A List of Cages(25)

“Julian, would you like to come?” Emerald asks.

He flat out doesn’t answer, and the van goes quiet.

I check the mirror again to find Allison watching him with a concerned, motherly expression—the same one she gave me when I twisted my ankle.

Finally, I hear a small voice say, “Yes.”

The girls whisper something about adorable, which probably embarrasses the hell out of him. Lucky for Julian—but no one else—Jesse plugs his phone into my car, and the speakers start to shake with screaming guitar.

When we get to Julian’s street, I’m happy to have an excuse to turn the music down. “Which one?” I ask.

“The fifth house on the right.”

“This one?” I ask, surprised.

“Yes.”

“Wow. It’s really nice.”

It’s a huge white stone two-story with two long rows of square windows, and tall peaking points at each end like towers. It’s nice, but it seems weird. You just assume that anyone who owns a house like this could afford to buy a kid a cell phone and clothes that fit.





THE COLD METALLIC taste of winter is in the air, the kind that excites your senses and snaps away the haze. I pedal my bicycle faster, skidding over patches of ice. Sometimes I’m tempted to ride it to school, but I know people would make fun of it since it’s so small, and that would kill me. My dad gave me this bike.

Wide-awake and freezing, I knock on Adam’s door, holding a small box wrapped in pink paper. He lets me in, and we walk into the living room where Emerald, Camila, and Allison are talking.

“You brought me a present?” Emerald asks.

“It’s your birthday,” I say.

Her smile is gentle as she carefully peels away the tape. Everyone is watching, and I’m embarrassed. I thought mine would be one present among a hundred others. She looks happy and expectant, and it makes me even more anxious, because it’s not a great gift.

“I love it!” She smiles down at the ceramic butterfly. “How did you know?” I’m not sure what she means. “Thank you, Julian.”

Someone turns up the music, then the three girls force Adam and me to sit. They disappear down the hall only to reappear wearing different clothes.

“Take mental notes,” Camila orders. “Tell us which outfit’s the hottest.” After a few spins, they run off to change again.

“It’s like they’re all on drugs.” Adam laughs.

Catherine comes in the living room while the girls are gone. She smiles when she sees me and gives me a cookie that tastes like fresh-cut grass.

The girls return and demand opinions. I can’t remember what they were wearing a few minutes ago, so I have to lie. After four outfit changes, they sit on Adam’s yellow couch and stare at me.

“Julian,” Emerald says delicately, “we need to talk about your wardrobe.” I glance over at Adam to find him watching with amused sympathy. “Take this…ensemble, for instance.”

There’s an embarrassing sting at the back of my eyes. I really tried to dress nicely for her party. I even snuck into Russell’s room to borrow one of his button-down shirts.

“You’re fine,” Adam says to me, while shaking his head at Emerald.

Camila hops up. “We’re taking you shopping!”

My stomach tightens. I can’t just go out and buy clothes, but I can’t tell them that. “These fit so—”

“We’re not taking no for an answer,” she interrupts, and the girls start scanning me up and down.

“Ladies,” Adam says, “you’re freaking him out.” He turns to me. “I probably have some old clothes if you want them.”

“Let’s see!” Allison says, and they all fly down the hall toward Adam’s room.

“Now?” he calls after them.

“It’s my birthday,” Emerald calls back. “Julian, come here.”

Adam gives me another sympathetic smile and shrugs. “It’s her birthday.”

When I get to his room, they’re yanking things out of his closet. His room is different than how I remember it. Instead of two twin beds, there’s one big one, and most of his superhero action figures and posters are gone. But the fish tank, now empty, is still here. When I lived in this house, Catherine read me the story where Elian meets a privileged alien girl, and she shows him her massive bedroom. Along one wall the girl had a floor-to-ceiling red curtain, but when she pulled it back, instead of sky, there was a whale-sized creature—swimming. It wasn’t a window at all, but a giant aquarium. I loved that scene. I wanted a room just like it, so Catherine bought that fish tank for me.

“Come here,” Camila orders, and the girls take turns holding up shirts in front of me.

“This looks like it might actually fit,” Emerald says.

“I don’t understand why so many guys want to wear shirts that look like nightgowns,” Allison adds.

Camila tugs it off the hanger and pushes it at me. “Try it on.” Then she just stands there as if she expects me to change in front of them.

I feel a rush of panic. “Um…”

“We’ve seen nipples.” Camila winks.

“Not his nipples,” Adam says, stepping inside. He pushes aside a row of hangers, grabs a pair of dark jeans from the back, and hands them to me. “Clear out, ladies. He’s not a stripper.”