Writers Tribe Review: Sacrifice Writers Tribe Review, Vol. 2, Issue 2 | Page 79

don’t make my mistake. If you aren’t careful, it can happen to you—you can knock up some girl—have to get a job to raise a kid—end up in some factory—end up an old man before you’re thirty. That thing in your shorts—keep it there. Go to college and get your degree. Then have your fun.”

“Okay,” I said.

“And if you’re going to ignore me, at least use these.” He tossed a small box on my bed.

I wanted to explain that we weren’t doing anything. Explain that she wrote this stuff for fun, to wind me up. Tell him that I just read the notes. Admit that I can’t even write anything back to her—much less do the things she wrote about in these letters. But then, he threw that box of condoms and it seemed like for a moment, there was something different in his eyes—something that said, so what if you suck at baseball, and football, and hockey, at least you are good with the ladies.

VIII.

A few beers into the party, Aaron told me she was a sure thing. He said, “If you can’t pop your cherry with her, you might as well become a priest.”

It felt weird talking about this person, Carla, like that. I looked across the room and she smiled at me. “Look, dude, I need to tell you something,” Aaron said. “I think you should know going in that she’s got a kid.”

“What?” I pushed him through the door and away from the crowd. “A kid?”

“Yeah, she had a kid a while ago.”

“Dude, no way. I’m out,” I said. Then it clicked. “What about the dad?” I asked. “Who’s the father?”

“Who knows? He flew the coop.”

“This is fucked up.”

“Chill, it’s not that bad.”

“Not that bad? On what planet?”

“It’s just sex. She wants to—you want to. Don’t be stupid.”