Monster with Green Eyes
Follow your room-mate and her boyfriend, but not so close that either one notices. Think shadow. Think Pink Panther. Plop down in the middle seat of three in the theater. Pretend you don’t hear your room-mate say “Do you mind?” Back at the apartment tell her you want to switch bedrooms. “I need the room with the door.” Because migraines. Because anxiety. Remind her you’re fragile. She thinks flower but you mean bomb. Help her drag her mattress down the hall and heave it onto the living room floor. He’ll never stay over now. But then he does. So, whine about privacy. Call her in the middle of the night to pick you up when you’re too drunk to drive. Give her a dirty look when you see who’s with her. As a last resort, tell her, “We should share him.” Because loneliness. Because fairness. When she laughs and says, “You don’t even like him!” realize she’s got a point. Slam the door on it.
Cheryl Snell’s books include several poetry collections and the novels of her Bombay Trilogy. Her most recent writing has appeared in 100 Word Story, Does It Have Pockets? Switch, Gone Lawn, Your Impossible Voice, Pure Slush, and other journals.