Playing Evelyn

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

“Did you drop this?” Gabriel asked, coming to the front of me and holding out his hand. I glanced down and noticed him holding a small black object on his palm.

My favorite guitar pick.

I stopped breathing.

My eyes shot up to his and I saw the curiosity there. I couldn’t blame him. Who would’ve expected “Susan” the invisible girl to carry around a guitar pick? I wanted desperately to deny that it was mine but my heart lurched at the thought of losing my favorite pick.

I swallowed hard trying to make my vocal chords work.

“Yes, thank you,” I said, reaching out to take the pick from him.

When our hands made contact he grabbed mine and wouldn’t let go. “You play guitar?” He asked, disbelief in his eyes.

“Of course not. It belongs to someone I know,” I replied hoping that my voice was steady and that my eyes conveyed my sincerity even though I was lying through my teeth.

“You have friends?” He asked, disbelief once again coloring his words.

I clenched my teeth together to keep my retort at bay. Even that weird smelly girl who draws pictures on her gym socks during lunch has a friend. Granted, her friend is similarly odorous and goes around the cafeteria collecting left overs to feed the pigeons but they are still friends. Was it really that unbelievable that some other equally invisible nerd would find me appealing?

“I didn’t say it was a friend,” I said calmly, tugging my hand firmly to no avail.

“What were you smiling about when you crashed into me?” Interest flared in his eyes and for a moment, panic welled up in my chest. I tugged my hand harder but still couldn’t break free.

Why did I spark his interest? The reason I was invisible was because nobody cared or was even somewhat curious about what I did on a day to day basis. That was exactly how I wanted it. Why the hell did this happen now? I should’ve never smiled. I shouldn’t even have been carrying the pick around with me but I needed something to get through the school day. One small piece of me that kept me even a little bit sane.

“Accosting girls in the hallway again, Mr. Halen?” Mr. Price, my fifth period home economics teacher asked.

Gabriel let go of my hand and I managed to breathe again.

“You say accosting, I say conversing. Tomato, tomahto,” he replied making the same word sound different. Just like that song from When Harry Met Sally.

You say potato

I say potahto

You say tomato

I say tomahto

Who sings that song anyway? I wondered as Gabriel and Mr. Price argued about a couple of classes Gabriel had missed.

Hmm, who was it again? I pondered, tuning everyone out. That’s right! Billie Holiday. But the version in When Harry Met Sally was Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald.

Satisfied that I’d solved the riddle on my own, I came back to reality to see two pairs of eyes staring at me.

Self consciously I ran my hand over my hair making sure it was still in its tight bun.

“What?” I asked.

“Where did you go just now?” Gabriel asked.

“Pardon?”