Ask Me Read Free

pulled an earphone out.
    She pursed her lips and blew out a stream of air, exasperated with me already. “Get out,” she snapped. “Can’t you see we’re busy?” She glared at me as I stood half in, half out of the doorway. A mother hen protecting her chick.
    “I only see pain and tragedy,” I said softly, but apparently loudly enough that Jade heard.
    Jade lifted her head to look at me, her blue-green eyes red-rimmed. She looked strange and wild with her hairhanging lank around her face. I was used to seeing her smiling and perfect, always in control.
    She hiccupped once and put a hand on Delilah’s arm. “It’s only Aria,” she said, her voice raw. She’d been crying for a while. “Leave her alone, Delilah.” Gracious even in her sorrow, she waved a welcoming hand at me. “Don’t mind me, I’m just—” she hiccupped again “—having a crisis.” She managed a watery smile.
    Even though she was popular—maybe even the most popular girl in school—Jade had always been, if not exactly my friend, at least kind to me. On a few occasions, my defender. I wasn’t the only one. She had risen to her adored status within the school not by climbing over the backs of others, but on the strength of her personality and her kindheartedness. Of course, it also helped that she possessed that brittle kind of beauty that made you want to protect her even as she protected you: those wide-set eyes set within a delicate, heart-shaped face, all framed by wispy pale blonde hair.
    “Sorry,” I muttered. I went to a sink. Delilah sniffed but ignored my presence and went back to rubbing circles on Jade’s back.
    The front of my skirt was soaked. I grabbed a handful of thin brown paper towels from the dispenser and dabbed at my leg. Luckily it was early enough in the day that there were actually still towels to be had. By the end of the day you were lucky to get toilet paper.
    Being here with Jade reminded me of the first time she had saved me. As a freshman, before I had discovered that music would allow me to roam the halls relativelyunscathed, I had spent a good deal of time in bathroom stalls, cursing Gran for not letting me be homeschooled any longer. She said that someone who had barely finished high school herself had no business teaching “higher subjects.” But really she wanted to force me into dealing with people. She said I couldn’t hide at home forever. Instead, I wound up hiding in the john.
    Then one day, snotty Shelley Roman asked me what my problem was. I stood wedged in the corner by the trash can, pretending to look at nothing. She had been watching me in the mirror as she put on mascara, her mouth half-open in a perfect moue. Bad timing for that particular question: my period had arrived early and with vengeance that morning. My answer said as much. Jade had been there, too. Instead of cackling with embarrassment and delight like Shelley and her crew, she’d kicked them out, given me some pads and ibuprofen, and stood guard at the bathroom door so I could have privacy until I was done. She ran off before I could even thank her. I wondered if she even remembered.
    “Just tell me what happened,” Delilah said, bringing me back to the present. I got the feeling from her wheedling tone that it was the same thing she had been demanding of Jade before I arrived. “It can’t be
that
bad. Why won’t you tell me?”
    My memories had gotten the better of me. I should have put my earphones back in, especially in such a small space. I whispered, “Some things can only be confided to the earth.”
    Delilah had chosen to fall silent at exactly the wrongmoment. “Are you eavesdropping?” Her voice dripped disbelief.
    “Yes,” I said, wanting to say no. I didn’t look up from brushing at my skirt, though the cheap paper towels had actually made the mess worse rather than better. They had disintegrated into shreds of muddy brown and were now plastered to the rough cotton of my skirt.
    “What did you say,