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Gwen's Mistake: A Short Story

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This was a mistake. Gwen’s hands wrapped around the edges of the cracked sink. Its base was rough and pitted, but still maintained some of the smooth porcelain it had once been comprised of. The dilapidated acrylic suffered from her scraping fingernails, while her teeth fiercely grinded together – it probably wasn’t good for her cherry nail polish. Or dental insurance. A sound escaped the corner of the bathroom. It was a trickling echo, which told her it was water – most likely from a leakage. Her ears opened up and she began to register the abundant creaks, cricks, and cracks invading her hearing from all directions. This place was literally a dump. She could have probably just stayed in the bathroom the entire time. It wouldn’t have mattered. …show more content…

And not only would they notice, but they would care enough to talk to her, comment on her, and tell her things. Gwen wasn’t dense, and she knew an insult when she heard one. She knew what they were and all the different linguistic approaches humans had devised to deliver them. She also knew how they were said – usually associated by a smug face or piggish body gestures. But that didn’t tell her everything, and there was still one thing she couldn’t figure out: Why? People couldn’t be read. Gwen could read anything else: books, papers, articles, reports – anything. She could even understand them perfectly. Her teacher would read her analyses out-loud to class to further prove her skill, despite the sluggish expressions plastered onto her classmates’ faces. But people? There was no amount of analysis that could break people down like she would an article. People were different. Her fingers were now viciously scratching the back of her head – this room was making her anxious. Her orange bang flailing in front of her forehead, greasy from sweat, as her ears perked sharply. Echoes of commotion were seeping through the decrepit bathroom walls. It was talking – people were talking. Conversing. …show more content…

Literally. Her throat pulsed while her torso lurched forward. The heat was intense, burning her stomach as it crawled up her body. She hadn’t even eaten anything yet – not since the apple slushy she slurped the night before. Her abdomen collapsed, keeling her over and she embraced for what was about the happen. Nothing came out. The pain quickly subsided, but her muscles lost all remnants of energy they had meagerly held before. She used her index finger wipe the drool from her lips. Gwen cracked a laugh. She remembered sitting on her knees, groveling for Grandpa to let her go to this stupid birthday party. His eyes weren’t filled with the typical enthusiasm and kindness. That time, they were different. They were dark, and so steely the emotion had an almost alien flatness. She didn’t know then but she knew now. He was afraid. Her lungs released a breath she hadn’t realized she had been holding. Her psyche was mush, but Gwen forced herself to hold it together – at least until this thing ends, because it sure wasn’t a party. Yes, that was right. She just had to wait it out, just a little bit more. “Hey!” A snotty, high-pitched voice blasted from the opposing side of the door. Of course. How could she even expect to have

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