Page 29 of A Minute More

“Something like that.”

“Well, you’d fit in there, for sure.”

Lucas smiles at me and then gets back to work, leaving me alone once again with my thoughts.

Dreadful things.

* * *

“Do you think a lobotomy is a good idea?” I ask Jude later that day, my brain a swirl of thoughts. He eyes me like I’ve lost my mind. Perhaps I have. I’ve lost it completely.

“Why are you considering a lobotomy?”

I run my hands down my face and then shake my head. “No reason.”

But Jude is like a dog with a bone. He’s caught the scent and won’t stop until he’s discovered what’s wrong.

“Just leave me alone,” I gripe as he follows me around the house. I stand outside for a full thirty minutes to try and get rid of him, but he lingers in the shade, watching me like a ghost.

“Fine!” I shout, stomping up to where he looms. “Simon…he…he put his lips on mine.”

Jude’s eyes widen. “What? You mean he gave you CPR? Did you need it, dude? Were you dying?”

“No, you fuckhead. He kissed me.” Those last two words come out with a hiss.

Jude’s eyes widen slightly and then he shrugs. “Yeah, so?”

“So! So Lucas said I was maybe bi.”

“Nah, man. Just because you kiss a dude doesn’t make you bi. I give dudes blow jobs all the time, and I’m straight as an arrow.”

My mouth drops open, and I gape at my friend.

“What the fuck, Jude!”

He shrugs, rolling his shoulders. “Yeah, like it’s not a big deal. Just a…hobby. Maybe you could make a hobby of kissing Simon.”

I begin to make fun of him but then it dies on my tongue.

Yeah…yeah. A hobby. Just a little fun between friends.

I shoot a finger gun at Jude, and he socks me in the arm.

“Let me know if you suck his dick. It’s mega fun, man.”

Yeah, well, let’s not go that far, weirdo,I think as I stalk back to my room.

I need to sell this to Simon. A hobby isn’t so bad. A hobby is great. I could lose hours upon hours of time doing one of those.

Yeah.

Fuck yeah.

* * *

Simon returns to work the following week, making me worry that he really was sick. But then I fret and worry that perhaps it was just me he was avoiding. I’m not quite sure. He doesn’t look like he had a brush with death and was really sick. He seems healthier than ever. Maybe being away from me revived him.

Maybe I’m toxic.