“Flame Retardant Fabric” (Story 3, Excerpt 2)

The following excerpt is the second part of “Flame Retardant Fabric”. You can read the first part here.

I imagined a tiny, two-passenger plane, the kind that flies over the Hudson River and provides aerial tours of the city for tourists. I had almost gotten Madsy a ticket to one of those tours for her sixteenth birthday but decided I couldn’t afford it.

Thank goodness for my meager part-time wage! Those pilots must be really inexperienced if they were flying into the WTC.

“How does a plane crash into the WTC?” I asked.

Read the rest of this entry »

“Flame Retardant Fabric” (Story 3, Excerpt 1)

The following excerpt is the first part of “Flame Retardant Fabric”. You can read the second part here.

Madsy and I walked into first-period art class, hiding cups of coffee under our identical, navy-blue, polyester sweaters. If Sister Marion caught us with coffee, we would have to stay after school for detention, in a classroom where we would be forced to stare at an illustration of Jesus until we felt sorry for our violation, approximately an hour.

The sophomore twins, Jessica and Jasmine (or was it Jennifer and Jackie?), had stolen our usual seats in front of the window, at the back of the art room, where we liked to sit because the morning sun would keep our backs and arms warm, making it easier to paint.

Read the rest of this entry »