My Cardboard Balcony

We Drank Coffee by Belinda Roddie We drank coffee straight from the pot and ate Cheetos as we sat in the living room, waiting for the storm to pass. It was late at night, and cold, and curtains blocked the gloom that swelled outside. Elliott had a deck of cards, and we played at least seven games with them. Marsha was listening to Beck on her phone, while Fernando took great pains to put together a huge pillow fort for us to hide under. We sang soft hymns, took pictures, and asked questions just for sport, but we learned more about each other than we thought possible. And as the rain ceased, our hearts were light, and our minds were at ease.

"Christ," Josh muttered, scowling at his face in the mirror. "What?" "Another breakout." He turned on the faucet and sighed, letting the warming water trickle in thin ribbons through his fingers. "You know, they always told me, when I was younger, than my acne would stop once I became an adult." "Oh, they definitely lied about that," sneered Blaine. "Oh, yeah. Filthy liars."