The Boy with Words for Skin

Chapter 9: Breakfast

I left the bathroom, went down the back hallway, and stepped into the kitchen. The basement door was to the right, the fridge next to it, then the stove, then a counter that made an L along that and the next wall. The sink was after the bend in the L, more counter space past that.

The dining area was connected to the far side of the kitchen, a long table with lots of chairs underneath a fancy-looking chandelier. The dining area had two doorways, one into the front hallway and the other into the parlor.

Most of the others were already eating at the table. It looked like someone had thrown food to a bunch of starving monkeys, a feeding frenzy. Hands darted in every direction to grab this or that, voices bounced all over the place.

"Hey, Words." Kit said. She smiled and waved me over. "You better hurry up before it's all gone."

Kit was not normal. Somehow, she had the energy to prepare every meal for everyone every day, make trips into town for groceries, do the laundry and other chores, and always be super nice and worried about everyone. Yeah, others usually pitched in, but she was the one who always made sure things got done, that everyone was taken care of. I don't think she ever had any time to herself, but she never complained or looked unhappy about it.

I walked over and sat between Evry and my brother. She was almost done with her food, but his plate still had a full breakfast burrito and peeled banana on it, a cup of milk off to the side. "It looks so yummy," he said.

There was a plate with a few burritos left on it. When I reached out for it, Evry stopped me.

"I'll get it for you, Words," she said over the noise. "I'll put a burrito on your plate for you." She picked one up and set it on my plate. Nothing stuck at all.

I'd already seen her not stick in the hallway, but I was still shocked to see her plastic-wrap-free and touching things like normal. "Thanks," I said.

"You're welcome." She smiled from ear to ear and then looked around to see if anyone had noticed.

"That was nice of you, Girl," Kit said, eyes on her burrito as she took a bite.

Evry slumped back in her chair.

"Wait. Wait!"

Everyone stopped eating and talking and turned to Kit, who was staring at The Girl who Stuck to Everything. She set down her burrito.

"Evry, did you just hand Words a burrito?"

Evry smiled and nodded. Her back straightened. "I did."

"Without plastic wrap?"

"Yup!"

Kit jumped up out of her chair and let out an excited scream. "Oh, my gosh! That's so great! How did you do that?"

"I've been practicing," she said.

There was a murmur of excitement from most of the others as they rushed to give Evry a hug that wouldn't pull off their skin when they let go. The only two that didn't seem excited were the twins. They stayed in their seats on the other side of the table and watched blankly.

"Pet Heady! You can pet Heady now!" Boy said. He clapped and jumped up and down on top of his chair. "Heady, go to Evry!" He bent down towards the dog and pointed. "You won't get her all gross anymore!"

The Headless Dog obeyed and rushed over to Evry. She sat back down and the dog scrambled up onto her lap. She started petting him, her hand coming away clean. She laughed and hugged The Headless Dog. It jumped over me to get back to my brother.

"Tell us everything," Kit said. She settled back into her chair. "Eat, guys! She can tell us while we eat."

Evry picked up her burrito, took a bite, and spoke with her mouth full. "I just think about not sticking and then I don't stick—most of the time. Sometimes I can't help it. Or sometimes I don't think hard enough. Oh, and watch this!" She turned to me with a devilish smile on her face. "High-five!" She held up her hand.