Free Blackbird Fly by Erin Entrada Kelly

bad.
    â€œMaybe you could ditch Evan once you get to the dance. You know, nothing too harsh, but just like sneak away and dance with Braden real quick,” said Alyssa, taking another sip of her Diet Coke.
    â€œThat doesn’t seem like a nice thing to do,” said Gretchen.
    â€œEvan is a jerk anyway.” Alyssa tossed her hairoff her shoulder. “Remember?”
    â€œMaybe he won’t mind if I dance with Braden,” I said. “I mean, it’s not like I’m married to Evan. I just need him. For redemption, ya know?” Even as I said it, it didn’t feel like me saying it. I don’t know who it was. I felt like I was someone different, someone I didn’t like that much but someone who was still trying to be better all at the same time. If you lie and still have good intentions, it’s still almost okay—right?

12
Cleopatra
2FS4N: “Maxwell’s Silver Hammer”

    A few years ago, my mother spent an entire afternoon watching a really long movie about Cleopatra. My mom never took her eyes off the TV except during the commercials, when she would go to the bathroom or load the dishwasher or grab a quick snack of sardines from the pantry, all in a big rush so she could get back to the movie. Personally I thought the show was super boring. All exceptCleopatra. She was so pretty, I could hardly believe it. Dark, dark hair and eyes like crystals. She didn’t look like the other actresses in the other old movies my mom liked to watch, but she was prettier than all of them put together. At least I thought so. That’s why I decided to be Cleopatra for Halloween.
    My mom had an old dress that she said I could wear. All it needed was a few pins here and there to make it fit right. And I had something I could use as the headdress. It was a beaded headband that Alyssa had left in my bag after one of her dance recitals at the beginning of sixth grade. She said she didn’t need it back, so I just tossed it in my closet and forgot about it. When I got the idea to use it for Cleopatra, I went through an entire greatest-hits anthology digging around in my closet to find it.
    After that the main thing was the eyes. Cleopatra wore dark eye makeup and eyeliner that made her eyes look wide and enchanting. I pulled up a picture of Cleopatra on the computer and set it next to mydresser mirror so I could get it just right. I’d never had so much makeup on my face in my entire life, but I didn’t mind. I felt like I was covering up all the things that made me ugly.
    When I was done, I stepped in front of my mother’s full-length mirror and couldn’t believe it. I looked like myself but not. Maybe I wasn’t as gorgeous as Cleopatra, but I didn’t feel like a girl on the Dog Log either. I imagined Alyssa’s and Gretchen’s faces when I walked in. Even the boys would be amazed. Maybe.
    The only thing is, I didn’t have any Cleopatra-like shoes, so I wore my Chucks. The dress was just long enough to cover them.
    I wondered what Evan’s costume would be. I half expected Gandalf or Bilbo Baggins. Instead here’s what I saw when I opened the door: a white T-shirt and blue jeans. A red stripe went straight down the T-shirt, and another red stripe went across it, but the horizontal stripe wasn’t just on the shirt. It was alsoacross the insides of his forearms. He was wearing his Vans. A woman stood behind him with her hands on his shoulders and a smile so wide that it looked like she had a thousand teeth. Her hair was the same color as Evan’s, and her nose was shaped the same way. It must be nice, I thought, to know where all your traits come from.
    â€œWow,” he said, looking my costume up and down. “Cleopatra?”
    â€œYeah. What are you?”
    He raised his arms. The red stripes made a T. “I’m a plus sign.” He jutted a thumb over his shoulder. “This is my mom. Her name’s Anna.”
    Anna