Heartache and Other Natural Shocks Read Online Free Page B

what if she wins?” Debbie says, still ignoring me.
    “Sooo …,” Carla says, “she’ll pay us back and she’ll keep what she wins. Jeez. Never mind. I’ll lend her the money.”
    Marlene stacks her nickels and dimes in neat piles, singing along with Tina. Debbie stuffs a piece of Juicy Fruit gum in her mouth and doesn’t offer any to the rest of us. Carla counts out three dollars in change and pushes it toward me. She tells me the rules, and we begin. I don’t care if I win or lose; the game is just something to do while the girls talk about people I don’t know. The name Steve comes up a lot.
    “Carla was dating him at camp,” Marlene explains. “He’s a real stud, but he doesn’t understand about women’s clothes.” Marlene bursts out laughing.
    “Shut up,” Carla says.
    Marlene keeps laughing.
    “What’s so funny?” Debbie asks, cracking her gum.
    “The wedgie!” Marlene gasps. “Tell them about the wedgie.” Carla smirks. “Tell them!” Marlene insists.
    “Okay, okay,” Carla says. “It was after a campfire. Steve was walking me back to my cabin, and we were necking in the woods, and he kept trying to pull up my shirt, which looks like a halter top, but really it’s a one-piece with snaps at the crotch. So there he is, yanking away, and there I am getting a goddamn wedgie!” Carla laughs. “I mean, all he can think about is his hard-on and how horny he is.”
    “So, what happened?” Debbie asks.
    “I told him to stop, obviously,” Carla says. She opens her du Mauriers and places a cigarette between her lips. “I am so tired of dating jerks,” she mutters, striking a match. “They spend all day yakking about sports and music, and then all night trying to get into your pants. It’s so predictable.”
    “So, did he?” Debbie asks.
    “What?” Carla says.
    “Did he get into your pants?”
    “Fuck off,” Carla says.
    “I’m just joking,” Debbie says.
    “Yeah, well, it’s none of your business,” Carla snaps.
    I can’t tell if Carla is angry at Debbie for prying or if she just doesn’t want to talk about her personal life in front of me. We ante up and play the hand. Marlene pushes her cigarette box toward me. “You want a ciggie?” she asks.
    “No, thanks,” I say, trying to make it sound like I don’t want to smoke at this particular moment, but I guess it’s obvious that I don’t smoke at all because suddenly the girls swivel their heads like sharks catching the scent of blood.
    Carla props her elbow on the table and dangles her cigarette between her fingers. She says, “So, Julia, tell us about yourself. What do you do for fun? Do you have a boyfriend?” She smirks, like she already knows the answer.
    “Not really,” I fumble. And then, for some stupid reason, I add, “Not now.”
    “But did you in Montreal?” Carla persists.
    I grope for something that might satisfy her curiosity without making me seem like a total loser. What can I say? That I had a crush on Jon Mendleson but the only thing we ever did together was dissect a frog in science class? I think my hand touched his when I passed him the scalpel. I’m desperate, so I lie. “I sort of had a thing going with a guy from my science class, but it didn’t really go anywhere.” Pathetic.
    Carla looks at me with dark, alert eyes. “How long did you go out for?” she asks.
    “Not long.”
    “What does he look like?” Marlene asks.
    “Tall. He plays basketball. He has curly hair.”
    “An Afro?” Carla asks.
    “No, just curly.”
    “Is he hot?” Debbie asks.
    I gulp.
    “Debbie, you’re embarrassing her,” Marlene snickers.
    “I’m just asking a question,” Debbie drawls. “Like is he a good kisser? Is he sexy? I’m not asking how
big
he is or anything.”
    Carla grins and throws a handful of chips at Debbie. “Debbie, you’re such a slut!” she says. The girls laugh. Suddenly they’re all in a good mood again.
    Marlene explains that the “big thing” is an inside joke