Free The Trouble with Emily Dickinson by Ken McKowen

she
struck one really fast. Well, something happened all right. The
entire matchbook caught on fire and in a panic she’d dropped it
into the bottom of the purse. Her mom’s favorite bag had gone up in
flames, and was reduced to a gooey, ashy, black mess in the middle
of the living room floor.
    Though the incident had left her unharmed,
she would be scarred for the rest of her young life with the
nickname Curious Kendal, given to her by her older brother. There
were other occasions where Curious Kendal struck with reckless
abandon, many of which could be forgotten, but each satisfying an
overwhelming urge to see just what would happen or to simply find
out the truth. That’s exactly why she’d asked JJ about her sexual
orientation. Kendal grabbed her cell phone out of her purse and
checked the time. In just a few more hours they would be meeting at
the library. She tingled in anticipation.
     
    * * *
     
    Once back at the dorm, Kendal slowly opened
the door to her room, afraid to disturb Christine, who she
sometimes alluded to as Sleeping Beauty. But as soon as she spied
Christine’s body, it became obvious that her roommate was
awake.
    “Ughhhh,” Christine moaned, curled up in a
fetal position and clutching her iPhone. “I think this is the worst
possible hangover I’ve ever had. You know what I need?”
    “Alcoholics Anonymous?” asked Kendal,
smartly.
    “Funny. No. I need some grease, you know?”
Christine pressed the back of her hand to her forehead. “What do
you think about pizza?”
    Kendal paused. “I like pizza, but I think I
like it best when it’s just cheese. You know, the perfect
combination of cheese and sauce. And thick crust, I like thick
crust.”
    Christine dropped her hand to her side
heavily, as if were weighted down. “Is there a particular reason
why you’re being such a sarcastic snot right now?”
    Her eyes bore into Kendal, who busied herself
sifting through the pile of books on her desk.
    “I’m sorry,” Kendal returned, thoughtfully.
Normally sarcasm wasn’t something she played at, but she was
irritated at watching Christine wasting the day in bed, dramatizing
herself. Although she recognized her passive-aggressive manner, it
still provided a way to release her irritation. Nevertheless, she
dropped the attitude. “You were saying—”
    “Pizza, I was saying. Let’s get some pizza
for dinner.” Christine sat up now, the prospect of food taking
hold. She fiddled with her iPhone and started looking up the number
for a local pizza place. “And then we could rent a movie, some
sappy romantic comedy or something.”
    “Can’t,” said Kendal, without the least bit
of regret. “I’ve got a tutoring session in the library. I’m going
to eat at the dining hall, and then head straight over. Maybe
Laurie will want to do pizza.”
    Laurie, another cheerleader who lived in
their dorm, though slightly overweight, was quite proud of her junk
food addiction. In fact, Laurie let it be known that pizza was one
of the five important food groups, at least in her world.
    Kendal often wondered if Laurie laundered
money from the cheerleading fund and dues collection to buy the
enormous amount of junk food and goodies that she kept stashed in
her dorm room closet. Every time they hung out in Laurie’s room,
Kendal half expected to find cardboard boxes full of Oreo cookies,
potato chips, candy bars and the like sitting somewhere amidst the
clutter.
    “More tutoring with the lesbian?” Christine
asked. Her tone brushed hard against Kendal’s ears.
    “Why do you have to even bring that up?”
    “Because she is.”
    “She has a name. It’s JJ. Maybe you should
try using it.”
    “What is your deal? You’ve been acting
strange ever since you started hitting the books so hard.”
    “I don’t have a deal. What I do have is a
tutoring session with a girl who’s kind of cool, and I think that
maybe you should stop judging people when you don’t even know a
thing about