Class Exercise

Description

She had the face of a girl who was always just missing trains, always peeking around corners, only to be cast out onto the streets and into the rain. Her eyes were flecked with amber, like dead leaves on a pool in autumn. They were always filled with expectation, and her hair was always windswept. That girl is going somewhere, people thought, watching her high-heels stab concrete and the macramé of her hem flutter.

Actions

Most days, time is an endless vase which needs to be filled. She cleans her apartment half-heartedly, brooming hair, dust and lint into corners or leaving water spots on all the glasses. When she tires of the paint-sealed windows and sounds of a man singing, somewhere, she will put on her coat and walk the streets.

She goes into bookstores and glides her fingertips over every spine, but never buys anything. She sits in cafes, stirring artificial sugar into black coffee, loving the hiss noise. Often she will dig through her purse, past gum wrappers and a just-in-case umbrella, to find her phone. This is a test. Who would she call if she was sure they would want to talk to her? Upon deciding that everyone is busy, she’ll go into the old-time record store, looking for sounds to fill the quiet.

Dialogue

And there he is, near the health food restaurant they had used as a meeting point a couple times. It was in the middle of their places, before he moved into hers. Then out of hers. Then somewhere else she never let herself learn.

“I believe this is my neck of the woods,” she tries to make a joke, tries to smile. He tries to smile back at her.

“You have all the good restaurants. Hey, give me a hug, it’s good to see you.” She does and could drown in the sandalwood. She bites her lip, looks away, to somewhere distant. He shuffles his feet.

“How’ve you been?” he asks, serious now.

“Insanely busy, not a moment to think,” she checks her watch.

“Well, that can’t be good.”

“You’d be surprised. In fact I’m late. It was good seeing you though.”

After wandering in a shoe store for half an hour, she wishes she had stayed a little longer, just to talk.