Paper Cups

Down the hall and around the corner from Marcie’s room, a black cat sleeps curled up on the heating vent. The sun is just beginning to rise outside, and as the first bird cheeps the cat’s bright eyes open wide. He sits up and yawns, blinking slowly, then shakes himself awake and stretches out. He runs down the hall and around the corner. Marcie’s door is open ajar, just wide enough for him to slip inside and hop onto her bed.

He begins to purr, stepping carefully along her side and sitting politely next to her head. He waits, and a bystander might think he’s watching the clock and decide that’s a foolish thought, but then the big hand reaches 5 and the cat lets out a deafening screech of a meow. 

Marcie’s eyes shoot open and she sits up, yawning, just like the cat had done. She’s much quicker to her feet, however, and a second later is standing at the window, waiting for the light to turn on in the room just across the fence. 

She’s late this morning, Marcie thinks, looking down at her watch and tapping her feet impatiently. But the light turns on and she smiles, now face-to-face with her best friend.

Marcie waves. The girl across the fence, whose name (real name) Marcie still didn’t know, waves back and opens her window. Marcie opens hers, too, and is nearly blown back by a huge gust of October wind. A leaf blows in with it, landing softly next to the cat on the bed. 

The girl across the fence waits five long seconds before throwing a paper airplane across the gap between their buildings. Marcie catches it, then unfolds it eagerly.

Marcie -

good morning. It’s October first but I still haven’t seen any leaves fall, what’s up with that? We had dinner late last night so I slept longer than I wanted, which is why this is a little rushed. Sorry. Today I have a geometry test which I’m probably going to flunk. How was your night? Miss you and your cat.

Marcie looks up at her friend and grins. She turns around and starts to rush to her desk, but makes a stop at her bed to pick up the leaf that blew in before sitting down and grabbing her pen.

Good morning! Really?? A leaf just blew through my window!! I’ll tape it on for you. You were late this morning but I forgive you because of dinner. I bet you won’t flunk your test, you’re super smart :) the movie we saw last night was okay, I don’t know, I fell asleep. But I made sure to bring back a paper cup for our project so don’t worry! Also, it’s October which means you tell me the first letter of your name. Miss you lots. Zebra misses you too.

love Marcie

She stands up, clumsily folding the note into a paper airplane, and runs back to the window. A gust of wind, bigger than the first, meets her there and she pushes it away.  Just as she pulls her hand back to throw it, though, her friend shakes her head violently and holds up one finger. Then two. Then three. Then four. Then five. Then a thumbs up, and Marcie sends the airplane flying across the fence and straight through her friend’s window.

Tapping her foot impatiently, Marcie watches as her friend reads her note. She holds up the leaf Marcie had taped on and both girls laugh. She disappears for thirty seconds — Marcie counts to pass the time — and throws another paper airplane across the fence. 

Marcie -

thanks for the leaf. I’ll use it as a bookmark I think, in Romeo & Juliet. We can read it together now that you’ve got a cup. If you fell asleep during the movie it probably wasn’t very interesting. And the first letter of my name is L. Miss you tons. Tell Zebra I love him. 

Giddy with excitement, Marcie bounces on her heels as she reads the last line of the letter.

love L (haha I can finally say it back now)

She puts the letter down and makes a heart with her hands, which her friend — L! — mimics. They both smile wider, and Marcie wants to jump up and down but doesn’t out of fear of her parents waking up. 

She returns to her desk and writes another letter, not yet aware that it’s the last one she’ll ever write to L. 

L!!! Is it Lola? or Lucy? or Lily? or Lilac? or Libby? There are so many L names I need to know!! Isn’t Romeo & Juliet romantic? That’s what my sister told me anyway. I’m excited to read it with you :) You’re right it was a boring movie. Miss you SO MUCH and Zebra meowed twice which means he loves you too. BTW why’d you make me wait 5 seconds before throwing the airplane?

love Marcie

She returns to the window and pulls her arm back, but waits until L gives her another thumbs up before throwing it across. L misses this one, and runs off to pick it up. When she appears in the window again, she’s holding a paper airplane.

Marcie -

I don’t think you’ll ever guess it. It’s a bad name. I’m pretty sure my mom gave it to me because she hates me. Romeo and Juliet is supposed to be romantic but I think it’s awkward. Maybe because we’re not reading it out loud in class. More importantly it’s time to work on our project. I have some string which I put in my own cup. I’m gonna throw you the spool when you’re ready and you’ll have to poke a hole in your cup with scissors so you can tie it through. 

BTW that’s a trick I learned at camp once. If you wait five seconds after wind blows and nothing happens,  you’re in the clear. It’s probably nonsense

love L (I like writing that)

Marcie looks up and meets eyes with L, then nods firmly. She prepares herself to catch the spool of string, bending her knees and elbows into ready position. L nods in response and reels back her arm before throwing, with all her effort, the spool across the fence. The girls watch in awe as white string trails behind the spool. It was beautiful, so beautiful that Marcie lets it zoom past her and hit her wall before falling to the floor. She gasps and races to pick it up.

With the spool in hand, Marcie sits at her desk and searches for her scissors. She cuts the string, then pokes a hole in the bottom of the stolen paper cup, which smells like movie theater popcorn. She carefully pushes the string through the hole and and ties a knot on the other side of it so that it can’t slip back through.

Back at the window, she holds up the cup for L to see. L nods happily and holds up her own paper cup. She notices Marcie’s confusion and holds the cup to her ear, apparently directing Marcie to do the same.

She does. Everything goes quiet for a second, but L puts her cup to her mouth and suddenly Marcie hears a muffled voice.

“Hi,” it says. “It’s L.”

Marcie gapes at her as L puts her cup to her ear and points to her mouth. Slowly understanding, Marcie puts her own cup to her mouth and tries to decide what her first spoken sentence to her best friend should be.

“You are the coolest,” she says finally. L smiles and turns a bit red. She points to her ear.

“Science is the coolest,” says L’s voice in the cup. “I told you you’d like this project.”

“I do!” Marcie exclaims. When she sees L laughing, though, she realizes that she had just said that to herself, and moves the cup to her mouth. “I do!” she repeats, with just as much enthusiasm as she had the first time.

“You’ll get better with practice,” says L. “Wanna start reading?”

Marcie opens her mouth, remembers the cup, and replies, “Sure! Who’s who?”

“I’ll be Romeo. You’re Juliet. You might wanna sit down, it’s a long play.”

“Okay.” 

Marcie pulls her chair from her desk and sits down next to the window, an old, ratted copy of Romeo & Juliet in hand. Her cat curls up quietly on her lap — quite the relief for Marcie, who is beginning to freeze from the cold air outside.

“Act 1. Scene 5. Line 92.” L clears her throat. “ If I profane with my unworthiest hand / This holy shrine, the gentle sin is this: / My lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand / To smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss.”

“Woah,” Marcie whispers to herself, the beginnings of butterflies starting to form in her stomach. She puts the cup to her mouth, eyes fixed on L’s glowing face (it was always glowing, but was it ever this pretty?), and reads Juliet’s lines: “Good pilgrim, you do wrong your hand too much, / Which mannerly devotion shows in this, / For saints have hands that pilgrims' hands do touch, / And palm to palm is holy palmers' kiss.”

“Have not saints lips, and holy palmers too?” says L, her voice as clear and elegant as an angel’s.

“Ay, pilgrim, lips that they must use in prayer.”

“O, then, dear saint, let lips do what hands do. / They pray; grant thou, lest faith turn to despair.”

“Saints do not move, though grant for prayers' sake.”

“Then move not, while my prayer’s effect I take!” L says boldly and she looks up.

Her eyes lock with Marcie’s. Her face is turning bright red, but she refuses to look away. Marcie couldn’t look away even if she wanted to. It feels as though a bolt of lightning had cracked between them, reaching all the way across the fence from Marcie’s heart to L’s. The violent shock of the lightning only lasts a second, but the effects remain deep inside both girls’ chests; they feel lighter, weaker, safer, energized. And neither of them can stop smiling. 

Slowly, steadily, they both return their gazes to their respective copies of Romeo & Juliet, suddenly feeling obligated to finish the exchange. But before L can read Romeo’s next line, her door opens and she whips around in her chair. A woman comes in, and it looks to Marcie as though she’s yelling. The door shuts again and L looks back at Marcie, a small frown on her face. 

The lightning was gone and now so were its effects.

L puts the cup to her mouth and points to her ear. Marcie nods.

“I guess that’s it for today,” says L. “What’d you think? Not as good as they say, huh?”

“Yeah,” Marcie replies softly. She hesitates, then asks, “Before you go, can you tell me your name?”

“No. I don’t like it.”

“But I might.”

L frowns and waits a very long time before putting her cup to her mouth. “Fine. It’s Leah.”

“Why don’t you like that name? It’s better than Marcie.”

“No it isn’t. Marcie’s pretty.”

A spark of lightning cracks again, and both girls blush. The silence is finally broken by L — Leah. 

 “Will we be able to read more tonight?”

“Of course!” Marcie says excitedly. 

“Okay, see you later, then.” 

“Bye, Leah.”

Both girls stand up and close their windows, feeling stranger than usual — sadder than usual. Marcie looks up and waves to Leah again. She smiles sheepishly and waves back before closing her curtains.

Marcie squirms a little to wake up her cat. He chirps at her in annoyance, hopping onto the cold floor. He watches as Marcie places the cup carefully on the table next to the window. She moves across the room, opens the drawer of her desk, and feels around for something, finally pulling out a pink bookmark and putting it in her copy of the play. It had been given to her on Valentine’s Day by a classmate she couldn’t even remember the name of, because the only person on her mind now was Leah.