Nancy

By Flor Altamirano, Age 16

Inspired by the December '08 Fiction Workshop, "Between Despair and Hope"

We were in mid-September and for some reason it was chilly outside. Boy, is global warming doing its thing or what? Standing by the subway stop at Stanhope and Wyckoff wasn’t really helping me get any warmer. I wished Nancy would arrive, she’d give me her sweater. She always does. It could be ten degrees outside and she’d rather put her giant hoodie over my shoulders and freeze to death than see me shivering.

“Put your sweater on, you’re going to freeze,” I’d tell her, taking her sweater off my shoulders.

“Babe, please, you need it more than me,” she’d respond, putting the sweater back on, this time adding a warm hug with the smell of Axe body spray.

“Yo, Marie, what’s taking Nancy so long?” It’s Fred, my best friend since third grade.

“I don’t know. She probably just got off work a little late.”

“Well, she better hurry up, I’m not waiting for her all day.”

“Then leave already,” I said. Fred turned and walked to the stairs of an old house.

It was getting colder and colder. I was getting tired and even my eyesight was starting to fade.

Finally, after an hour had passed, a tall, tanned girl came up the subway stairs; her hair was black as the tires of a brand-new BMW, neatly braided and covered by a cap; on top of that, a nice black and white hoodie that seemed to be twice the size she would normally have to wear; her pants nearly falling to the ground, but held tightly with a five-dollar belt; her eyes shinier than ever, since by now it had gotten dark, which made them look like flashing lights that blinked every now and then.

That’s Nancy: my life, to whom I’ve promised everything. The one whom I believe will stay with me till the end of my days, my one and only companion. These were some of the things I’d confess to her. For Nancy, it’s different: she’d say she deeply cared about me, but to say “I love you” would be too much.

“Nancy! My love.” I can’t help but giggle as Nancy approaches me.

“Oh … hey, Marie … I … I wasn’t expecting you to be here today.” Something made me feel as if Nancy didn’t want to see me.

“What are you talking about? I always wait for you on Thursdays.” Hugging Nancy made me feel alive once again. As much as I didn’t want to let go of her, I had to since she pushed me off. I noticed a group of guys standing near the subway entrance. “Nancy, are they waiting for you?”

“Who? Them?” Nancy turned around and pointed.

“Yo, are we going or what?” one of the guys said.

“Yeah, just wait,” Nancy replied. “I gotta handle some business.”

“Business? Nancy, what’s wrong with you? Why are you treating me as if I were some kind of stranger?” I had no idea what was going on between Nancy and those people.

“Marie, please, calm down, these are my friends, OK?” Nancy had never before talked to me like that.

“Yo, what’s going on? Marie, everything cool?” Fred came out of nowhere and interrupted my silence as tears were about to squirt out of my eyes.

“Yeah, Fred, everything’s OK,” I replied.

“Yo,” Nancy cut in. “Mind your own business. I’m talking to my girl.”

“Nancy, what’s wrong with you? Calm down, will you?”

“Man, shut up.” Nancy blurted out and stepped towards Fred.

“Nancy, what’s wrong with you?” I held Nancy back and stared at her for a while. Her eyes were red, as if she had been crying. I smelled alcohol.

“Nancy, you were … you were drinking?” I got nothing but silence. I didn’t want to be seen crying.

“Come on Fred. I don’t want to be here.” Taking my hands off of Nancy, I began to walk away. I expected Nancy to come after me and grab my arm or at least call out my name, but I got nothing. I wanted to turn and see her, but I just walked, forgetting who was by my side.

Watch Flor read on YouTube
Buy the Girls Write Now Anthology