I Am Toffee

I tell Marla my real name,

twice:

Allison. Allison.

And she uses it for a while,

not looking at me,

then continues to call me Toffee.

She thinks that’s who I am,

so I stop correcting her,

and anyway,

I like the idea of being

sweet and hard,

a girl with a name for people

to chew on.

A girl who could break teeth.