Crash Test Love by Ted Michael Page A

my boss) when someone behind me says: “That’l be eleven fty.”
    Garret .
    I turn around and man, she looks hot. Damn. The freshman pales in comparison.
    CUTE FRESHMAN
    I have a student ID.
    GARRETT
    Good for you. Just saved yourself a dollar.
    The rest of the girls pay for their tickets and hurry into the theater.
    ME
    You sure know how to scare people away.
    GARRETT
    I have a lot of practice.
    What I like about working the register is that, if it’s a busy night, time real y ies by. I don’t know whether Garret recognizes that I’m being stando sh, but since she isn’t exactly initiating conversation either, I gure she’s aware. It’s bet er this way. Even if we got together it wouldn’t end wel . Plus, it’s not like we have that much in common. She’s from Chicago, and I’m from Long Island. Enough said.
    Garret takes a break and comes back with a fountain soda. She sips from the straw, watching me as though I’m supposed to say something.
    ME
    You’re doing a great job.
    GARRETT
    Thanks.
    I look at my watch: 10:06. It’s weird, being here with Garret . We’re not friends, but we’re no longer strangers. I’m unsure how to act around her.
    Saying hel o at school is one thing; standing next to her, so close we’re practical y touching, and trying to sustain dialogue is another thing entirely.
    ME
    Uh, who do you have for English?
    GARRETT
    Jacobs. Why?
    ME
    Oh, I have Smythe. I hear Jacobs is a real piece of work. Like, really nuts.
    GARRETT
    She’s kooky, but I appreciate it. Keeps things interesting.
    ME
    What are you guys reading?
    GARRETT
    The Inferno. You?
    ME
    Oh, we read that already. We’re reading Heart of Darkness.
    GARRETT
    I didn’t like that one.

    ME
    Why not?
    GARRETT
    I mean, it was ne, but I’m not typically a fan of story-within-a-story kind of books.
    ME
    Me either! Well, I don’t read a whole lot, but in movies … I hate that.
    GARRETT
    Ugh, I know. Except for—
    BOTH
    Forrest Gump!
    We both laugh.
    ME
    So, uh, did you have a nice week?
    GARRETT
    It was all right. I’m still adjusting to East Shore. It’s really di erent than my last high school.
    ME
    How so?
    GARRETT
    The people are just, I don’t know … more intense.
    ME
    Yeah, well, I doubt anyone is more intense than the girls you’ve been hanging out with.
    Garret doesn’t respond; I wonder if I pissed her o by mentioning the J Squad. But then she looks at me, real y looks at me, and I nd it impossible to turn away. I don’t see her from a distance, like she’s playing a role in a lm or anything like that—she is right here.
    “Thanks for saying hi to me this week,” she says. “It was real y sweet of you.” I total y clam up. My forehead gets sweaty, and I scratch the back of my neck. I don’t know if I’m ready for this. What does she want from me, exactly?
    “Do you have any crazy weekend plans?” she asks.
    ME
    Not really.
    I remember how easy it was to talk to Garret when I rst met her. Then I close my eyes and squeeze until the memory bursts and I am back to my life, where things are never easy. It is 10:11. Just under an hour left.
    We nish at the same time and walk to the break room, where al the lockers are. There’s also a box of co ee and a few stale donuts on a table in the corner. I take o my uniform (is she watching me?) and put on the shirt I brought with me. I’m about to open my phone and text Duke for the address of the party when Garret ’s bag tips over. Al the contents spil in front of me.
    GARRETT
    Shit. I’m sorry.
    She begins to pick everything up in such a hurry that I wonder if there’s something incredibly personal on the oor, like a tampon or birth control pil s or a picture of her dry-humping a tree. I bend over to help; when I see what was in her bag, my heart jumps.
    Movies.
    I feel like a kid in a candy store. An American in Paris. Dr. Strangelove. Annie Hal . The Crying Game.
    ME
    Are these yours?
    GARRETT
    Yeah. I like to make sure I have something good to watch in