Uniform by Marijean Oldham

We gathered at recess and stared at Jessica standing there in a pair of Guess jeans. We put our fingers to our lips and blew clouds of hot breath, pretending we were our ancient aunts with their menthols. Coats over our uniforms, our bare legs pink in the cold, we circled Jessica, who explained that the jeans belonged to her cousin.

Last night, Jessica’s house burned to the ground. We heard about it from our mothers who heard about it from the Saint Aloysius phone tree. Jessica said she had been asleep when her dad came running into her room yelling, “Fire!”  

“As I ran by the bathroom,” she said, “I saw Elizabeth just sitting there peeing.”

We laughed, wild-eyed, at the idea of Jessica’s younger sister half asleep on the toilet while the house was in flames.

“My dad grabbed Elizabeth off the toilet and carried her outside. When I got to the front yard, I could see the fire climbing the side of the house. If we hadn’t woken up, we’d all be dead,” Jessica said.

We shifted our feet and rubbed our hands together, looking from face to face, wondering how the day would be if it started with Jessica being dead. We remembered when she made fun of Patty’s stutter. We knew she was the one who stole from the bake sale envelope, but we stood by while she blamed it on Sheila. When Ellen’s parents split up, it was Jessica who told Ellen it was probably because she had gotten fat.

Despite ourselves, we hung on her every word. We always had.

So, we told her we were sorry, and we were glad she was okay. Later, out of her earshot, because none of us ever got to wear jeans to school, and none of us had Guess, we said she did it on purpose. She could have borrowed a skirt, we whispered. She could have looked like the rest of us.

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MARIJEAN OLDHAM — Marijean is a public relations consultant and writer. In 2003, Marijean set a Guinness Book World Record for creating the largest bouquet of flowers. When not writing, Marijean is a pie enthusiast and competitive baker.

Art by MARINA MARINOPOULOS — Marina is a self-taught Greek artist based in Normandy, France. She is a member of the Association Des Couleurs et des Formes, which holds regular workshops. She paints in oils and acrylics, but also creates works on paper, using mixed media: pencil, charcoal, watercolour, collage, gold leaf. She haunts museums, exhibitions and galleries and also draws inspiration from nature, birds and animals, as well as the human figure, especially faces and hands.