Looks

George, Madeleine

Looks

Genre: drama

Park yourself, weightless, up against the sickroom ceiling. Spread yourself, formless, across the acoustic tiles. Look down in the dark at the pair of girls lying on the pair of vinyl beds.See how the thin girl curves away toward the wall, pulls the brim of her velvet hat down to cover her face. See how the fat girl stares up at the ceiling, her head roiling with silent plans. See the plans get more and more complex, more and more lushly illustrated, until they play like tiny fantasy movies on the screens of her eyes. Squint and look closely — you can see what the fat girl's imagining: the accidental run-in in the next couple of days, the gradual getting to know each other, the slow sharing of spaces, the slow sharing of secrets. Look at how her jaw hardens as she dreams this, fierce and determined: she is going to know the thin girl. The thin girl has been brought here for her. Whatever it takes, she is going to make their friendship happen.

The thin girl wraps her arms around her chest and tightens into herself like an embryo. Watch how the space between them widens and darkens.

And wait - wait for the bell to ring.