Piece by Piece

15

Mar. 12

Dear Corinne,

After school I went with Cassie to the old house. Collin, Rina and Joel were there, too. We all went inside, where someone brought in this ancient love seat and coffee table. There were also a few posters of Nirvana and Emenem, beside photos of people I've never seen before. One wall was completely covered in photos; Cassie called it the Wall of Fame. Most of the pictures featured people in different states of dress and drunkenness, and the rest are of people making out.

Me: what do I have to do to become Wall of Fame worthy?

Cassie: are you serious?

Me: am I?

Cassie: are we playing the question game?

Me: can I be on the wall of fame?

Cassie:

Cassie: get your shit together, girl.

Me:

Cassie: you're already famous.

I sighed at that.

Me: but not in the right way.

Cassie: there's no wrong famous.

Me: yes, there's Miley Cyrus famous.

Cassie burst out laughing: you are one heck of a person!

Then Joel took out the pot. We each had a joint and while I smoked mine, I admired the Wall of Fame some more. The photos went from newest to oldest, with the newer ones at the bottom. There was one of a topless Cassie. I groaned and looked away. There was one of Rina on a guy's shoulders and Rina kissing a girl (I decided not to bring that one up to her), and there were many of Joel glaring into the camera. Collin came and stood next to me.

Collin: that's my older brother

He pointed at one with a boy in his boxers, with his jeans tied around his neck like a cape.

Me: nice brother.

Collin: yep.

I kept moving down the wall, and stopped at one picture that caught my eye. It was of a girl with long, straight brown hair and doe-eyes, with a bottle in her hand, doing some sort of strange dance with her friend. They were both laughing hysterically, with their hips jutted out and their arms in the air. It took me a while to realize I was looking at you, in teenage version.

I smiled and kept looking, quietly, for more doe-eyed, brown haired girls. There was one with you and your arm around a boy, smoking a cigarette, passed out on the stairs with red lipstick on your eyelids, and one with you smiling into the camera, wearing sunglasses on your head with a boy kissing your cheek. I quickly peeled it off the wall and stuffed it in my pocket, then looked around to see if anyone noticed.

Collin smiled at me and I pressed my finger to my lips.

Cassie: what's going on over there?

Me: just admiring the famous.

Cassie: well get your ass over here, cupcake. We're playing truth or date.

Me: you mean truth or dare.

Cassie: no, I mean truth or date. Now come!

We laughed and Collin linked his hand with mine as we joined them.

Love,

Leigh