Pallid

Celeste lies in the bathtub, blue eyes peering over at me. There are bubbles all over the place. Her hair is wet. She starts to glare a little over the layer of bubbles. The whole bathroom smells like 'woodland faerie' or something weird like that because of the bubble bath stuff--these are the kinds of things Celeste buys when she goes out--and I hate it, but I like making her squirm sometimes, so I'll try to stand it.

I sit on the edge of the tub.

"You're a dirty old man."

"You're a spoiled little girl."

"You're a creep."

"You're a total bitch."

She laughs, throwing her head back, then bites her lip, looking at me mischievously as she starts giggling again, covering her mouth with her hand.

"What?"

She kicks her foot out suddenly, pushing me off the edge with her toes. She laughs as I scowl at her, narrowing my eyes at her. I stick my hand into the hot water--how does she stand it?--and yank on her foot. She shoots down into the water, then up, hair sticking to her face. Celeste flicks her foot out at me, breathing heavily.

"You're not funny." I laugh and she slips underneath the water, eyes barely above the surface as she holds her breath. Eventually she can't, and she slips up a little more, moving her hair out of her face. "I hope you know I still hate you."