The Voice

Part II

GOOD MORNING, said The Voice. YOU LOOK AWFUL TODAY.

It was true. In the mirror, Katya saw that her face was all wrong. Maybe it was because she had not slept well. Maybe it was because she had slept with her face smashed against the wall again.

NO, said The Voice, THE PROBLEM IS YOUR FACE. AND IT WILL PROBABLY ONLY GET WORSE.

Worse?

AND WORSE, said The Voice. YOU ARE NOW IN THE TERRIBLE STAGE YOUR HEALTH TEACHER WARNED YOU ABOUT. SOON YOUR FACE WILL BE COVERED IN PIMPLES AND YOU WILL BE IRRITABLE FOR NO REASON. HAVE FUN.

At school Katya could immediately see that The Voice was right. She did look awful. She could tell by the way everyone was looking at her. By the way her friend Mia said, “Are you okay?” To which Katya said, “What? What do you mean?” To which Mia said, “You just have a really weird look on your face.” To which Katya said, “Weird?” To which Mia said, “Not bad weird, just weird.” But how could weird be anything but bad?

The Voice said, I AGREE WITH YOU. WEIRD CAN ONLY BE BAD. WILL PEOPLE STILL LIKE YOU? MAYBE, MAYBE NOT. IT’S HARD TO SAY.

At lunch The Voice said, YOU KNOW WHAT YOU SHOULD DO? YOU SHOULD SHOW EVERYONE HOW YOU CAN BEND THE TIPS OF YOUR FINGERS.

Katya thought this was a terrible idea. First of all, her friends had all seen this trick before. Second of all, it wasn’t that exciting to begin with. It was just something she did sometimes, usually under the table where no one could see. A nervous habit when she was feeling awkward.

On the other hand, The Voice had never been wrong before. And so Katya said, rather abruptly, interrupting the group’s conversation about Friday’s dance, “Do you want to see how I can bend the tips of my fingers?”

Katya’s friends stopped their conversation. First they looked at one another—a bad sign—and then they looked at her. “Um… sure,” Mia said. “If you want to.” And, not feeling at all good about what she was about to do, Katya lifted her hand up to show them her bent fingertips.

WELL THAT WAS AWKWARD, said The Voice. MAYBE, TO MAKE UP FOR IT, YOU SHOULD INVITE THEM OVER TO YOUR HOUSE TO—I DON’T KNOW—SOMETHING.

Katya said, “Do you want to come over to my house later to—something.”

“To something?” Sasha said.

“Maybe another time,” Mia said.

“Yeah, maybe another time,” Sasha said.

ASK THEM IF IT’S BECAUSE THEY DON’T LIKE YOU ANYMORE, said The Voice. THIS COULD BE THE BEGINNING OF NOBODY LIKING YOU.

“Is it because you don’t like me anymore?”

“Of course we like you!” Sasha said.

“You’re just acting kind of… weird today,” Mia said.

The Voice said, SEE, I TOLD YOU THIS WOULD HAPPEN.

Over the next several hours, The Voice presented Katya with possibilities as to how the rest of her life might go:

EVERYONE WILL STOP LIKING YOU.

AT RECESS YOU WILL WANDER AROUND ALL BY YOURSELF.

YOU WILL GROW VERY LONELY.

YOU WILL CONSIDER GETTING A PET RAT OR FERRET, WHICH YOU WILL HIDE INSIDE YOUR COAT.

YOU WILL BE CALLED RAT GIRL OR FERRET FREAK.

YOU WILL GROW UP TO BE JUST LIKE YOUR AUNT VICKY WHO LIVES ALONE AND TALKS TO SQUIRRELS.

“Are you sure?” Katya whispered.

YES, said The Voice. I’M AFRAID SO.

(To be continued.)