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very least, a medal of some sort.
Jack will be beheaded.
But it is hard to think about it, with my own head so
light and floaty. The only time I have felt like this before
was once, when Father received a case of that special bub-
bling wine from France. I consumed almost an entire bottle
and, in the end, felt wonderful and terrible and nothing at
all like myself.
 Ah, you don t have to do that, Robert is saying.
 Do what?
 Arrange a knighthood for me. I m happy to help out
a beautiful girl like you, especially when mean old Jack
ditched you.
Did I say that aloud? Has the beer done me in?
We stroll through the crowds of people, Robert s hand
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still steadying my elbow. I swallow the Jell-O shot, allowing
it to play upon my tongue as it falls down my throat.
 Where are you from? Robert tightens his grip.  Your
accent s really hot.
 I m from Euph . . . Europe. Belgium. My head is
spinning, and I am barely able to place one foot before
the other. Were Robert not supporting me, I would surely
fall. I begin to, anyway, or perhaps it is more like floating,
flying, jumping from an airplane and landing in a jewel-
colored cloud.
And then I feel his mouth upon mine, Robert s mouth,
this stranger whom I have barely met. His mouth is upon
mine!
I begin to voice my displeasure, but with his tongue
in my mouth, it comes out as a moan. We are standing
at the far side of the pool, away from the boys and girls
playing ball. Robert kisses me again. My brain is in a fog,
like the moment I now remember it the moment after
I touched the spindle when I was falling and helpless to
prevent it.
 You re so beautiful, Talia. Another kiss. It is too diffi-
cult to fight him in my tipsy state. He kisses me, and then I
feel his hand traversing inside my trousers toward my nether
regions.
 No! Stop it! My cries are almost soundless. He means
to dishonor me!
 No! I shriek, although in my fog, I fear my shriek is
weak.  No!
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Indeed, he ignores my cries, his hot, rough hands search-
ing where they ought not search. I hear sounds around me,
people conversing. Does no one notice or care that he is
disgracing me before their eyes?
 No! I pull free of him, raising my hand to slap him,
and then I am falling down, down into the cold shock of
water.
Water!  Help! I cry. The icy water sobers me somewhat
but not enough. I cannot touch bottom.  Help! I cannot
swim!
I reach for the wall, but in my beer-drenched muddle, my
fingers slip away from it, over and over, scraping. Then I can-
not see. All I can see is Robert above me, a surprised expression
on his face. Does he not understand that I am drowning?
 I am drowning, you fool! I yell, but the last words
are lost as my mouth fills with water. I emerge again,
fighting my way up.  I am . . . I submerge. Is this the end
of me, then, the end of Princess Talia of Euphrasia? Shall
I meet a watery grave three hundred years too late but not
a moment too soon? Will I lie forever on the bottom of
this man-made lake with no one to mourn me, no one to
know what has become of me?
I submerge for the third, and what I believe shall be the
final, time. I lack the strength to fight my way back up.
This is the end. This is the end.
And then, all at once, I feel a strong grip upon my arm,
someone pulling me up. Once again, I can breathe. I can
breathe!
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Then I am unceremoniously dumped upon the patio. I
take many great, gasping breaths. I lean forward, choking
on great quantities of strange-tasting water. There is a hand
on my back, hitting me. I choke and inhale, choke and
inhale many times before I feel well enough to look upward
into the eyes of my savior.
 Come on, Talia, let s go home.
I open my eyes.
Jack.
I collapse against him, feeling his warmth against my
cold skin.
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Chapter 17:
Jack
j
 ome on, Talia. You re drunk. I m trying really hard not
Cto hit Robert. I m in enough trouble without coming
home with a black eye I got at some party.
 I nodrunk, Talia slurs.  Ihadtreebeers. Wehad wine
ev y nighat home.
 See that? Robert says as Talia falls on the floor.  She s
not drunk.
 Well, she s going home, anyway. I m taking her home.
 Home! At the word, Talia begins to sob.  Idonawanna-
gohome! She clutches at the patio chairs.
 See? Robert says.  She doesn t want to go home.
 You really know how to pick them, don t you? Amber
comes up behind me.  What a ho.
 Shut up. I look at her.  You honestly think this is all
about you?
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She shrugs.  Who else?
I get down on Talia s level and start to pry her fingers
off the chair.  I don t mean home-home. I mean home with
me, my parents house.
 She s staying at your house? Amber screams.
 What do you care? I say.
 Buthey haaate me. Theymakemesleeponairmattress.
Finally, I manage to get Talia up and headed toward
the door. A bunch of people are standing around, drink-
ing Jell-O shots, and Talia says,  Ooh! I want another
one!
 Another Jell-O shot?
 Yes. Hungry.
 Did you have one before?
 Three, she says, reaching for the girl who s carrying
them.
Well, that explains that. I do a quick calculation three
beers plus three Jell-O shots. I try to remember the movie
we saw about alcohol poisoning in health class.  I ll get
you something to eat. I pull her away from the group and
toward the door.
 If you walk out of here, it is over between us! Amber
screams after me.
I turn on her.  It was over a long time ago!
I put my arm around Talia and lead her out the door.
I m feeling pretty sober myself, considering I spent most
of my drinking time with Amber s tongue down my throat.
Still, I drive through McDonald s.
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 What are we doing here? Talia says. She s not slurring
so much anymore, but she s really, really loud.
 It s called a drive-thru. You get food here.
 You get food in the car? She screams it so loud that
the drive-thru guy asks me to repeat my order.
After I do, she starts screaming again,  You can drive
your car up to a window and get food? We have nothing [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]