Almost Perfect - Brian Katcher [71]
I smiled, remembering. It all made sense now.
Sage continued. “Tammi never once said I was being weird or strange. Sometimes that was the only reason I knew I could become a real woman. If it wasn’t for her, I’d have probably given up and stayed a guy.”
Gingerly, I untangled myself from Sage. “You’d have been miserable that way.”
“I’d be dead.”
I remembered Sage’s attempt at suicide. We needed to change the subject. I’d brought Sage here to show her how much fun she could have away from home, not to remind her of her difficult life choices.
Looking down at my watch, I realized I wasn’t wearing it. “I think Laura’s expecting us.”
Sage led the way even though neither of us really knew where we were going. As we passed a group of male pedestrians, one of them turned to watch her pass. I don’t think it was her height he was noticing.
chapter twenty-five
SAGE AND I WANDERED around for about twenty minutes looking for Gillett Hall. Finally, we realized it was actually part of a larger complex, a group of white brick towers that surrounded a central dining hall.
Laura lived on the first floor. As soon as we left the lobby, the low thunk, thunk of someone’s stereo assaulted us from an upper story. The corridor was empty, but each door gave a glimpse of the residents inside: film posters, more anti-Kansas bumper stickers, fliers for peace marches, little whiteboards for leaving messages.
I knew more about these strangers than I did about some of my neighbors in Boyer. I’d be moving into a dorm in the fall. What would I hang on my door?
Sage strutted down the hall, showing her usual self-assuredness. She’d lived in a big town before, but I felt like I’d just come from the farm. The students here would have me pegged as a hick right from the start. When two girls carrying tennis rackets passed us and smiled, it was like I was wearing a rope belt and no shoes. Could I really fit in at Mizzou?
I’d visited Laura here a couple of times, but always with Mom, and we always met downtown. I located my sister’s room. The only decoration was a photocopied poster for an unfamiliar band. It might have been her roommate’s.
The door flew open at my knock. Laura stood there grinning at me for a moment. Once again, I was struck by what a woman she’d become. When she’d left home, she’d been a tomboyish teenager. A girl who used to beat me at basketball and had broken Mark Jefferson’s nose when he tried to feel her up. Now Laura was almost twenty and looked like someone you’d see working at a bank or modeling formal clothes. If I hadn’t known her, I would have guessed her to be twenty-two or-three, a business major or pre-law, the sort of person who’d work a sixty-hour week and then shut down the bars every Saturday night. Had college done this to her, or was it simply being away from Boyer that had allowed her to grow up?
“Logan!” She embraced me. “I’m so glad you’re here. We’re going to have so much fun this weekend.”
“Laura, this is Sage.”
They shook hands, and Laura directed Sage where to put her bags. As Sage was unloading, Laura turned and gave me a conspiratorial wink. Great. Well, at least my sister didn’t suspect Sage’s secret.
The dorm room was obsessively neat, much more orderly than Laura’s bedroom at home. I wondered what would inspire people to clean when they didn’t have to. Must be a girl thing.
“Sage, you can take my roommate’s bed,” said Laura.
“Are you sure?” asked Sage. “Won’t she mind?”
“Ebony’s out of town for the weekend. She said it was okay.”
I glanced at a family photo on Ebony’s desk. Laura’s roommate had very dark skin, very white teeth, and a very pretty face. I’d have to visit again when she was there and Sage wasn’t.
Sage asked if she could go freshen up, and Laura directed her to the public bathroom down the hall. As soon as the door