The Tragedy Paper Read Online Free Page B

beds.”
    “Thanks,” I said. I didn’t add
I told you so
.
    Vanessa stood next to me like she belonged there.
    “Two keys?” the girl asked.
    “Yes,” Vanessa said before I could.
    We waited while the girl activated the keys, put them into a small white envelope, and slid it across the marble counter.
    “Enjoy your stay,” she said like a robot.
    Again, I felt like none of the normal rules applied. I was seventeen years old; I had no idea how old Vanessa was, but she had to be in that ballpark. Nobody asked to see ID, or if we had luggage. We simply turned in unison, avoiding the eyes of the room-hungry crowd.
    “So foul and fair a day I have not seen,” Vanessa said when we got on the elevator.
    “What?” I said, not sure I had heard her right.
    “Come on, you have to know that play, don’t you?” she said, smiling. “Shakespeare’s
Macbeth
? I studied it last semester. With your name, how could you have avoided it? I’ve always loved that quote because it’s like one bad thing and one great thing at the same time. You know? Like the weather is awful, but we got this room. Something bad and something good.”
    Of course I had read
Macbeth
, but I didn’t know any of it by heart. Still, I felt I owed her something.
    “In brightest day, in blackest night, no evil shall escape my sight,” I offered.
    “Green Lantern?” she asked.
    I had to admit, I was impressed.
    “How did you know?” I asked. I was so curious.
    “I have brothers,” she said. Then she tilted her head and looked me right in the eyes. “Let me guess: it’s the only thing you have memorized?”
    “Pretty much,” I said.
    By then we were out of the elevator and walking down a hall that smelled like new carpet, following the signs to 956. Just as we found the room, my phone rang. While I reached for it, Vanessa grabbed the small envelope, opened the door, and squeezed in front of me to go inside. I stayedin the hall to take the call. It was my mom, wanting to see how it went at the hotel. I felt a little annoyed. I didn’t miss her like I had an hour before. And, besides, wasn’t it the middle of the night where she was? As always, she wanted details, but I wanted to get into the room. She knew I was rushing her, but I didn’t care.
    As soon as I hung up, though, I wanted her back. I wanted the comfort of sharing a room with my mother and Sid, not some strange girl—no matter how cute she was. I stood in the hallway for a moment longer than I had to, thinking about how I would get through the night ahead.
    “Tim?” Vanessa called from the other side of the door. “Are you coming?”
    Again, Duncan waited for more, but Tim had stopped talking. He was starting to understand that he wasn’t going to be alerted to the end of a thought or CD. Just as he was about to press Stop, Tim’s voice started up again. Duncan wondered if he had just paused to collect his thoughts, or if he had recorded the next part at another time and the dead air was an accident. He hoped he hadn’t missed anything on the last CD, but he didn’t think so; there didn’t seem to be any holes in the story so far. He tried to imagine Tim sitting somewhere, talking into a microphone, but he couldn’t. All he could conjure up was the image of the last time he saw him. Or, worse, the time before that.
    Duncan knew he should go to dinner. By now everyone had probably had a chance to talk about their treasures. He didn’t want to miss that entirely. But Tim and Vanessa were actually in the hotel room. Alone. That was surprising, and seriously hard to imagine. He was dying to know what happened there. He’d listen just a little longer, he decided. Maybe just ten more minutes.

CHAPTER FIVE
TIM
IF YOU GIVE A GIRL A PANCAKE …
    Something changed between the time she called out to me in the hall and the time I came into the room. She had been pretty nice getting there. Maybe it was part of her plan, but I actually don’t think so. Maybe she suddenly felt as