AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Alcohol is not empty calories. Those are calories with a very full sense of purpose and they’re all very good at their job.”
But Marnie stares at me with renewed horror, thoughts of wine forgotten. “Shit. I forgot your birthday.”
“Sounds more like you’re remembering it,” I say, nudging her elbow. “And that’s an even better reason to crack open that wine.”
“Why didn’t you say something?” she scolds me with a slap. “On my eighteenth, I practically took out a billboard.”
“Yeah, well, birthdays aren’t such a big thing in my family,” I console her. The last celebration I remember was a decade ago, just before my aunt took off. Once she left, my uncle let a lot of things slide and my cousins and I knew better than to ask. “But if you’d like, I can cut my fake ID card into little pieces and throw it in the rubbish to mark the occasion.”
She giggles again, becoming more like her usual self. “Or set it on fire and blow it out like candles.”
“Deal.”
“Come on.” She hooks her arm through mine. “Let’s go to the mall and I’ll buy you a cake.”
I let myself be dragged to the nearest shopping centre and sit in the food court while Marnie splurges on a cake with so many toppings they’ll keep my sugar levels toxic for a week.
“Lame,” she announces as she brings it over. “They won’t give me any candles.”
“They won’t let you set fires in a mall?” I roll my eyes in mock horror. “What’s the world coming to?” I pick up a bamboo fork. “Why’s there only one? You don’t expect me to eat the whole thing by myself, do you?”
“Of course, I do. It’s your cake.”
She tries to sit opposite, and I drag her to the bench beside me. “Birthday cake calories don’t count,” I state. “But if you’re really not going to help, you can at least make it look like you are.”
While I eat, Marnie offers a commentary on the people surrounding us. Her invented stories get incredibly involved, going three generations deep with one couple who have adorable matching hats.
I stop when I’m in sugar overload and the cake barely has a dent in it. The stack of napkins gets used to create a makeshift doggy bag, which I stuff in my satchel, then we walk through the mall, window shopping.
“What’s going on with you and Floss? I mean, I know she’s annoying, but—”
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
Marnie’s warm voice is stiff with frost, and I decide to leave it. Floss might offer me a better explanation, but I can’t go to her first. Not without hearing it from my best friend’s point of view.
And it’s none of your business unless they say it is.
I reluctantly accept my inner friend-whisperer’s advice, getting lost in the purchase free shopping trip, laughing so much that the troubles of the morning fade away.
“Can I ask you a favour?” I say when we should be getting back for dinner. After all the sweetness, I’m looking forward to dumping savoury vegetables on my plate.
“Is this about he-who-shall-not-be-named?”
I burst out laughing in relief she’s not taking it too seriously. “Nice nickname. I just… you won’t tell anyone, will you?”
Her expression is serious when she turns to me. “Is that what he asked you to ask me?”
I pluck at the hem of my blouse. The bottom of the side seam has frayed loose, and my fingers worry at the unravelling threads. “No,” I admit reluctantly. “He told me we should disclose everything to the head and let the school board decide if they need to take any action.”
She frowns. “He suggested that.”
I nod. “Apparently, it’s in his contract or the school guidelines or something.”
“Sounds awful.”
“When I asked him not to, he said…” I trail off, the words not sounding right as they come out of my mouth. “He’s worried if they find out through another source and we haven’t told them, they’ll fire him.”
“Perhaps he should be fired.”
