Goosebumps and Green Toenail Polish | Teen Ink

Goosebumps and Green Toenail Polish

December 18, 2008
By Taylor Cutshall SILVER, Westminster, Colorado
Taylor Cutshall SILVER, Westminster, Colorado
8 articles 0 photos 0 comments

Goosebumps and green toenail polish

Good Lord she was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen in my entire life.

It's weird the way that the cold affects us normal human beings.

Bundled up in our hideous jackets, reserved only for the days when the heat of humiliation is the only thing that can warm our cheeks and give depth to our heart as it flattens itself against our ribs for safety.

Our hair is flattened and it flies away, it's damp and dark but not wet because that would be too easy, we can't even unlock the tresses because our fingers are confined in mismatched mittens.

Noses runny and bright red, Rudolphs in our own right without a foggy Christmas Eve night to save or even a flake of snow on the ground or in the atmosphere to justify the temperature.

But she wasn't wearing a jacket. Long sleeves didn't protect her arms, and only a misleading sweater-like short sleeved green argyle number covered her torso, tight blue jeans and green flip flops.

I longed to touch her skin, to calm the goosebumps with covered hands because her frozen sleek fingers couldn't do the job.

I wanted to tuck her flowing brown hair behind her bright crimson ear. The unruly state it had taken on only accentuated her devastating tan face, her huge blue eyes and lengthy lashes that butterfly kissed my heartbeat ten beats faster every time she blinked.

But at least my hyper heart was circulating its warmth through me. I knew that even my stomach, my calves, my elbows were blushing with secret embarrassment and I fluttered my eyes shut and praised the sky for unleashing such a cold day upon us that my coloring was appropriate.

The only thing I could do was platonically unwrap my bright blue scarf from around my neck, three, two, one times and step forward to platonically sling it over her shoulders. One, two, three and she smiled at me gratefully, how was she to know how cold cold really felt?

It complimented her eyes to the point that I shivered. How she managed to wrap herself up in it so tight I'll never know.

I took a quick chance- reaching out to pull it tighter to her silken neck, and I felt the ice of her. I swallowed deeply and suppressed a tangible chill, I faked a smile which she returned and I returned in earnest.

What isn't there to smile about when

Goosebumps and green toenail polish

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This article has 1 comment.


Maei said...
on Nov. 27 2009 at 11:13 am
There was a beautiful poetic flow in this piece. I loved the repetition throughout and the way you restated the title at the end. The narrator felt very real to me.