Skin and Bones Read Online Free Page B

your health,” Bones said. “It gives you the munchies .”
    “Pot is one of your basic greens,” Lard said, exhaling smoke. “It has all kinds of nutrients, even omega fatty acids. Pot, my friend, is part of the fucking food pyramid.”
    Lard snuffed the burning tip, put what was left in the bag, and offered up a mint. “Sugar-free.”
    They worked their way back through the maze of junk—barely reaching the door when it flew open. A beanpole guy with mushroom cap ears emerged in chef clothes—white shirt with two rows of black buttons and the same type of pinstripe pants Lard wore. Suddenly he was in front of them, sniffing the air. Lard threw his arms around the guy like he’d been reunited with his long lost dad. “Gumbo!”
    “Have you been smoking? I told you, if you get caught—”
    “This is Bones,” Lard said quickly. “In case you can’t tell, he’s anorexic.”
    “Pure?” Gumbo turned to study him. “Or purge?”
    “Look at his teeth.”
    Bones smiled, offering proof in enamel.
    “And no scars on his knuckles—I checked.”
    “Have they given you a job yet?” he asked Bones.
    “Nuh-uh.”
    “I could use some help in the dayroom,” Gumbo said. “Setting up tables and chairs for meals, then breaking them down afterward. I can talk to Dr. Chu if you’re interested.”
    It sounded like calorie burning to Bones. “Sure, thanks.”
    With little time left before lunch, Bones decided to work in his journal. He wished he could delete the memory of that fateful day in the department store with the insensitive sales clerk.
    He flashed on the first time he’d worn his new Huskies to school. He’d been walking through the cafeteria when his plate of custard slipped off the tray. He’d knelt in the stiff knees to wipe up the mess when cross-eyed Valerie Willendorf shrieked, “Jack’s eating off the floor!”
    At first the room was quiet, in fact the space had never been so quiet, unless the principal was on duty. Then the kids fell all over each other laughing.
    “Get the dork a fork!” Valerie again.
    The rest of the year, anytime something spilled—watercolor in art class or slime during a science project—some jerk called out for Jack to lick it up. He’d heard, Hey, Jack, suck it up countless times. He only wished he’d had the guts to defend himself, gotten in their faces, and given it right back to them.
    Bones went to the dayroom hoping the pain of homework would be lessened if Eve occupied the couch. He’d just sat down, disappointed not to see her, when Unibrow rounded the corner, pushing a wheelchair occupied by a slight girl, his jowls flushed under the strain.
    The girl was connected to an IV line that ran from a clear bag on a pole clamped to the chair’s back. She wore a low cut black leotard over thin black tights. Leg warmers ran from her ankles to the top of perfectly straight thighs. Her eyes were downcast, their color a mystery.
    Bones tried to look away. But. Could. Not.
    She was as thin as a hummingbird feather and just as translucent. So frail. So incredibly delicate. He drank in the sight.
    The girl looked up and saw him staring. Her eyes were raw almonds, her freckles fine as sifted cinnamon.
    Lard sauntered in, breaking the spell. “Hey there, Alice,” he said. “I’ve been wondering when you’d show up. I’d ask how you’ve been, but that seems obvious.”
    She smiled in a way that commanded the room. “I’ve missed you too, you big tub of lard.”
    Just as suddenly, she was gone, wheeled down the hall. Bones stared at the space, swept away by perfection. He wondered where Unibrow was taking her. And when she’d be back.

7
    The next two days passed in a blur of agonizing meals, painfully boring therapy sessions, and inane writing assignments. Bones couldn’t shake the vision of Alice in the tight-fitting leotard and tights, like a thin layer of extra sexy skin. He sat alone in the dayroom with his journal, wondering if she’d been real.
    The girl