The Experiment (Draft)

Black

Owen:

For dinner, Lydia made orange chicken and pork fried rice, and as Luke and I sat at the table, she ran upstairs to change.

"Dude, did they even give you any regular ties?" I ask Luke, knowing that he only wears bowties.

"Only one black one." He laughs

When Lydia comes down the stairs, I gasp. She took her hair out of the ponytail, and it hung in loose curls around her face. She had put makeup on, but there was no color except the bright red lipstick she was wearing. The dress was long, and the neckline completely covered her torso up to her collarbone.

"Hey guys. You didn't start eating yet did you?"

"Um, uh no, we didn't." I stutter.

"Thanks guys. And I hope you like dinner, I tried something new this time." At first I thought the dress was kind of prudish, it was tight, but covered everything. But when she turned around, I didn't think so anymore. There was no back to the dress, you could see the entirety of the pale skin of her back, the outline covered in red lace. I saw the curvature of her back, and a tiny mole right next to her backbone. I couldn't speak.

"Are you going to help me carry all of this food or not?" Luke and I just sat there, and I made sure to close my mouth when I saw his ajar.

"Um, hello?" When she said that, I shook my head out of it.

"Of course Lid." I offer, taking the pan out of her hands.

"Thank you Owen." She said, casting a dirty look Luke's way, mentally scolding him for not helping her. He was still staring at her, and when I sat down, I kicked his shin under the table. He shook his head and stared at the ceiling.

*****

After dinner, when went upstairs to get ready to soak in the hot tub. When I made sure Lydia's door was closed, I went to talk to Luke.

"Did you see that dress?!?" I asked Luke.

"Of course I did! How could I not have? Thanks for kicking me or else I would have looked at her all night."

"Yeah man, anytime." After we got dressed, we got the hot tub started, and turned on these party lights we found that lit up the night. We got settled in the warm water, and started talking about football, wondering who had won while we were gone. Owen started talking about basketball, how he hopes he makes varsity this year. I tried to convinced him that he would, he we the best in our grade, but all he did was laugh. We talked for about forty five minutes, and Lydia wasn't here.

"Um, have you noticed that Lid hasn't came out yet?" I ask Luke.

"We had better go check on her." We walked up to her room quietly, and when we reached the door, we heard these tiny sobs, each hurting me every time I heard her draw in a sharp breath.

"Hey Lid, are you alright?" My voice cracked. I heard her inhale hard.

"Yeah, I'm perfectly alright!" her voice shrill.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah."

"Are you decent? Are you covered?"

"Yeah."

Luke nudges the door, and we find Lydia sitting on the floor of her closet, in her swimsuit, mascara streaming down her face. Her shoulders heave every time she bakes a breath, each hunch breaking my heart into pieces. We rush down to her, wrapping her up in our arms, sandwiched between Luke and I.

"What's wrong Lid?" I ask soothingly, only to be followed by another round of sobs, faster and harder than the last. I make eye contact with Luke, raising my eyebrows at him. Lydia melts into us, and I'm positive that she has fainted, except she continues to cry.