Origin

by Luke Scott

Francine would pull her hair back and I’d watch and wish I could film it. She was a tennis player with pretty hands and clean, trim nails; she’d take a colored band from her mouth and fasten a ponytail. I knew her during my last year of school, before I dropped out. I remember once in class I was imagining Francine sitting on my face, and I became so excited that I had to remain seated when the bell rang to change classes. I just kept sitting there, not wanting to think of anything else, wanting to stand up and be indifferent instead of faking a stomach cramp and crouching my way out the door. I’ve been deceptive ever since.

6S

Luke Scott, a Scorpio, lives in Baltimore.