Permanent Record

by Mary H.K. Choi

There was a time when she was fanatic about her red MAC lipstick. “It’s Ruby Wooooooo,” she’d coo in her high-pitched voice when customers remarked on it, but that was before morning sickness took her out.

Yeah who is trying to wear $18 lipstick while intermittently puking??

To be honest though, I don’t know that I’d exactly call him my friend. He’s got zero chill. He’s that dude in the crew who’ll accidentally lock eyes with the violent homeless guy on the train or who’ll buy the exact same hat as you and not think it’s a problem.

I know this person

Randall, my best friend since middle school, who was home from Tufts. He’d texted me to come through as though it hadn’t been since literal graduation day that we’d stopped talking for no reason beyond how we didn’t really like each other that much.

Lmao .... what?

There was a HELP WANTED sign posted for a cashier, and I figured if wandering around a bodega stoned was the one activity I was always up for, I might as well get paid for it. Cut to now. A full year and change later. Honestly, it scares me the way I end up living out the aftermath of decisions I don’t remember making.

“Wait, don’t I know you from somewhere?” It’s easily the most surreal question a famous person can ask you.

Mom would have sent me to Korea if I’d done something like that. That was her favorite threat when I was growing up. As if sending me to a boarding school in a country with triple-fried honey chicken, where the Wi-Fi’s forty times faster, would be punishment.

See? This is what I hate about going over to mom’s. She’s so demanding about perfectly reasonable things that provide limitless opportunity for us to disappoint her.

Miggs and Dara are twenty-eight and twenty-three respectively, Selwyn’s twenty-one, but me and Tice are underage.

Sounds like Miggs needs a new roommate situation stat

When my metal-encased body goes careening through the sky engulfed in flames, I’ll be a cautionary tale. But at least I cleared my browser history.

Paging Parisa