section 12 (or the one that needs more research)

Devyn let his board fall down and he skated to the back of the library. I took about thirty minutes and gathered some research and headed to the grassy area behind the library. It was lined in trees, just like the rest of Denver, and had lots of benches and even a barbeque pit. During the summer the place operated like a regular park, but today it was empty.

“Here you go,” I handed him a stack of the opposing argument we were doing. I slumped down on the floor next to him and grabbed a highlighter out of my bag. I started reading, but he just sat there, tapping the papers over a hole in his jeans. Then he began clicking his tongue. “Do you need something?”

He smiled and I thought that perhaps he was trying to be charming or even debonair, but he just came off smarmy. “Do you have a highlighter?” I sighed and tossed him a pink one from my bag. “Pink?” he complained.

“You know what they say about beggars,” I flipped over to the second page of the magazine article I had photocopied.

“That we are all beggars at some time or another?” he suggested.

I frowned, “No, that they can’t be choosers.”

He made an indecipherable noise and went to highlighting the first page. I couldn’t tell if he was actually reading it or just highlighting random sentences.

We spent about twenty minutes highlighting and flipping through papers. I leaned back against the library wall and pushed the papers aside. “I’m taking a break,” I announced.

“Oh thank God,” he tossed his papers aside as well, but about three feet away from them.

“Those are gonna blow away,” I nodded towards the pile.

“You a tree hugger now?” he gripped.

“No, I just don’t want to have to go back in to the library and recopy them. I had to pay for them you know,” I tugged my iPod out of my backpack and plugged the headphones into my ears.

“I’ll pay you back,” he began digging in to his pocket but I could see that it had a whole in the bottom and therefore definitely didn’t have any coins in it.

“It’s not a problem.” I leaned my head against the wall and closed my eyes, letting the music help me relax.

It didn’t last for long though because after only two songs the distinct smell of cigarette smoke hit me. I huffed in order to try and get him to see how rude he was being. I peeked out of the corner of my eye, he remained where he was and puffed away on the cigarette. I crossed my arms across my chest and started to take shallow breaths, it didn’t help much though.

Kayla said she smoked a cigarette once at a party in eighth grade. She said that she got a distinct feeling of being lightheadedness. She said it was like when she took Valium before the dentist. She had also said that her parents flipped out when they smelled the smoke on her.

“Could I have one?” I asked it before I had even really thought it through. I thought smoking was disgusting, the butts were littered on the ground, the smoke smelled awful and it was quite the money suck. There was also the cancer thing. Even still, I said. I asked it. It was completely unconscious, I wasn’t even sure he meant it. But, when he gave me that look, that nasty smirk/grin thing and held out the already lit cigarette to me I didn’t want to back down.

“Do you even know anyone who smokes?” he asked incredulously. I looked at him. I didn’t know anyone who smoked, besides him. “God,” he shook his head and I imagined that it would have been beautiful had his beanie been gone and his hair been washed, “you’re not who I expected you to be, Brigitte Cooper.”

I rolled the warm cigarette between my index and middle finger, less gracefully than I had seen other smokers do.

“What’d you expect me to be?”

He shook his head, staring off in the distance. “Don’t know…” he turned towards me and leered, “never really thought much about you.” He looked down at the cigarette between my fingers. “You do know you have to put it to your mouth, right?”

I looked back down at the stick, “Yeah, of course.” Gingerly I raised my hand up to my face, the acrid smell of the burning nicotine hit me and made my eyes water. I opened my mouth, mostly in defiance. Once Devyn dropped out of school I’d probably never see him again, but until then I imagined that he would never let me live down this moment if I chickened out and gave the cigarette back to him.

The paper felt warm and dry against my lips and I wanted to pull it away but I resisted the urge.

“There you go,” Devyn said, “just take a small breath.” His voice was so soothing so I followed his directions. Smoke filled my mouth, it felt dry like when they pack it full of cotton swabs at the dentist. I sputtered and coughed, taking the cigarette out of my mouth and throwing it way from me. “Hey!” Devyn scrambled for the still lit bud and saved it. “Don’t worry, you’ll get used to it.”

“Why would I want to?”

Devyn just laughed and shook his head, going back to puffing on the cigarette. I felt defeated and prissy, I stuck my hand back out for the cigarette.

We sat there for a little while longer, he gave me tips and told me what to do. It didn’t really get any better but I didn’t chuck it across the sidewalk this time.

“You’re a pretty girl,” he said after passing me the cigarette.

His comment made me stop and I rested my arms on my knees and let the stick dangle between my two fingers. “No I’m not,” I said sincerly. I didn’t think I was. My hair was average, teetertottering between brown and blonde, closer to brown. My eyes were brown and boring. My cheeks freckeld in the summer and were a burnt rosy color during the winter. I had an average figure and my bra size left me wanting something more.

“Don’t get your panties in a wad, I meant that you don’t want to do something dirty.”

“Like smoking,” I suggested.

“Like hanging out with Devyn Hershboch behind the library.”

“I don’t think you’re dirty.”

“You’re a terrible liar, I hope your parents aren’t home when you get there. You’re gonna reek of cig smoke. I hope I get to see you get your pretty self out of that one.”

“You’re not walking me to the door,” I said defiantly.

He nodded and smiled knowingly and I realized what I had said. He pushed himself up off the ground, grabbed his board and papers.

“See what I mean, pretty girl?” And with that he hopped on to his board and rolled down the small hill towards the sidewalk. I watched him skate away until I couldn’t see him anymore.

word count; 12201

total: 14402