a much bigger space bubble than most. Certain people really set it off, like Roger or some of my mom’s boyfriends. The feeling wasn’t much different than a spider crawling through my hair. But Justin was different. Just as intense, but warmer somehow. More pleasant.
“I thought we could do a music video for our project,” he said.
“Yeah, we could work on a soundtrack and…” I didn’t know if I wanted to work that closely with him. It would be easier to just stick a random song over the top, but there was no way I’d settle for that.
“But that would require working on music with me,” he said. “Sure you can handle my greatness?”
I glared at him. “Let me be the judge of how
“Fair enough. Guess I’ll have to use your crappy midi to prove my point.”
“It gets the job done.”
He sat in front of my midi keyboard, shaking his head. “You just don’t get it.”
My phone bellowed out of my backpack, making me jump.
“Does your cell always scare you?”
I ignored him as I dug the contraption out of my bag. He really didn’t need to know that my mom was the only person who ever called me.
“Hello?” I answered.
“Am I interrupting anything juicy?” Naomi’s voice exploded into my ear.
I held the phone a few inches away. “I don’t understand the question.”
She sighed. “Uh, I’m standing right next to Justin’s car. Did you guys decide to form a band without me?”
“No, we’re discussing our film project.”
Justin shook his head, grinning. Naomi’s voice was loud enough for him to hear every word.
“Discussing it, are you? So proper.”
“Why are we talking on a phone?” I asked, heading up the stairs. “I’m opening the front door.” I snapped the phone shut.
Naomi stood on the porch wearing big sunglasses and a cheesy grin. Her purple hair jutted out in various directions.
“Did you get electrocuted?” I asked.
“No. I’ve been at Scott’s for the last couple hours.” She threw her arms around me, making my entire body stiffen. Her fingers dug into my back, and she rubbed her cheek against my velvet top. “You’re soft, like a kitty.”
I pushed her off me and backed away. “You’re being weird.”
“How’s it going, Naomi?” Justin leaned against the wall behind me, his arms folded across his chest.
Naomi walked over and hugged him. “You feel nice too. Your thermal is all fuzzy.” She ran her hands down his arms.
He frowned and gave her an awkward hug back. “What are you on? E?”
“Maybe.” She giggled and headed downstairs.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
Justin rolled his eyes at me. “If you have any bottled water, bring it downstairs. If not, use the tap.”
After he followed her, I rummaged through Grandma’s alphabetized pantry and found a jug on the floor. I’d remembered hearing girls talk about E back in San Francisco. It usually involved stories of being up all night or messing around with some
“This is all I could find,” I said, making my way downstairs.
Naomi was doing what looked like ballet moves across the cement floor. Justin grabbed the water from me and peeled off the seal.
“Sip on this.” He raised the bottle at her and set it near the steps.
“Yeah, I know. Scott told me to drink lots of water, blah blah.” She continued to twirl like she did in the greenbelt.
“Who’s Scott?” Justin asked, sitting in front of my midi keyboard.
“A loser,” I said.
“Yeah, but he’s a loser who gave me two of these for free.” She walked over to me, opening her hand to reveal two small pills with weird etchings on them. “Want one?”
Great, more pills. I had enough of those in my life. “Th-those never really worked for me.”
“God, am I like the last person on earth to try E? You want one, Justin?”
He glanced at me and then turned around, busying himself with the silent midi keys. “No, thanks.”
“You guys suck.” She shrugged and stuffed the pills back into her jean pocket. “More for me.”
“Don’t take them all at once,” Justin said.
“Okay, Dad.” She wrinkled her nose at him and grinned at me. “Have you ever had sex on it?”
