Page 86 - What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours

we sat he seemed to be comfortably asleep, and “No Scrubs” played on and on

until Radha ran onto the stage, lifted the boy into her arms, turned his head to the
side, and we saw that his eyes were open. Then it became official that Gustav
wasn’t sleeping. Those of us in the front row even saw his eyes; they were like a
void made visible. Professor Semyonova himself climbed onto the stage,
checked vital signs, and shouted for someone to call an ambulance. The
professor called for his daughter too, and she arrived on the stage among a
swarm of other students proffering bottles of water and Tiger Balm and scarves

and asking: “Is he breathing? Is he breathing?”
—

TYCHE, ROWAN, and I were the only ones who stayed where we were. That
probably made us look guilty of something, but moving closer to the stage would

have broken our concentration. Myrna said something to Radha that caused her
to release Gustav and turn her attention to the maimed puppets, gathering the
bodies one by one, running her fingers through Hamlet’s hair, knocking on
Petrushka’s helmet, closing eyes pair by pair. As she did so Myrna clasped
Gustav to her (“Did you know she liked him that much?” I heard one boy ask
another), all of her body against all of his body. He moved his head, seemed to
return to himself, and pushed her away, his hand seeking only Radha’s. Myrna

stepped back into the crowd with a look of shock. What caused it; that the dose
she’d given was enough for him? Or the way Radha bent over him looking into
those sad eyes that had grown even sadder from the day he’d chosen her? My
guess: The biggest surprise was that by looking at each other in this way they
were hurting Myrna. A little pain—just enough to quicken her breathing. Tyche
was half out of her seat trying to decide whether to go to Myrna or not, and

Rowan tried to give me a high five, which I ignored. “As expected,” he said, and
looked about him with an air of fulfillment that made it plain he was referring to
more than just my snub.