all souls

"They got up close for her to pick and seemed startled at what they saw. What did they see? But they were never so familiar as to fix her. They would let her go through a class smudged rather than say, 'Miss Wilkes, you've got ink on your chin.' Only Lisa Van de Wen has stopped her, had said, 'Wait.' Lisa it was who had tucked in the label of her shirt, who had said, 'Miss Wilkes, holding out a box of Kleenex. Lisa Van de Ven, Lisa. Miss Wilkes was on the bed with the weight of her hand between her legs." - Christine Schutt, All Souls