Read The Trouble with Emily Dickinson for Free Online Page B

was
drunk.
    Buzzing from the alcohol that pumped
feverishly through her veins, Kendal couldn’t resist flirting a
little with Kyan. Eventually he exchanged a sort of secret, silent,
coded look with his friends, who one by one left the room.
    “Let’s move to the couch,” Kyan suggested,
after they were alone. He stood up and walked over to a sofa
upholstered in plaid. Pillow-white stuffing protruded from tears in
each of the arms. Kendal remained seated in her hard metal chair as
Kyan motioned for her to join him, patting the saggy cushion beside
him. She tingled with drunkenness, and a part of her practically
pleaded to walk over and snuggle up beside him.
    “Come sit over here,” he said, patting the
cushion again. “I want to talk to you.”
    Kendal studied him for a moment until her
curiosity got the best of her. “Why do you want to talk to me all
of a sudden?” she asked.
    Kyan rolled back his bulky shoulders, “I
don’t know. I just do. I think it’s time we got to know each other
better.” He smiled widely, revealing a perfect row of ivory beneath
full lips.
    “You’ve known who I was for the past three
years and now you suddenly want to get to know me?” The sharpness
in Kendal’s voice caused Kyan to inch up in his seat.
    “I guess it just took me three years to get
up the courage to talk to you.”
    “Well, that’s three years too late,” Kendal
told him, turning and walking out of the room.
    “Hey, wait a second,” Kyan called after
her.
    He remained seated on the beat-up couch
trying to make sense of what had just happened. His mind worked
feverishly, as he tried to formulate a plan on how to get Kendal
McCarthy off of her high horse and into his arms.
     
    * * *
     
    The hood of JJ’s sweatshirt was draped over
her head as she walked back from the library. Unable to distract
herself from thinking of Kendal, she’d gone to the library to get a
jumpstart on a paper that was due in a few weeks. She read some
intriguing online articles, and they’d provided a definite
diversion for her. But reading on the Internet for an hour made her
tired. Soon, she found herself straining to keep her eyes open.
    A crisp October breeze tickled her bare legs,
making her wish she hadn’t worn shorts. She kept her head down,
shielding her eyes, and plowed forward over the grass. The sounds
of a nearby soccer party were alive and irritating, and JJ pictured
the scene of girls and boys stuffed shoulder to shoulder in an
overcrowded dorm room. It bothered her to know that Kendal was
probably there in the middle of the mix.
    Kendal McCarthy was an enigma. She and JJ had
nothing in common and their contradictions went far beyond sexual
orientation. The truth was, they were worlds apart and nothing
could change that.
    Stuck in thought, with her hood sheltering
her head and her eyes from everything, JJ couldn’t clearly see
where she was going. And before she had a chance to look up to see
exactly where she was in relation to her dorm, a girl stumbled out
of what seemed like midair in front of her.
    Whoa,” said JJ. She stepped aside before they
collided, but the girl spun around, tripped over her own feet and
tumbled to the ground.
    JJ pushed the hood off her head and looked
sideways at the body slumped on the lawn. At first, seeing no
movement, she felt a slight panic travel along the edge of her
limbs.
    Then, suddenly, the girl sat up with her head
still hanging down and her hands wrapped around it like a
turban.
    “Are you okay?” JJ asked, leaning in
closer.
    The girl’s head popped up and wobbled a bit
before JJ recognized that it was none other than THE Kendal
McCarthy sitting in front of her on the damp grass.
    “Hi!” Kendal yelled, beaming. “I totally
didn’t see you.”
    “I guess it should be a rule to wear
reflective clothing when walking around campus at night,” said JJ.
“Otherwise people run into you from out of nowhere. Maybe hoods
should be banned as well.”
    Kendal broke into a fit