Free The time traveler's wife by Audrey Niffenegger Page A

but we pile them against one wall and sit on Mary Christina's
bed and on the floor. Nancy has a bottle of Peppermint Schnapps and we all
drink some. It tastes awful, and it feels like Vicks VapoRub in my chest. We
play Truth or Dare. Ruth dares Wendy to run down the hall without her top on.
Wendy asks Francie what size bra Lexi, Francie's seventeen-year-old sister,
wears. (Answer: 38D.) Francie asks Gayle what she was doing with Michael
Planner at the Dairy Queen last Saturday. (Answer: eating ice cream. Well,
duh.) After a while we all get bored with Truth or Dare, mainly because it's
hard to think of good dares that any of us will actually do, and because we all
pretty much know whatever there is to know about each other, because we've been
going to school together since kindergarten. Mary Christina says, "Let's
do Ouija board," and we all agree, because it's her party and cause Ouija
board is cool. She gets it out of her closet. The box is all mashed, and the
little plastic thing that shows the letters is missing its plastic window.
Henry told me once that he went to a seance and the medium had her appendix
burst in the middle of it and they had to call an ambulance. The board is only
really big enough for two people to do it at once, so Mary Christina and Helen
go first. The rule is you have to ask what you want to know out loud or it
won't work. They each put their fingers on the plastic thing. Helen looks at
Mary Christina, who hesitates and Nancy says, "Ask about Bobby," so
Mary Christina asks, "Does Bobby Duxler like me?" Everybody giggles.
The answer is no, but the Ouija says yes, with a little pushing by Helen. Mary
Christina smiles so hugely I can see her braces, top and bottom. Helen asks if
any boys like her. The Ouija circles around for a while, and then stops on D,
A, V. "David Hanley?" says Patty, and everybody laughs. Dave is the
only black kid in our class. He's real shy and small and he's good at math.
"Maybe he'll help you with long division" says Laura, who is also
very shy. Helen laughs. She's terrible at math. "Here, Clare. You and Ruth
try." We take Helen and Mary Christina's places. Ruth looks at me and I
shrug. "I don't know what to ask," I say. Everybody snickers; how
many possible questions are there? But there are so many things I want to know.
Is Mama going to be okay? Why was Daddy yelling at Etta this morning? Is Henry
a real person? Where did Mark hide my French homework? Ruth says, "What
boys like Clare?" I give her a mean look, but she just smiles. "Don't
you want to know?"
    "No," I say, but I put my fingers on
the white plastic anyway. Ruth puts her fingers on too and nothing moves. We
are both touching the thing very lightly, we are trying to do it right and not
push. Then it starts to move, slow. It goes in circles, and then stops on H.
Then it speeds up. E, N, R, Y. "Henry," says Mary Christina,
"who's Henry?" Helen says, "I don't know, but you're blushing,
Clare. Who is Henry?" I just shake my head, like it's a mystery to me,
too. "You ask, Ruth." She asks (big surprise) who likes her; the
Ouija spells out R, I, C, K. I can feel her pushing. Rick is Mr. Malone, our
Science teacher, who has a crush on Miss Engle, the English teacher. Everybody
except Patty laughs; Patty has a crush on Mr. Malone, too. Ruth and I get up
and Laura and Nancy sit down. Nancy has her back to me, so I can't see her face
when she asks, "Who is Henry?" Everybody looks at me and gets real
quiet. I watch the board. Nothing. Just as I'm thinking I'm safe, the plastic
thing starts to move. H, it says. I think maybe it will just spell Henry again;
after all, Nancy and Laura don't know anything about Henry. I don't even know
that much about Henry. Then it goes on: U, S, B, A, N, D. They all look at me.
"Well, I'm not married; I'm only eleven."
    "But who's Henry?" wonders Laura.
"I don't know. Maybe he's somebody I haven't met yet." She nods.
Everyone is weirded out.