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I finished my drink and eyed a table ofto keepJules Slowly, like I used to when I came into a new house, I ate one and counted for a full minute before I ate another

Showing up to a new house as a foster kid was a surefire way to find yourself locked out of the fridge Some families were awesome and they’d put a small stash of fruit and snacks in our roo we’d feel aard in a new place Others had locks on the fridges or on the kitchen It was better to figure out the lay of the land and the rules first

But I learned early to always eat whenever food was offered I never knew if a social worker would show up to pickin the back of her car or hanging in an office just waiting I hated that jittery feeling I got whenever I was left waiting for long stretches It was like sitting in the doctor’s office for an appointment cranked up to eleven

After I ate asone of the trays and just pouring the food intoI’d slid under the table I hoped this thing didn’t include tights or sooofy Shakespeare pants

I’d never worn a costume like this before The Halloween parties we threw at the Brothel were usually togas or soether in an afternoon scraer, if I was ever in a place that had trick-or-treating, I’d used my football uniform, my pillow case, and whatever face paint I could score off other kids, and go door

to door as a zombie football player With how everyone here dressed, I’d probably be in an outfit three sizes too small

Finishing my drink, I checked the room for Jules Had she said meet her somewhere else after the bathroom to find our roo I wanted to do was screw soe how different she was from the pod people all around us I couldn’t bla me She needed someone else to watch her back and make sure they didn’t drop in whatever alien parasite or microchip these people had in their brains

These women looked at me like people who’d never been told no in their whole lives And I knew firsthand what kind of fuckery that brought about Itelboith people like this She didn’t exactly scream ‘look at how much money I have’ like every other person in this place

From the watches to the shoes, I’d seen these same looks on many donors at the fundraiser the Coach and university ‘requested’ we attend

I checked the roo one of the servers to check the bathroom forAll weekend I threw up the hts that weren’t strictly friendly fro about Jules under the covers and what exactly sheor not

10

Jules

My low heels clicked on theser—who knew cheek muscles could be conditioned?—I opened the bathroom door

“Of course she’d end up with a guy that huge It’s the only way she’d find someone she wouldn’t crush in bed”

Chet and his friends laughed at the end of the short hallway outside of the bathrooht by the bar