Where'd You Park Your Spaceship?, page 37
Do you need to go to the bathroom?
She pokes me in the gut.
No. Well…maybe in a minute. Public speaking is the
worst. Even if it is just kids-
Kids make it more terrifying-
I catch myself breathing too quickly in my chest. I slow
myself down. It helps.
There you go.
She pats my chest. She doesn’t miss a thing.
I need help I say. I don’t know what to do or say or how to
talk to KIDS…
She grabs a box and places a bag of flour in it.
I got it.
You have an idea?
That energy again. That electricity she gives off. Here it is.
I know what we’ll do.
WE?
Yeah. Her confidence. It’s a marvel. Trust me she says. This will be great. But you’ll have to do what I say-
I can do that. I think.
Excellent. How about you get some starter from the
shelf?
You got it.
I head for the door.
And grab your apron, of course. Is there a jug or bottle or
some way to transport water around here?
She’s giving orders?
And I’m taking them?
I check the shelves. There’s a container in the washroom.
I’ll get it…
*
Lines’ school is in a ravine just past the riverbed where I
recently played the beautiful game. At the bottom of the
ravine is a massive circular tent with a white canvas roof.
It’s open on all sides. On top of the center pole of the tent
is a flag. The flag is white with a red number thirteen on it.
There are tables and couches and small glass cubes that
look like offices scattered around under the tent. Kids and
teachers are everywhere, some of them eating at the
tables, a few kicking a ball around, some sitting on
cushions reading. Above the roof I can see classrooms
shaped like pods scattered all over the sides of the hill.
The pods are connected by a series of rope bridges-like a
web made by a very large spider.
Lines is waiting for us in front of the tent.
In a cape. It’s bright blue.
Heen! He runs up to me and gives me a fist bump.
Lines! I’m so honored to be here. What a big day!
Noon Yeah told me to say that. She said that it’s
important I let him know that I understand how significant
today is for him. Or something like that.
He turns to her.
Are you Noon Yeah?
I am.
My mom says you’re THE BEST. He says it exactly like I
picture Peeble saying it. And my dad says you’re way out
of Heen’s league.
Noon Yeah doesn’t hesitate. Well, your dad is a very wise
man, isn’t he?
There she is, again. Winning someone over, effortlessly.
In this case a fourteen year old boy.
Lines fake punches my arm. But it’s okay, Heen does his
best to keep up…
A woman in a purple tunic walks up to us. She’s wearing
large orange glasses and her hair is pinned up in two
buns on top of her head. Her shoes have pointy toes.
There’s a bird on her shoulder. The bird is brown with
orange feathers on its chest.
Lines, I’d love to meet your guests.
This woman.
I am fourteen again in her presence.
Yes, Ma’am Neffi. This is Heen Who Grows Bears-
He winks at me as he says it-
And this is Noon Yeah. This is Ma’am Neffi.
She hugs us both.
Welcome to The Bridges. She gestures to all that’s going
on around her like it’s her child. We’re so honored you’d
join us for SHAPER DAY. She drops the formality.
Honestly…it’s my favorite day of the year. I get to sit back
and watch what happens.
She’s so calm and so powerful.
Noon Yeah steps forward, right in front of Ma’am Neffi.
Way too close. What’s your bird’s name?
Ma’am Neffi is so pleased she asked. Her name is Ethel.
Noon Yeah reaches out to touch the bird but Ma’am Neffi
stops her. And she does NOT like to be touched or held
by anyone but me-
As she’s saying this the bird hops on to Noon Yeah’s
finger, walks up the back of her hand, and then jumps up
on to her shoulder.
Ma’am Neffi is stunned. What…?
Noon Yeah turns her head. Hello Ethel. She turns to
Ma’am Neffi. An Oriole, isn’t she? Noon Yeah says this
with such familiarity and affection. My guess is she’s a
Hooded but not enough orange on her head-she’s
probably an Orchard-does that sound right?
Ma’am Neffi lights up. I’ve had the same question! I
wondered for a while if she’s a Common Redstart, but
they tend to have more black than brown feathers-
Noon Yeah jumps on this. Which would make you think
she’s a Varied Thrush-
Exactly! But in that case the Eastern Twohee would make
more sense-
Unless she’s a Streak-backed Oriole.
Noon Yeah knows about birds?
Ma’am Neffi is clearly loving this-and still in shock that her
bird left her shoulder.
Lines is so impressed. Noon Yeah, how do you know so
much about birds?
She shrugs. You just have to know how to talk to them.
Now this is embarrassing.
They’re going to think Noon Yeah is crazy.
I catch myself.
Why do I care? Because they think she’s with me-and if
she talks to animals, then I’m probably A BIT OFF as
well?
Again-WHY DO I CARE?
I’m going to leave this planet soon.
I will never see any of these people again.
Why do I care if some lady with pointy shoes AND BUNS
ON HER HEAD thinks Noon Yeah talks to birds?
Noon Yeah, I ask her, what does Ethel say when you talk
to her?
I say this like I think Noon Yeah is completely mental. I
don’t need to, but it is really enjoyable to put a little
distance between us. Noon Yeah tilts her shoulder up so
Ethel is closer to her ear. She pauses and pretends like
she’s listening.
Ethel says she’s looking forward to Heen’s presentation
and hopes he doesn’t make a BALLS UP of it in front of
Lines’ entire school.
Lines thinks this is hilarious.
My stomach tightens.
I look at Lines. Your WHOLE SCHOOL is coming to my-
A horn blast somewhere up on the hill.
There’s a kid, way at the very top, on an elevated platform
with a trumpet. Lines sees me squinting to locate him.
That’s Alpert. That kid can play a DIRTY TRUMPET. He’s
just a little fella but when he gets going that will NASTY
BLAST your face off-
Ma’am Neffi laughs. Usually there’s a chime that lets the
students know it’s time to switch classes. But Lines
wanted Alpert to do the honors today…
Doors have opened on the pods.
Kids appear.
Lots of them.
Well, Lines says, THE TIME HAS COME.
Noon Yeah turns her shoulder to Ma’am Neffi. Lovely to
meet you Ethel. And you as well, Ma’am Neffi.
The bird hops onto Ma’am Neffi’s shoulder, who shakes
her head in disbelief.
Lines turns and we follow him through the tent.
I see it. I glance over at Noon Yeah. She sees it too.
On the back of his cape.
He’s sewn a spaceship.
Looks a lot like a Ray Ortland, one of the newer models
she says, without looking over at me. My spaceship is a Ray Ortland.
We walk through the tent and out the other side.
Wow.
I did not see this coming.
The ravine forms a natural amphitheater.
The back side of the tent is a stage.
Kids are spread out all over and up the hill.
Some are sitting on the bridges above us.
They’re everywhere.
I whisper to Noon Yeah How did I get here?
We walked. She’s messing with me.
No-here. HERE. Like…my life. THIS. How did my life end
up HERE?
She nods. I know what you mean. If you think about it too
much your head will burst. Or maybe your heart will first.
I look down at the box I’m holding full of things Noon
Yeah said we would need. You sure about this?
Steel in her eyes. Absolutely. That confidence again. Trust
me.
This makes me feel a little better.
Then I remember that a trained assassin who travels the
galaxies removing people from existence told me to
TRUST HER.
This makes me feel worse.
Then I remember that a trained assassin who travels the
galaxies removing people from existence told me to
TRUST HER and for a brief second I ACTUALLY DID and
IT DID make me feel better.
This makes me feel significantly worse.
Her hand on my chest.
You’re doing it again.
I am? I am. Breathing too fast, too high in my chest.
I exhale.
I slow down the inhale.
I let the air all the way in.
That’s better she says.
Like she cares.
Ma’am Neffi walks to the front of the stage.
The students get quiet.
Immediately.
What command she has.
And so we arrive at the end of SHAPER DAY.
I notice the students aren’t wearing the regulation jackets.
A kid in the front row is dressed in a one piece fuzzy
thing-is that a dog costume? There’s a girl next to him
wearing a pink upside-down cone made of some sort of
spongey fabric. There’s a row of girls wearing black tops
and white skirts and black tall socks that make their skirts
look like a series of dash marks.
Kid after kid after kid, all wearing the most colorful,
strangely shaped outfits. Some I can tell-that kid is
definitely trying to be a taco-but others it’s more difficult.
That girl looks like a pile of lint attacked her.
I lean over to Lines. Why isn’t everybody wearing the
usual jackets?
He is so glad I asked. Because the SHAPER forbid it!
The SHAPER?
Me! I’m the SHAPER!
Ohhhhh yeah yeah yeah. I remember this. The SHAPER-OF COURSE! How did you get Ma’am Neffi to go along
with it?
Pride on his face. That part was easy. I announced that
you could wear your jacket like every other day or you
could wear something you made.
No way! They made their outfits?
I notice a young fella wearing a black hat with two flesh
colored tubes that rise up out the top and then wrap
around his shoulder blades, under his arms, and attach
side by side to his chest. That kid has issues.
They did make them…with some help Lines tells me.
I think he wants me to ask him what he means by that.
What kind of help? I say it like it’s a secret of some sort.
I set up a sewing center at my place-I rented extra sewing
machines from this guy I met in CIRCLE 6-and then I hired
Florent and Splasha to take measurements and fill out
order forms-
I start to connect the dots. You CHARGED these kids to
make their outfits for the SHAPER DAY that you are in
CHARGE of?
I did. He gives me a triumphant look.
Ma’am Neffi is going on about a field trip and next week’s
forestry project and something about tomorrow's lunch
when suddenly she says AND NOW OUR SHAPER LINES
FOR ONE LAST SURPRISE TO END THE DAY!
A couple of kids clap.
One whistles.
A boy over on the left wearing his school jacket-one of the
only ones-mutters NICE CAPE.
There’s always that kid.
Lines walks right up to the first row.
His fist bumps a girl dressed like a fork.
SHAPE THIS! Somebody yells from the back.
Another heckler.
Nothing has changed in all the laps.
I would, Lines says, but I’m enjoying being SHAPER way
too much.
Oooooohh. A bunch of kids react.
Lines can give it right back.
So. I broke my ankle recently.
Did he prepare a speech?
I was hiking Stellen Peak.
There’s a little extra sauce on that. He was…kind of.
AROUND Stellen Peak is more accurate. But he’s
fourteen. I’ll give it to him. I would have said it like that.
And there were these huge slabs of rock. And it got late
and it was pretty dark and I couldn’t see where I was
going. That’s one of the risks of exploring-you never know
what you’re gonna get in to.
It’s quiet.
They’re actually listening.
Noon Yeah and I are over to the side.
I hear her say Let’s go Lines under her breath.
Like she’s on his team. Like she’s rooting for him.
Again, why does she care?
What a mystery she is.
I watch these kids' faces. One minute they’re heckling and
laughing and ripping each other. But then Lines talks
about actually doing something dangerous and it cuts
right through all that chatter. There is something at stake.
They can feel it.
So I’m sitting there next to this river in the middle of the
night and my whole leg is throbbing and I’m wondering if I
broke something and I’m out of food and I’m a little
terrified…
Did he just say that?
Admit that?
In front of his school?
It’s so quiet.
They are so into this.
And then this guy shows up. Heen. He just walks up to me
and says HEY LINES.
They laugh.
Lines knows how to tell a story.
Like he was just out for a walk on Stellen Peak LIKE YOU
DO and he happened to stroll by on his way to get a
sandwich and see me there in agony.
They laugh some more.
This story does make me look pretty cool.
And then he helps me walk.
Actually, I carried him.
But that’s just a detail.
And it takes all night and part of the next day but
eventually I get home.
He looks over at me.
WE get home.
This makes me a little emotional.
I hold it together.
He adjusts his cape.
So pretty much all night long we’re talking-BECAUSE
WHAT ELSE ARE YOU GONNA DO IN THE MIDDLE OF
THE NIGHT LIMPING DOWN A MOUNTAIN? He said so
much cool stuff…this guy, I’m telling you, he’s coming
from some other place….know what I mean?…I guess
what I’m trying to say is that I feel like he gets it.
Noon Yeah turns to me. He’s talking about you.
Like I didn’t know that.
Uh, yeah. I’m Heen. Nice to meet you. I pretend to shake
her hand.
No! She’s sharp and firm but in a hushed voice. Don’t be
sarcastic. He’s talking about YOU.
I look at her blankly.
YOU she repeats.
Lines keeps going.
So. As my last act as SHAPER FOR THE DAY, it is my
honor and privilege to introduce to you Heen Gru-Bares
and his creative director Noon Yeah!
Kids start cheering.
Let’s do this! Noon Yeah says.
She walks part way out onto the stage.
She turns.
I’m frozen.
She waves me forward.
I just stand here holding this box.
Lines is clapping and cheering and yelling HEEN!!! with
the biggest smile on his face.
Noon Yeah walks back to me. She is all business. These
kids? THEY WORE THE OUTFITS HEEN!!! They did what
he asked them to do-do kids at this age do that???? NO.
Everybody’s so scared, so enslaved to what everyone else
will think. But this kid, he’s something else. They admire
him. They adore him.
Her intensity. And another thing. Passion? Is that what
that is?
The kids keep cheering.
Noon Yeah keeps talking. And you? YOU!!! YOU rescued
this kid when he was in trouble. And they’re grateful. And
they’re showing you that. RECEIVE IT!
It may be the best thing anyone has ever said to me. And
it comes from a SIGN 7-
I keep doing that, don’t I?
Anything good I say about Noon Yeah I feel this immediate
compulsion to add what a horrible person she is.
She turns and heads back to the front of the stage.
I step forward.
Cheers.
They get louder.
I carry my box to the front of the stage and stand there
next to Noon Yeah like an idiot.
The students quiet down.
They stare at me.
All these eyes.
I itch all over.
A voice from back squeaks Are you his girlfriend?
I try to see who said it.
I can’t tell.
Noon Yeah replies OH IT’S WAY MORE THAN THAT!
Murmurs all around.
She leans over and kisses me on the cheek.
She pokes me in the gut.
No. Well…maybe in a minute. Public speaking is the
worst. Even if it is just kids-
Kids make it more terrifying-
I catch myself breathing too quickly in my chest. I slow
myself down. It helps.
There you go.
She pats my chest. She doesn’t miss a thing.
I need help I say. I don’t know what to do or say or how to
talk to KIDS…
She grabs a box and places a bag of flour in it.
I got it.
You have an idea?
That energy again. That electricity she gives off. Here it is.
I know what we’ll do.
WE?
Yeah. Her confidence. It’s a marvel. Trust me she says. This will be great. But you’ll have to do what I say-
I can do that. I think.
Excellent. How about you get some starter from the
shelf?
You got it.
I head for the door.
And grab your apron, of course. Is there a jug or bottle or
some way to transport water around here?
She’s giving orders?
And I’m taking them?
I check the shelves. There’s a container in the washroom.
I’ll get it…
*
Lines’ school is in a ravine just past the riverbed where I
recently played the beautiful game. At the bottom of the
ravine is a massive circular tent with a white canvas roof.
It’s open on all sides. On top of the center pole of the tent
is a flag. The flag is white with a red number thirteen on it.
There are tables and couches and small glass cubes that
look like offices scattered around under the tent. Kids and
teachers are everywhere, some of them eating at the
tables, a few kicking a ball around, some sitting on
cushions reading. Above the roof I can see classrooms
shaped like pods scattered all over the sides of the hill.
The pods are connected by a series of rope bridges-like a
web made by a very large spider.
Lines is waiting for us in front of the tent.
In a cape. It’s bright blue.
Heen! He runs up to me and gives me a fist bump.
Lines! I’m so honored to be here. What a big day!
Noon Yeah told me to say that. She said that it’s
important I let him know that I understand how significant
today is for him. Or something like that.
He turns to her.
Are you Noon Yeah?
I am.
My mom says you’re THE BEST. He says it exactly like I
picture Peeble saying it. And my dad says you’re way out
of Heen’s league.
Noon Yeah doesn’t hesitate. Well, your dad is a very wise
man, isn’t he?
There she is, again. Winning someone over, effortlessly.
In this case a fourteen year old boy.
Lines fake punches my arm. But it’s okay, Heen does his
best to keep up…
A woman in a purple tunic walks up to us. She’s wearing
large orange glasses and her hair is pinned up in two
buns on top of her head. Her shoes have pointy toes.
There’s a bird on her shoulder. The bird is brown with
orange feathers on its chest.
Lines, I’d love to meet your guests.
This woman.
I am fourteen again in her presence.
Yes, Ma’am Neffi. This is Heen Who Grows Bears-
He winks at me as he says it-
And this is Noon Yeah. This is Ma’am Neffi.
She hugs us both.
Welcome to The Bridges. She gestures to all that’s going
on around her like it’s her child. We’re so honored you’d
join us for SHAPER DAY. She drops the formality.
Honestly…it’s my favorite day of the year. I get to sit back
and watch what happens.
She’s so calm and so powerful.
Noon Yeah steps forward, right in front of Ma’am Neffi.
Way too close. What’s your bird’s name?
Ma’am Neffi is so pleased she asked. Her name is Ethel.
Noon Yeah reaches out to touch the bird but Ma’am Neffi
stops her. And she does NOT like to be touched or held
by anyone but me-
As she’s saying this the bird hops on to Noon Yeah’s
finger, walks up the back of her hand, and then jumps up
on to her shoulder.
Ma’am Neffi is stunned. What…?
Noon Yeah turns her head. Hello Ethel. She turns to
Ma’am Neffi. An Oriole, isn’t she? Noon Yeah says this
with such familiarity and affection. My guess is she’s a
Hooded but not enough orange on her head-she’s
probably an Orchard-does that sound right?
Ma’am Neffi lights up. I’ve had the same question! I
wondered for a while if she’s a Common Redstart, but
they tend to have more black than brown feathers-
Noon Yeah jumps on this. Which would make you think
she’s a Varied Thrush-
Exactly! But in that case the Eastern Twohee would make
more sense-
Unless she’s a Streak-backed Oriole.
Noon Yeah knows about birds?
Ma’am Neffi is clearly loving this-and still in shock that her
bird left her shoulder.
Lines is so impressed. Noon Yeah, how do you know so
much about birds?
She shrugs. You just have to know how to talk to them.
Now this is embarrassing.
They’re going to think Noon Yeah is crazy.
I catch myself.
Why do I care? Because they think she’s with me-and if
she talks to animals, then I’m probably A BIT OFF as
well?
Again-WHY DO I CARE?
I’m going to leave this planet soon.
I will never see any of these people again.
Why do I care if some lady with pointy shoes AND BUNS
ON HER HEAD thinks Noon Yeah talks to birds?
Noon Yeah, I ask her, what does Ethel say when you talk
to her?
I say this like I think Noon Yeah is completely mental. I
don’t need to, but it is really enjoyable to put a little
distance between us. Noon Yeah tilts her shoulder up so
Ethel is closer to her ear. She pauses and pretends like
she’s listening.
Ethel says she’s looking forward to Heen’s presentation
and hopes he doesn’t make a BALLS UP of it in front of
Lines’ entire school.
Lines thinks this is hilarious.
My stomach tightens.
I look at Lines. Your WHOLE SCHOOL is coming to my-
A horn blast somewhere up on the hill.
There’s a kid, way at the very top, on an elevated platform
with a trumpet. Lines sees me squinting to locate him.
That’s Alpert. That kid can play a DIRTY TRUMPET. He’s
just a little fella but when he gets going that will NASTY
BLAST your face off-
Ma’am Neffi laughs. Usually there’s a chime that lets the
students know it’s time to switch classes. But Lines
wanted Alpert to do the honors today…
Doors have opened on the pods.
Kids appear.
Lots of them.
Well, Lines says, THE TIME HAS COME.
Noon Yeah turns her shoulder to Ma’am Neffi. Lovely to
meet you Ethel. And you as well, Ma’am Neffi.
The bird hops onto Ma’am Neffi’s shoulder, who shakes
her head in disbelief.
Lines turns and we follow him through the tent.
I see it. I glance over at Noon Yeah. She sees it too.
On the back of his cape.
He’s sewn a spaceship.
Looks a lot like a Ray Ortland, one of the newer models
she says, without looking over at me. My spaceship is a Ray Ortland.
We walk through the tent and out the other side.
Wow.
I did not see this coming.
The ravine forms a natural amphitheater.
The back side of the tent is a stage.
Kids are spread out all over and up the hill.
Some are sitting on the bridges above us.
They’re everywhere.
I whisper to Noon Yeah How did I get here?
We walked. She’s messing with me.
No-here. HERE. Like…my life. THIS. How did my life end
up HERE?
She nods. I know what you mean. If you think about it too
much your head will burst. Or maybe your heart will first.
I look down at the box I’m holding full of things Noon
Yeah said we would need. You sure about this?
Steel in her eyes. Absolutely. That confidence again. Trust
me.
This makes me feel a little better.
Then I remember that a trained assassin who travels the
galaxies removing people from existence told me to
TRUST HER.
This makes me feel worse.
Then I remember that a trained assassin who travels the
galaxies removing people from existence told me to
TRUST HER and for a brief second I ACTUALLY DID and
IT DID make me feel better.
This makes me feel significantly worse.
Her hand on my chest.
You’re doing it again.
I am? I am. Breathing too fast, too high in my chest.
I exhale.
I slow down the inhale.
I let the air all the way in.
That’s better she says.
Like she cares.
Ma’am Neffi walks to the front of the stage.
The students get quiet.
Immediately.
What command she has.
And so we arrive at the end of SHAPER DAY.
I notice the students aren’t wearing the regulation jackets.
A kid in the front row is dressed in a one piece fuzzy
thing-is that a dog costume? There’s a girl next to him
wearing a pink upside-down cone made of some sort of
spongey fabric. There’s a row of girls wearing black tops
and white skirts and black tall socks that make their skirts
look like a series of dash marks.
Kid after kid after kid, all wearing the most colorful,
strangely shaped outfits. Some I can tell-that kid is
definitely trying to be a taco-but others it’s more difficult.
That girl looks like a pile of lint attacked her.
I lean over to Lines. Why isn’t everybody wearing the
usual jackets?
He is so glad I asked. Because the SHAPER forbid it!
The SHAPER?
Me! I’m the SHAPER!
Ohhhhh yeah yeah yeah. I remember this. The SHAPER-OF COURSE! How did you get Ma’am Neffi to go along
with it?
Pride on his face. That part was easy. I announced that
you could wear your jacket like every other day or you
could wear something you made.
No way! They made their outfits?
I notice a young fella wearing a black hat with two flesh
colored tubes that rise up out the top and then wrap
around his shoulder blades, under his arms, and attach
side by side to his chest. That kid has issues.
They did make them…with some help Lines tells me.
I think he wants me to ask him what he means by that.
What kind of help? I say it like it’s a secret of some sort.
I set up a sewing center at my place-I rented extra sewing
machines from this guy I met in CIRCLE 6-and then I hired
Florent and Splasha to take measurements and fill out
order forms-
I start to connect the dots. You CHARGED these kids to
make their outfits for the SHAPER DAY that you are in
CHARGE of?
I did. He gives me a triumphant look.
Ma’am Neffi is going on about a field trip and next week’s
forestry project and something about tomorrow's lunch
when suddenly she says AND NOW OUR SHAPER LINES
FOR ONE LAST SURPRISE TO END THE DAY!
A couple of kids clap.
One whistles.
A boy over on the left wearing his school jacket-one of the
only ones-mutters NICE CAPE.
There’s always that kid.
Lines walks right up to the first row.
His fist bumps a girl dressed like a fork.
SHAPE THIS! Somebody yells from the back.
Another heckler.
Nothing has changed in all the laps.
I would, Lines says, but I’m enjoying being SHAPER way
too much.
Oooooohh. A bunch of kids react.
Lines can give it right back.
So. I broke my ankle recently.
Did he prepare a speech?
I was hiking Stellen Peak.
There’s a little extra sauce on that. He was…kind of.
AROUND Stellen Peak is more accurate. But he’s
fourteen. I’ll give it to him. I would have said it like that.
And there were these huge slabs of rock. And it got late
and it was pretty dark and I couldn’t see where I was
going. That’s one of the risks of exploring-you never know
what you’re gonna get in to.
It’s quiet.
They’re actually listening.
Noon Yeah and I are over to the side.
I hear her say Let’s go Lines under her breath.
Like she’s on his team. Like she’s rooting for him.
Again, why does she care?
What a mystery she is.
I watch these kids' faces. One minute they’re heckling and
laughing and ripping each other. But then Lines talks
about actually doing something dangerous and it cuts
right through all that chatter. There is something at stake.
They can feel it.
So I’m sitting there next to this river in the middle of the
night and my whole leg is throbbing and I’m wondering if I
broke something and I’m out of food and I’m a little
terrified…
Did he just say that?
Admit that?
In front of his school?
It’s so quiet.
They are so into this.
And then this guy shows up. Heen. He just walks up to me
and says HEY LINES.
They laugh.
Lines knows how to tell a story.
Like he was just out for a walk on Stellen Peak LIKE YOU
DO and he happened to stroll by on his way to get a
sandwich and see me there in agony.
They laugh some more.
This story does make me look pretty cool.
And then he helps me walk.
Actually, I carried him.
But that’s just a detail.
And it takes all night and part of the next day but
eventually I get home.
He looks over at me.
WE get home.
This makes me a little emotional.
I hold it together.
He adjusts his cape.
So pretty much all night long we’re talking-BECAUSE
WHAT ELSE ARE YOU GONNA DO IN THE MIDDLE OF
THE NIGHT LIMPING DOWN A MOUNTAIN? He said so
much cool stuff…this guy, I’m telling you, he’s coming
from some other place….know what I mean?…I guess
what I’m trying to say is that I feel like he gets it.
Noon Yeah turns to me. He’s talking about you.
Like I didn’t know that.
Uh, yeah. I’m Heen. Nice to meet you. I pretend to shake
her hand.
No! She’s sharp and firm but in a hushed voice. Don’t be
sarcastic. He’s talking about YOU.
I look at her blankly.
YOU she repeats.
Lines keeps going.
So. As my last act as SHAPER FOR THE DAY, it is my
honor and privilege to introduce to you Heen Gru-Bares
and his creative director Noon Yeah!
Kids start cheering.
Let’s do this! Noon Yeah says.
She walks part way out onto the stage.
She turns.
I’m frozen.
She waves me forward.
I just stand here holding this box.
Lines is clapping and cheering and yelling HEEN!!! with
the biggest smile on his face.
Noon Yeah walks back to me. She is all business. These
kids? THEY WORE THE OUTFITS HEEN!!! They did what
he asked them to do-do kids at this age do that???? NO.
Everybody’s so scared, so enslaved to what everyone else
will think. But this kid, he’s something else. They admire
him. They adore him.
Her intensity. And another thing. Passion? Is that what
that is?
The kids keep cheering.
Noon Yeah keeps talking. And you? YOU!!! YOU rescued
this kid when he was in trouble. And they’re grateful. And
they’re showing you that. RECEIVE IT!
It may be the best thing anyone has ever said to me. And
it comes from a SIGN 7-
I keep doing that, don’t I?
Anything good I say about Noon Yeah I feel this immediate
compulsion to add what a horrible person she is.
She turns and heads back to the front of the stage.
I step forward.
Cheers.
They get louder.
I carry my box to the front of the stage and stand there
next to Noon Yeah like an idiot.
The students quiet down.
They stare at me.
All these eyes.
I itch all over.
A voice from back squeaks Are you his girlfriend?
I try to see who said it.
I can’t tell.
Noon Yeah replies OH IT’S WAY MORE THAN THAT!
Murmurs all around.
She leans over and kisses me on the cheek.
