Free Dreaming of Antigone by Robin Bridges Page B

all this crap on the bus. I still feel like a bag lady. Trista and Hank are kind enough to relieve me of the cooler. They are apparently “on” again, by the way their lips keep bumping into each other.
    It’s kind of chilly this morning, and the sky is a dark, dolphin-belly gray. Looks like rain again. I hope against hope that tonight’s outing to the wilderness will be canceled and we’ll spend the night in the Roman family’s den instead, watching Netflix movies and eating cupcakes.
    â€œBrrr! Fuck, it’s cold!” Trista says, hopping up and down as she rummages through my health food stash. Hank grabs for the hummus, but she smacks his hand. “Not for you. Here, have an apple.”
    He takes the apple and runs off.
    Trista hands the cooler back to me. “So you’re really hanging out with us tonight.”
    â€œLooks like it,” I say.
    She looks up at me and grins. “This is going to be awesome. Nat, who do you think we should hook her up with?”
    Natalie takes a step back to examine me critically, but I shake my head. “There will be no hooking tonight. Not for me.”
    Natalie giggles. “Tris, you know better. Andria is not into hooking.”
    â€œNo hooking up, no hooking down, not even hooking sideways?” Trista asks, still grinning.
    â€œDefinitely not sideways,” I say, and they both laugh as Alex Hammond walks past us with Erin Young, a sophomore on the soccer team. She waves to Trista and Natalie with a friendly smile.
    â€œDid you see . . . ?” a bewildered Natalie trails off, as Trista’s jaw drops inelegantly.
    I am too busy examining with mild astonishment how upset this is making me. Erin is sweet and cute, and it makes perfect sense that Alex needs a new girlfriend who is nothing like Iris. Erin is innocent. Erin does not take drugs. Erin is so effing healthy she has a rosy glow in her cheeks. Erin wears frilly skirts when she is not on the soccer field.
    He is going to corrupt her. Steal her innocence.
    Or, she might be able to save him.
    And a wicked little thought floats through my brain. Why can’t that be me?
    Wait, did I really just think that?
    â€œSince when?” Trista murmurs. “I thought she was dating that boy from Athens Prep.”
    Natalie shrugs. “I think her dad has a law office close to the Indigo Dragon.”
    That does not mean they have enough in common to start dating.
    Ugh. I cannot look like this is upsetting to me.
    â€œAnd I thought he wasn’t over Iris,” Natalie says sadly.
    Right. Iris is the reason he shouldn’t be dating Erin Young. Not me. He should still be getting over Iris. I slip into ice-queen mode and shrug. “It’s not like he and Iris were that serious. They only dated for what, three or four months? It’s been longer than that since she died. That’s hardly a love to end all loves.”
    Natalie and Trista look at each other. Trista is frowning.
    â€œIt wasn’t like a Princess Leia-Han Solo love,” I add, trying not to sound so ice queenish.
    They both laugh as the bell rings. “I guess you’re right,” Natalie says, and puts her arm around me. “Were you always such a coldhearted cynic?”
    I shrug and let them lead me into chemistry.
    Trista turns around as soon as she slides into her seat. “Hey, I’m calling the north corner tonight.”
    Natalie pouts. “You always get that corner. No fair.”
    The north corner of Rock ’n’ Roll Graveyard is the darkest side. There’s a bench hidden from the rest of the cemetery by a Spanish moss–covered camellia bush. The perfect spot for making out.
    I play with Natalie’s red curls that are lying on my desk. “And just who do you think you’d take into the corner with you, young lady?”
    She blushes, and her cheeks turn as red as her hair. “Oh, I don’t know. Maybe Thomas. He and Sara only went out on