Tiny Pretty Things

I don’t let her hesitation stop me. I plug my phone into Eleanor’s computer and wait for the picture to load. I try to block the screen, so she can’t see, but she doesn’t even look up. Eleanor can turn into sort of a saint at times. But I know how to get her to do things. I print the picture, delete it from Eleanor’s downloads folder, and slip out the door while Eleanor’s still in an Adele trance.

The eleventh-floor hall is empty. Everyone’s mostly in their rooms listening to music, in the upstairs student lounges watching TV, on other floors, or sewing shoes and stretching. I go to the Light, and tap three times on the door. No one is in there. I lock the door behind me.

I exhale, surrounded by pictures of primas and beautiful thin bodies and perfect feet. The day after I turned twelve, my mother shipped me off across Central Park to the school dorms. Finally old enough to live on my own here. Back then, I used to visit this closet every night. I used to fall asleep on the floor sometimes, and the RAs would have to wake me to go back to my room. I run my fingers over the collaged walls and find a spot for the picture in my hands. Before I tack it up, I see a message that makes me smile: Gigi should watch her back. I rub my finger over it. Someone else hates her as much as I do. I’m not alone.

I grab one of the glue sticks that sit on top of the TV. I wipe it all over the back of the picture. I slam the page on the wall and smack it hard, like I’m hitting Gigi’s face a thousand times.

I step back to admire the picture among the others. At first glance you can’t tell it’s one unlike the others. I wish I could see the look on people’s faces when they spot it, and the look on Gigi’s face especially.

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