Read Remember Me for Free Online

"No problem," he said, by no means pushing her away.

    "It's your birthday, for God's sake, he had to get you something," Jo said, quickly scanning the room for Jeff Nichols. He was standing alone in the corner of the room, a beer in his hand. He didn't even glance over at us. Why a shy, intelligent fellow like Jeff Nichols was going with someone like Beth was beyond me. Jo's eyes lingered on him a moment before she turned back to Beth and handed her the specimen jars.

    "Whatever you do, don't shake the box," Jo said seriously.

    Beth nodded and pressed her ear to die package. Don't ask me to explain it.

    Yet I'm giving the wrong impression of the girl. Beth was not totally stupid, nor was she a complete knockout. She did as well as I did in school—A's and Bs—

    and her SAT score was high. It's my belief that she had cultured her air-head qualities to pacify her subconscious anxieties about her looks. Guys often say there's nothing sexier than a girl with brains, but just watch them drool over Playboy's Miss September, whose turn-ons are sincere guys and windy nights and whose turn-offs are rude people and dogs that bite. I mean, it's no wonder that a girl like Beth with breasts out to the moon would develop the idea, while growing up in a society as superficial as ours, that if she just smiled a lot and didn't demand regular cerebral stimulation, guys would be more likely to ask her out. That's my theory, at least, but then again, what the hell do I know?

    Beth had more to her body than a chest. She had a bumpy nose, two ordinary brown eyes—devoid of even a hint of gorgeous green—and a head of brown hair which, although long and straight, didn't shine in any light. All the guys at school thought she was sex incarnate, and she wasn't even that pretty. And as I said, I think she knew it. Studying her as she stood next to cool, soft Amanda, I thought Beth looked like nothing to worry about.

    "I'm sorry," Amanda said to Beth. "I didn't have a chance to get you a present."

    "That's OK," Beth exclaimed, hugging Amanda, whom she scarcely knew. "I'm just glad you're here!"

    "You're shaking the box," Jo warned Beth, silently muttering Christ under her breath. For his part, Daniel kept silent.

    And so the party began, and at first it was a fairly ordinary affair. I won't go into every blessed detail. Beth's parents were gone for the night. We ate a little.

    We danced a little.

    We ate some more. We gossiped; lots of people came and went, so there was plenty to gossip about. And all the time I kept my eyes on Daniel and Beth, and Jo kept her eyes on Jeff and Beth, and the world went right on turning.

    Nothing out of the ordinary happened.

    There are, however, a few things I should mention before I get into Jo's idea of entertainment. Beth opened her presents close to eleven o'clock, and even though it was early, the party had begun to thin out. There couldn't have been more than a dozen people left when Beth sat in the middle of the floor in her pink summer dress and proceeded to break every one of her nails. She really did—each time she dug into a fresh package, she ripped another manicured nail. It was excruciating to watch.

    "I should have bought you a bottle of calcium supplement instead," Jo remarked, busting up the group. Beth laughed at the joke, but I could tell she hadn't appreciated it. Yet all was forgiven a moment later when she opened Jo's present.

    To be fair, the specimen jars at Mrs. Foulton's hospital were a bit larger and more elaborate than the usual. But in no way did they look like expensive crystal. When Beth unwrapped them and held them up for the room to see—a hint of utter confusion in her eyes—Jo broke in with smooth sincerity.

    "I know they're not the usual crystal," she said. "But I thought you would like something different for your collection."

    Jo added humbly, "They're from China." Beth beamed and hugged Jo. I almost died. The rest of the room nodded and tuned out. Only Jeff