Huddled on the floor of the science room. Late afternoon. Wearing St Scho uniforms in different stages of untidiness.
Normie: It's genius. We'll have to go through with it.
Nyanne: I can't believe nobody's ever thought of this before. We'll be famous.
Camille: Who gets to be IT?
Normie: We draw straws. [Holds up 3 straws. The three of them draw then compare.]
Camille: Shit. [Slumps on the floor and theatrically covers her eyes with her arm.]
Normie: Take this. [Gives Camille a bottle.] Rub a substantial amount of lotion on your nipples and wait for them to disappear.
Camille: [Sadly.] What if they do?
Nyanne: Then it means our formula for disappearing nipples works! Imagine that, you can rub away your nipples.
Camille: But I like mine! I don't want to be the girl without nipples! That's worse than having three!
Normie: I promise you, it's worth it.
Camille: What if I'm allergic to this thing? How cruel of you to not even check.
Nyanne: We'll check now. [Takes some of the lotion and rubs it on Camille's forearm. The three of them just stare for a minute or so.]
Normie: Nothing.
Nyanne: Nothing, I told you.
Camille gets up and goes to the bathroom and locks herself in a stall. She then dunks the lotion in the toilet bowl and waits. Soon she returns to join Normie and Nyanne.
Normie and Nyanne: Well?
Camille: That stuff doesn't work. [Normie and Nyanne peer at her breasts from her neckline.]
Normie: I was so sure!
Nyanne looks at Camille suspiciously but Camille just smiles, happy that she still has her nipples.
***
It's our bedroom minus the walls and the ceiling. Paolo is fast asleep but I nudge him and say, "Water, please." He doesn't wake up, not tonight.
I stand and go the the water pump and wait my turn because there's someone else getting water. Paolo wakes up and sees me, "Camille! Come back! Come back!"
I'm so frightened by his voice and the look on his face that I run and jump back into bed.
He says, "Have you got no sense at all? Look!"
I look and see that the person getting water has turned around and has revealed himself to be a monster.
The monster changes shape several times. First he's a horse that bares all its teeth. Then a transparent labrador who shows his fangs. Then a monster in green with a ghoulish face.
The monster starts moving closer to us. I try to say my prayers but I have forgotten them. I make the sign of the cross but the monster mimics me and makes the sign of the cross too. I knew it, I knew religion would never come through for me.
I peer at the monster. Why, he's just a little boy. I lunge forward and wring his neck. He laughs and sticks his tongue out. His eyes roll around and around.
"What do you want?" I ask.
He cackles like a witch and his eyes pop out and I from the empty sockets I can see his brains.
"WHAT DO YOU WANT? TELL ME WHAT YOU WANT!"
Finally he says, "I would like to beat your Super Mario top score you evil, evil, evil Cam-evil bitch!"
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