on the road again --- nell

-ezra pound sat upon my bed,

ASKED ME AS OF LATE WHICH BOOKS I'VE READ

ASKED ME IF I'VE READ HIS OWN

Nell wiped off her arms with a paper towel, the gooey substance sticking to her arms like a paste. ”It’ll be great, she says,” Ann said, leaning against one of the sinks with her arms crossed. ”It’s just borax powder, she says.” Nell tossed out the crumpled up paper towel, scrunching her nose when she looked in the mirror, at the hair and the blue slime stuck in there. ”Douse my hair please,” she said sweetly, with a clear water smile, unassuming as a baby. Ann turned on a faucet and the water splashed up and hit Nell in the face. She flailed her arms. ”I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” She really was, too, but Ann didn’t seem to be so content with that. Her red hair was matted to the side of her face. Nell tried not to laugh. ”Every single time we do a lab, you go over the top.” She wanted to argue that usually it worked out well, but she knew Ann wouldn’t have it. The girl would forgive her, pair up with her again. But this chemistry accident was a too recent wound.

She took her hair down and let Ann wash it out like they were at a hair salon before the Water elemental did the same for herself, muttering under her breath. Nell pinned it back, and figured she’d have to watch it before she went to the group home. She could take showers there, but she would rather not. A mansion shower was always better than a halfway house shower, and though she didn’t have that expensive taste, she took what she could get. Pushing open the door of the bathroom, she walked out into the hall, shrugging her messenger bag further up her shoulder. She held her books in her arms, about three of them, each for different subjects, sticky notes sticking out from them. Students milled about in the hallways, and she waved to those she recognized, avoided being hit by the more aggressive greeters. At least it was a rather nice day, and she didn’t feel too stressed out at the moment. It was mostly the girls that did it to her, children and women she worried about like her own family. Even though they didn’t want a family, they just wanted some way out of the system.

Outside, she felt the sun immediately assault her wet hair, a natural blow dryer. Her romper provided good relief, as well, even though she felt the sweat at the back of her neck where her new tattoo had been. Every time the needles had gone over bone she felt the ache, but she recovered quickly. High pain threshold from worse injuries, scars on her body like Morse code, telling a story in translation. She found Bree under a tree, and as Nell approached, a few Ruellia blossoms forming in her fingers. Nell bowed and declared, ”I am so glad to have found you, mi amor. And please, let me apologize for being late. There was a mishap in chemistry.” She pointed to her hair with the flowers, since her other arm was full of books. It wasn’t an odd thing, really. Nell liked to experiment with everything. ”Whatcha reading?” She questioned, dropping down on her butt without much preemptive thought. She rubbed her backside. ”Ah, my coccyx.” Science was killing her nowadays.

outfit.

-ezra pound sat upon my bed,

ASKED ME AS OF LATE WHICH BOOKS I'VE READ

ASKED ME IF I'VE READ HIS OWN

Did she even expect that Bree would be peeved? No, that was enough unlike her that it would have surprised her if the Earth girl got up and thwacked her over the head with a book. Nell wouldn't mind. She felt like she needed that more often than not. And apparently she had given time for Bree to read. "Ooh, some light reading I see." Nell smiled a toothy grin, pointed to the book."Did you get to the part where a mole is six point oh-two by ten to the power of twenty-three atoms? That one really threw me for a loop." She waved her hand as if she were blown away, eyes wide. On her arms she wrote her notes, a habit picked up from younger years, but that was for anatomy. For chemistry, she used any see-through surface, Expo markers, and equations suddenly became fun. Chemistry was full of them, and she had to question her father about how he could stand to be around so many numbers all day. Even though it was a lot of experimenting as well. She liked to go to his work, even though she was a nuisance more than anything.

She placed a hand on Bree's arm, firm and determined. "What we must do is escape the heat," she said, removing her hand to tuck the flower behind her ear, shortening the stem. "I was thinking we can head downtown and open a fire hydrant. I have a spray cap and everything." She had brought it up to a friend, said that she wanted to open one with a wrench, when the girl had informed her that it was illegal. This flabbergasted Nell, seeing as she grew up in New York where it was custom to bust one open on a hot day. But she went to the fire house and got one of the caps. They told her that they should come and do it, but Nell rather did things for herself. "You up for it? I got some toys in the trunk, too, towels. I'm prepared." She stood up then, stretching out. Her hair felt almost dry now. If Bree didn't agree, she could find something else for them to do.

outfit.