Free Tilt by Ellen Hopkins

marathon. Bri and I
have seen them all, numerous times,
but Cassie has, so far, resisted. “Wait
until you see Robert Pattinson. You’ll
love him. He’s, like, totally dreamy.”
Cassie pops the first movie into
the player. I’ve never been much
of a vampire fan. Bloodsucking
kind of reminds me of leeches.
Bri snorts. Don’t worry. There isn’t
a lot of bloodsucking. It’s mostly
a romance. Like, the best romance
ever. We watch Bella arrive in Forks
and start her new school, complete
with these perfectly beautiful
brother-(pretend) sister vampires.
And I fall in love—again—with Edward.

If He Can Love Bella
Chad can love me. I want him
to be my Edward—taking
care of me, always. Watching
over me, day or night, unsleeping.
Keeping me safe, by his side.
Caring for me with a passion
so pure it can’t be corrupted
by time or distance or seduction.
I know Edward is only fiction.
But that doesn’t have to mean
love like his can only be found
in books and movies or rooted
in the misty world of dreams.

The Movie Ends
And Bri and I sigh at exactly
the same time, which makes
Cassie giggle. Robert Pattinson
is pretty cute. But I expected
a little more action or gore
or something. It wasn’t even scary.
“Now you sound like Gram.
I loaned her my book last summer.
She said it was boring. That
nothing happened, and that boy
vampires shouldn’t sparkle
because it makes them girly.”
That makes Cassie spit her beer.
She kind of has a point. But hey,
I’ve heard the werewolf is pretty
hot. Popcorn and New Moon?

It’s After One A.M.
By the time we finish Eclipse.
Dad came in from work half-
way through, but that didn’t
make Cassie quit watching, so
I guess werewolves are definitely
more her style. Looking at Dad,
sitting in the kitchen, hair too
long and stringy and disheveled,
I guess I shouldn’t be surprised.
Bri and I are putting our sticky,
Coke-smeared glasses into
the dishwasher when Chad semi-
stumbles through the door.
He’s wasted. But still adorable.
Hey! Am I missing a party or
what? Kinda late for . . .
His eyes crawl up and down
Bri, then turn toward me. Do
the same. Wow. What happened
to you? It takes a few seconds
for me to figure out he’s talking
about the makeup. Awesome.
But I have to play dumb. “What
do you mean?” I smile through the lip
gloss. It’s just, you look great.
And you, too, he says to Bri.
Whoever you are. Kind of snotty
and totally Chad. Then again,
I didn’t introduce them. “This
is my friend Brianna.” Who
is staring at him with smoky eyes.
I give her a nudge. “I’m tired.”
Don’t forget to wash your faces,
says Cassie. Nothing worse for
your skin than sleeping in makeup.
She gestures toward the bathroom.
I go, and Bri follows me. Once
the door shuts behind us, I turn on
the water and whisper, “He’s cute, huh?”
Maybe cuter than Robert Pattinson.

Faces Washed and Teeth Brushed
We head outside. Usually, I sleep on
the couch, but tonight Bri and I are camping
under a big maple tree in the backyard.
We scoot into sleeping bags, looking
up at the big canopy of branches.
When the breeze blows the leaves,
I can see stars. We talk for a while.
Then she drifts off—silent, but for
the steady in-out of her breathing. I listen
to her soft snore, and the occasional
growl of a passing car—who is
driving around at two a.m.? I close
my eyes. The next thing I know,
it’s morning, and late morning,
by the sun’s height in the sky.
“Bri?” She’s not here, so I go inside
to find her sitting next to Chad on
the sofa. And just as I come through
the door, she turns her face into
his, and the two of them are kissing.

Brianna

Kissing
    I can’t believe it, but that’s
    what I’m doing—kissing
    a boy for the very
first
    time. I know it’s wrong
    that it’s this guy, but when
    he looked at me with
hunger
    in his eyes—hungry for me!—
    kissing him seemed like
    the right thing to do.
And
    my inner voice doesn’t say
    one word as I close my eyes,
    lean into him.