bleach blonde gerl
plantum blonde gerl
nose pierced
almost fucked 2 weeks ago saturday
“this close” as she holds her fingers an inch apart
“i said i didnt wanna”
devilish grin sneaks upon her face
“next time”
she nods as she says it
inhales the last amount possible to inhale
places the cigarette butt in the black plastic ashtray
puts it out
“scuze me ma’am”
hollars across the coffee shop
“can i bum a smoke off ya?”
the woman mouths
“sure”
reaches in her bag
gerl stolls across room
across cigarette ashes, soiled napkins and straw wrappers
gets cigarette
has man at next table light it
returns to her hot sticky plastic chair
blows smoke around her face and watches it curl up to the ceiling fan
“so...”
she trails off
gerl
bleached blonde
gerl
fourteen
tells me
“my throat bled yesterday”
tells me
“it hurts to swallow coke”
tells me
“i talked to so-and-so from the shelter”
her black eyeliner smudged across her eyelid
lets go
puts the cigarette out, grabs her backpack and walkes out the door
flashes a smile to the boy walking in