Window #10

It’s like she has an octopus on her head. If anyone tries to sit next to her, that octopus squirts a big, black cloud of ink. By the time they clear the ink away, she’s gone, sitting by herself in another seat. Sometimes, she’s one row away. Sometimes, she’s clear across the bus. We’re not even sure she really has an octopus on her head, but we can’t get close enough to find out. It shouldn’t have been this way. Shouldn’t have gotten this bad. It’s probably because the teasers among us approached her first. The ones who snuck down the aisle and tried to sit next to her before she could do anything. That was back in the days before she had an octopus on her head. Kids would sit next to her just to watch her turn deep red. She’d press her face against the window so tight it looked like she’d suctioned her cheek to it. The problem was the teasers were never satisfied. They’d just keep scooting closer, sometimes poke her. You’d swear she was holding her breath then. She’d turn almost purple. And that’s when they went too far. One of them puckered his lips, pretending like he was going to kiss her. He leaned into her and almost pressed his lips to her cheek. Amy was sitting closest, and she swears she’ll never tell what happened. Still, we think we’ve pieced it together by asking her yes and no questions. She nods her head in a way that doesn’t look like she’s nodding her head, so technically she’s not telling us anything. What she sort of tells us is that the girl’s hair rose from her head like tentacles and grabbed that boy by the head, pulling his face into hers. That the girl turned her own face at that moment and kissed the boy on the lips. She kind of gives away that the boy vanished and that the octopus appeared on her head, or whatever that thing is. That’s all we know. It doesn’t make a lot of sense, but then so little about this place does. We’re starting to become resigned to it. In fact, many of us have taken to nodding our heads like Amy. You’d be amazed how something so simple can keep things clear, keep confusion down.