The Ones We Choose by Julie Clark

Author:Julie Clark [Clark, Julie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781501184475
Publisher: Gallery Books
Published: 2018-05-08T04:00:00+00:00

ANNESLEY COLLEGE LABORATORY RULES AND PROCEDURES (EXCERPT)

* * *

Updated 2016

Los Angeles, California

2009

GENERAL SAFETY AND LAB USE

Unauthorized work in the laboratory is forbidden.

Unauthorized personnel (including undergraduate students) are not permitted in the laboratory under any circumstances. Authorization may be granted by Dr. Robson on a case-by-case basis.

No one under eighteen is permitted in the lab at any time.

* * *

Chapter Twenty

“Trick or treat!” Miles’s voice floats over Josh’s and Hannah’s, and the woman who answers the door oohs and aahs over their costumes while Rose and I stand on the sidewalk. I’m dressed up as Jessie, from Toy Story 2. Liam and I came up with our costumes together—I’d be Jessie, and he’d be Woody—because Miles had been obsessed with the movie. I’ve got a Western shirt on, with blue jeans and cowboy boots, and I’ve fixed my hair in a long braid down my back. Liam’s costume was equally simple—jeans, boots, a vest, and cowboy hat. This afternoon, I snuck away to the mall, where I bought a new pair of pants that hugged my hips and made me look like a movie star in a tabloid magazine rather than a tired-out geneticist who spends too much time in the lab. I’m not naive enough to think that simply by wearing a costume, I can remind Liam of everything we used to be. But somehow I’ve bought into the magical thinking that if we can stand next to each other, me as Jessie and him as Woody, that for a few minutes I might feel like I’ve gotten something back again.

Miles races down the path, holding up his candy. “Twix!” he shouts. “The giant size!”

“You should let me check that for safety,” Rose says, adjusting her Cleopatra wig. She looks more like Cher than the Egyptian queen.

“Put it in your bag, Miles. Don’t let her near it.”

Rose shoots me a look and whispers, “You know you’re going to eat that the minute he falls asleep tonight.”

“Which is exactly why I don’t want you near it.” I pull out a mini Snickers from my pocket that I stole out of Miles’s bag while he retied his shoes, and I pop it into my mouth before he can see.

The kids race past us and on to the next house. The night is perfect—there’s a slight chill to the air, but not so cold that kids need coats over their costumes. The street is crowded with groups—large bands of teenagers out for an evening of mischief and parents with small children dressed as pirates and princesses. Miles’s ninja costume has been a hit at every house we go to, and I make a mental note to tell Mom. “What’s Mikey doing tonight?” I ask.

Rose shrugs. “He says they’re trick-or-treating, but I think they’re probably just taking advantage of being able to roam the neighborhood after dark.” She looks at me sideways. “You look good. Kind of hot. Like a hot cowgirl.”

“Thanks. Liam and I planned to be Jessie and Woody a month ago. It seemed silly to go through the trouble of getting a new costume.

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