Glycerine
opening excerpt
“They do this stuff to cover their ass,” was the first thing you whispered to me after the teacher ushered you in to the assembly. “It’s called P.R.”
The projector cast the words, Be Rail Smart, onto the gym wall. CN Rail. They were doing school visits. That was your first day in our class.
“Call me Kat,” you said.
“I’m Milly,” I replied.
From that day, we hung out at recess. We painted our nails wacky colours and yakked about wicked new bands. Your hair entwined with mine as we shared your headphones—volume cranked. Bush was your favourite. When “Glycerine” came on, you’d play it twice. We both knew the words by heart.
“Gavin’s hot,” you’d sigh.
I remember the first time I slept over at your house on the edge of town. Your parents set up the camper for us in the yard. When we finally lolled off to sleep after midnight, a thundering clatter jolted me from my dream. “It’s just a freight train,” you bellowed and rolled back into slumber. Your property touched the tracks—you were used to the roar.
In eighth grade, we pushed our desks together. We wove friendship bracelets and passed notes.
Sometimes, after school, we’d linger in the conservation area and gawk at high school seniors necking in the parking lot. Then we’d laugh and run all the way to your house.
One of those times, a heavy pang pulsed in my guts as we clopped along the trail. “Let’s take a shortcut,” you said while squeezing my elbow and pointing out the crimson blot on the seat of my pants. Aunt Flow was still new to me. We pushed our way up the ravine and followed the rail tracks straight to your place. There, you wasted no time in grabbing a pad and change of clothes. “Cold water,” you said, “will take out the blood.” We dumped my stuff in a bucket and let it soak while we watched MTV. It worked. The stain was gone.
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