Ghost Time

together. Don’t take that away from me, and he nodded, dropping it. I cleared my throat, and I go, Three percent, and Knox goes, Sorry? I said, Did you know the human eye can only see three percent of reality? As sophisticatedas our eyes are, that’s all we register, and he said, Meaning? I go, Meaning, I don’t care how it looks. I know Cam, and he’d never do that. Never , I said, and Knox nodded, putting his phone away.
    Call me if you need anything, he said, tilting his head forward, looking at me in that way that told me he realized he wasn’t going to convince me otherwise, and I nodded yes, that’s right, now we’re communicating. Then I said, You know what it’s like, Knox? It’s like those naked dreams—I had that dream once, a dream that I showed up for school in a sweater, but I wasn’t wearing any pants or underpants, I said, and Knox sort of pulled away in that way he does when he doesn’t like the fact that he’s got visuals on me while I’m telling him something like this. Whatever. I said, I come to in the dream, and I’m just standing there, half-naked, in the middle of the hall, everyone standing around, heading for class, and I know I have two seconds before everyone sees me, and I’m thinking, What the hell am I doing at school without any pants or underwear? It’s exactly like that, except that that’s how my life really is now. Every day now, when I show up to school, everybody’s seen something about me, and it’s like I’m not just naked on the outside, I’m naked on the inside, too, I said. Knox took the back road, staring straight ahead, not saying a word—not avoiding speaking, just… what could he say, you know? What could he possibly say? So I said good-bye, opened the car door, and got out.
    When I walked in, Mom was sitting on the couch, and her mouth fell open, seeing me home at that hour, and I go, I couldn’t do it. I just couldn’t do it, Mom. I got called to the office again, and… I couldn’t even finish my sentence. Mom nods her head,telling me not to worry, and then I saw the people sitting in the chairs, across the room. She was sitting with this man and woman, and right when I’m figuring out what’s going on, Mom stands up and introduces them to me, telling me the name of the firm they’re with, Somebody, Somebody, Somebody, and Somebody Else. But right away, I knew what they wanted, why they were sitting in our sad little living room: money. There’s money to be made, and they even had a computer with them, obviously online—the woman must’ve frozen the frame, hearing me walk in.
    They both wore suits, so I knew they weren’t from around here—I didn’t even think they were from Albany. I didn’t know where they were from—New York, maybe? The guy was fifty, maybe? I don’t know, old, with a bald head—the kind with a ring of hair around his head, you know? The woman was younger, maybe thirty-five, tall and thin, and she’d set her long hair in rollers. The way she smiled at me, she had this air about her, like it was just between us girls, right? But plastic, and I’m like, I don’t know you.
    I didn’t say hello, nothing. I just said, It’s not true—those videos aren’t me. And if it’s not me, we can’t sue anyone, so you’re wasting your time, and then I turned back around. The man spoke up; he said, Thea, I’m sorry you’ve been dragged into this, but obviously there are legal issues to consider, since you’re underage. There are statutory rape laws to consider, as well, the woman said, and I go, If that was me, maybe, but it’s not. She goes, Thea, I’m so sorry to have to pry, but are you saying you didn’t have sex with your boyfriend, John Cameron Conlon, on the afternoon of April 4? I turned around, and the man goes,I’m sorry, Thea, I know this must be very confusing for you, and then I said, No, it’s not confusing, because it’s not me. He goes, But it’s your room? Yes, I said, and he goes, Is the boy in this image your boyfriend, Cam Conlon? I don’t know who he is, I said. He goes, The clock? Is that your clock? I don’t know whose it is, either, I said. And the man goes, Well, then, can you tell us what you were doing at three forty-five on Monday afternoon, April 4? I go, I have nothing more to say.
    See, this is where I get confused, Thea, the woman said. She nodded like she understood, and then she goes, Whoever it is, it certainly appears to be you and Cam, and these videos, all of them,