All My Life

Never make eye contact with a stranger when you’re having a churro.

Breathless I look up at him and find him gazing at me with a wonder that my deep-seated insecurity finds hard to believe. Then he does this thing. His fingers start moving on my face, tracing outlines. They trail along my eyebrows, the ridge of my nose, the apple of my cheeks and the line of my jaw. His touch is like feather but his eyes…they blaze and just like that, without saying a single word, he makes me believe.

You know when you mix butt and Angel in the same sentence, it becomes an insult,” I say and take a big gulp from the can. With his back to me, he says, “Trust me, I would never dream of insulting your butt. I’m sure it’s better than anything I’m cooking out here.

After a few seconds of scraping, I realize what he has isn’t a trail, it’s a whole forest! Ack! Weren’t all men supposed to shave their chest and stuff nowadays? Whatever happened to having fuzz-free Hollywood heroes as role models? At least my embarrassment is completely foregone by the irritation at his lack of upkeep. The only thing distracting me now is that heady mix of musk, shaving cream and a distinctly…male scent. And God knows that is one seriously jeopardizing distraction. Especially with a whizzing needle in one’s hand.

Neil Mars?! I could blame him for having killer looks but he could not be faulted for this. He couldn’t have chosen that name for himself. No wonder he tortures his Mom by calling her by her name.

Maybe that’s why I like reading fantasy novels so much. The world in there is so much more interesting than mine.

Neil’s not a bad guy, Mom. He just looks like one. It’s like he has the mystery but…not the deceit.” “Looks like Nine Inch Nails but sings like Michael Bolton?” “Who’s Michael Bolton?

it. “She’s got AIDS!” Mom’s mouth pops open and she flops back on the couch as if the air just got kicked out of her lungs. “AIDS?” she whispers. I nod my head and she gives me a sharp look. “How?” “From a local clinic in Africa. She fell sick on vacation.

Oh God! Please. Just please. Blind me, kill me, just…just end it. I’m so tired. Too tired to do it on my own.

As a little girl your mind is filled with snow white, dwarfs, wizards, then you grow up and you realize you’ve got it all wrong. Life’s the dead opposite of a fairy tale. It’s

But aren’t you going to miss it? The fame? The money?” He smiles. “Those are just things one misses when one hasn’t had a taste of them. Trust

that’s why people often compare love to drugs. It’s

The more you taste it, the more you crave it...wait a second...taste?!

Is he the one? The Neo to my Trinity?

So last night I was watching TV and they had this movie on. I don’t know if you’ve seen it. This girl loves this guy on e-mail and hates the same guy in person? But she doesn’t know they’re both the same and when she realizes, she thinks she hates his guts. Only he gives this epic romantic monologue in the end and so she decides she can’t help but fall in love with him,” Nalini

Your Dad called and he said you’re not replying to any of his e-mails or returning his calls. Why is that?

Your Dad called and he said you’re not replying to any of his e-mails or returning his calls. Why is that?” I shrug my shoulders in response.