I hold out my hand. “Yeah,” I say. “This is definitely pinky promise worthy.”
We intertwine pinkies. It feels good, except why is her pinky so cold?
“So?” she asks.
“I’m craving Burger King.”
She laughs, and I just glare at her.
“Sorry,” she says, “But that is kind of normal, isn’t it? I mean, how many other fast food places have anything you can even eat?”
“No. I mean, I have this nightmare... about eating something I can’t eat. About eating a Whopper.”
She snorts through her nose. “Stanley?” she says. “What are you afraid of? My coupon? I mean, what terribele things will happen if you eat a Whopper? You going to turn into some kind of meat-eating monster?”
“Laugh all you want, but some nights I wake up in a cold sweat.”
She snorts.
“Thanks,” I say.
“You said, ‘Laugh all you want.’”
“Yeah, but I was hoping you wouldn’t laugh.”
“Sorry,” she says. “Anyhow, I’m one to talk.”
“What do you mean?”
“I have these dreams—kind of like nightmares, too. No, it’s too weird,” she says, biting her lip. “You wouldn’t understand.”
“Try me,” I say. “I mean, I already told you about my Whopper night sweats. It’s your turn.”
“Fine,” she says. “In my dreams, I touch people.”
“You touch people? What’s the matter with that?”
“It’s that when I touch them, bad things happen.”
“So what are you saying? Now you’re afraid to touch people? Because of a dream?”
“Not just one dream, Stanley. It’s like every night, and it’s not just the dreams. I knew you wouldn’t understand.”
“I’m sorry,” I say. “I am trying. Does this have something to do with breaking up with Zach?”
She shakes her head, violently. “No,” she says. “This has been going on all summer.”
“But you touched him over the summer, right?”
“What are you, twelve?” she asks. “Yeah, I touched him.”
“Sorry,” I say.
“You think this is silly, don’t you? That I’m playing around? I swear I’m not, Stanley. Though I don’t know why anyone would believe me.”
“I just don’t understand—what’s the problem? If you want to touch other people, why can’t you just—”
“What? Reach out and touch someone?”