Free Minus Me by Ingelin Rossland

crumb. Some people are looking greedily towards the cake-stand, wondering if there’s enough for seconds. Henrik is the first to pile more onto his plate, but once he’s started, everyone else follows suit. Linda can’t even manage her first slice. She mashes up what’s left on her plate so it looks like she’s eaten more of it. She looks at her father squinting into the computer screen, concentrating on Zak’s perfect playlist, trying to be the cool dad.
    ‘Your doing great, old man!’ Linda leans towards him and giving him a thumbs-up.
    ‘My pleasure,’ he answers, not lifting his eyes from the screen. ‘I’ve got some great tracks lined up, Linda. I hope your guests are ready to let rip.’ Dad looks up and grins.
    Linda ducks down and pulls a carrier bag out from under the table. Then she gets up onto a chair and signals to dad that he should bring the music down.
    ‘I hope everybody’s had enough cake, because now it’s time to dance. Lower the lights!’
    Oscar leaps over to the dimmer switch and turns the lights low. Linda reaches into the bag and takes out a miniature disco-ball and a torch. She hands the torch to Maria who switches it on and shines it at the little disco-ball, so that flashes of light scatter across the room, but mostly on the birthday girl herself, who is fixing the disco-ball under the ceiling lamp.
    ‘This may not be the world’s biggest disco-ball, but it’s time for some action!’ shouts Linda. But as Linda jumps down from the chair, she stumbles. The bodies in the room freeze. Linda steadies herself and shakes her head, making the tiara go wonky.
    ‘Don’t worry! Only joking!’ she says, laughing as convincingly as she can.
    Daddy sends her an insecure smile before he turns up the music, and Linda shoves the chair to the side and starts swaying her hips. You’ve got to go for it, she thinks to herself, starting to wave her arms above her head too. Maria puts away the torch and does the same. Oscar and Markus are the first two boys to venture out onto the dance floor. But soon everybody’s bobbing up and down and singing ‘we will rock you’. It may be a really old track, but it’s brilliant to shout to.
    As she jumps up and down, Linda can feel the necklace that Oscar gave her for her birthday dancing against her skin. And she can feel his gaze too. She turns to him, touches the little dolphin charm that hangs from the chain, and smiles. He smiles back and comes closer, his cheeks flushed. He’s right up close now. As a slow track begins, Oscar takes Linda’s hand. Linda looks around for Maria, and sees her nodding encouragingly.
    But Linda pulls away from Oscar. She grabs an empty 7-Up bottle and shouts that it’s time for spin-the-bottle. Dad turns down the music, to the protests of a few couples. Henrik, who has glued himself onto Ella, does nothing to hide his annoyance.
    ‘Spin-the-bottle! How childish is that?’ he says, with his hand firmly planted on Ella’s bum.
    ‘Shut up, loser,’ says Markus, thumping Henrik in the back of his head.
    ‘Weed,’ says Henrik, pushing Markus with his free hand.
    ‘Everybody sit on the floor in a circle!’ Maria orders, sitting herself down.
    Everybody follows suit, all apart from Henrik.
    Linda kneels down in the middle of the circle.
    ‘New rules!’ says Linda, looking around her. ‘I’m the only one who spins the bottle, and I’m the only one who gets to ask the questions!’
    ‘They’re stupid rules,’ says Henrik, looking for support. But when nobody shows any sign of agreeing, he sits down like the others.
    Linda gazes around the circle. Most people have already got their eyes fixed on the bottle, and those who meet her gaze are quick to look away, either at their neighbours or at the floor. Linda sets the bottle in motion. It spins quickly a few times before slowing down and finally stopping to point at one of the girls in the other class.
    ‘Sofie, if I die now, how will you remember me?’
    ‘Are