my eyes widen to take in
the sight of her room, always
so familiar but always changing
between visits. the bed and
nightstand have migrated (as
is usual for her) and she's covered
her walls with magazine pages
and pictures of her with her
friends (which explains why
there isn't a single one of me
to be found). the first one
to catch my eye is of her and
vanessa, their tongues sticking
out, smiling. another of her with
keygan from a very long time ago,
probably around third grade
when they met. the last one i
pick out is of her and janelle,
standing near the lockers. there
is a picture of janelle stuck to the
mirror on her dresser. she's
erased the message i wrote god-
only-knows how long ago
(i love you.
more than you
could ever
imagine).
i don't think she believes in it
anymore. she's drawn the tabs
of the major chords on her
whiteboard, misspelling cords. i
naturally want to correct her
spelling, but i resist. not like
she'd notice anyway.