

Read on for an excerpt from Rachel M. Wilson’s

Don’t Touch

1.

* * *

“Cadence Finn? Take yourself right out there, hon.”

The office lady points toward the academy’s courtyard and goes back to her magazine: Crafting for the Southern Home.

“I think I’m supposed to get a Peer Pal?”

“Hon, yours is late. I’d stick you with another group, but you’re our only new junior. You just wait right on out there.”

“I can’t wait inside?”

Outside, the air’s thick and wet, the sun scalding. It’s like the sauna at Mom’s fitness club with the temperature dialed up to hell.

Instead of answering, the lady sniffs and sets down her magazine to pour me a Dixie cup of lemonade from a pitcher on the dividing wall. “You’re not dressed for the heat,” she says with a pinched smile.

That’s an understatement.

It’s ninety degrees out, but I’m wearing jeans, long sleeves, and a scarf. The humidity’s plastered my hair to the back of my neck in a sticky shield. Alabama in August calls for pixie cuts and ponytails, but I don’t dare leave my skin exposed.

Don’t touch.

“I guess I wanted to wear my new school clothes?”

She holds out the cup, saying, “This will keep you cool.”

I wait for her to set it down and move her hand away before I take the cup. Her smile’s puckered into a knot with my delay, so I say my politest, “Thank you, ma’am,” and head out to sit on the courtyard’s brick wall, where I squint at the sun, sip watery lemonade, and shake.

Don’t touch. Don’t touch.

The words chime in the background, a constant and nagging refrain. The threat of touch pulses and swells the way skin gets raw after a burn. It’s constant and secret and eager to catch me off-guard.

There’s too much empty space behind me. My Peer Pal could sneak up, put her hand on my shoulder—or his hand! There I go shaking again.

If somebody asks why, I’ll claim that I’m cold.

They probably won’t challenge me, but I plan out the script anyway:

NOSY PEER PAL: (eyeing my long sleeves) What’s with the shivers?

ME: (throaty) I guess I’m cold-blooded.

NOSY PEER PAL: There’s something about you. What is it?

ME: (confident, mysterious, a little tragic even) I’m just me.

NOSY PEER PAL: You have got to try out for the fall play!

ME: That’s part of my plan.

Ridiculous.

My life is not a play. I am not on stage.

People talk about stage fright, but life is what’s scary. In a play, you know where to stand, what to say, and the ending’s already been written. I’ve played crazy characters, emotional wrecks, but not one of them ever stopped breathing.

Don’t touch.

The magic words help my pulse slow, if only for a second. It’s like scratching an itch that won’t stay in one place. I shouldn’t give in, but thinking the words feels right, safe.

I almost want to call Dad—he’s always been good at calming me down—but Dad chose to remove himself from our lives, and I’m going to respect that. I’m going to respect that choice till he feels what he’s making us feel.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.