Issue 34 | "Part 3: Nadine's Consensual Home Invasion" by Swati Sudarsan photograph by Michel O’Hara
“—she’s not a lab specimen,” Nadine interrupted, but Athena barreled forward. “We’ll have to be quick, but we can open her up and see what’s inside..." | The third installment of a four-part novella.
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Part 3: Nadine's Consensual Home Invasion by Swati Sudarsan | photograph by Michel O’Hara
When Nadine and the Other Nadine arrived at Athena’s, Nadine led them in through the back door.
“This is okay?” asked the Other Nadine.
Nadine nodded. Athena always insisted that she come in through the back. “There’s something nostalgic about consensual home invasion,” she would say, her eyes pulsing. “It reminds me of an eighteenth-century romance. Or neighborliness in the countryside. Or an episode of Friends.”
Inside the house, the dull morning air sharpened with the scent of butter burning and toast toasting. Athena’s home was littered with armchairs, armories, cabinets, and garish displays of crockery. For a woman of science, she was particularly flamboyant when it came to archaic symbols of domestication. Which reminded Nadine — Athena expected everyone under her roof to adhere to a particular code of conduct. “It’s the basis of self-dignity” Athena said about her rules, which made Nadine wonder what the difference was between that and self-righteousness. In any case, Athena was far more likely to be helpful if her dignity was stoked.
“Listen up,” Nadine hissed, almost snapping her fingers at the Other Nadine. “Athena’s going to come in here at any minute, and we need her to like you. So you’re going to have to eat everything she makes us. She’s not much of a cook, but just think of it as edible calories. She loves knowing you feel provided for. Also, don’t make faces if it’s too salty. Also, don’t put your elbows on the table. Also, don’t speak unless spoken to. She’ll loosen up when she’s had enough wine.”
“What is she, a witch?”
“No, she’s British.”
The Other Nadine wrinkled her nose.
“Okay, now sit down. But not on the velvet divan. That’s a vanity piece…”
Read Part 3: Nadine's Consensual Home Invasion
Swati Sudarsan is an Indian-American writer who grew up in the Midwest. She has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net. Her work is published in The Rumpus, McSweeney's Internet Tendency, Catapult, Denver Quarterly, and The Spectacle, amongst others. She was the 2023 recipient of the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference Katharine Bakeless Nason Award in Fiction, and has also received funding and support from the Tin House Workshop, the Kenyon Review, Kweli Journal, and more. She now lives in Brooklyn with her black cat Toothless.
Michel O’Hara is a writer and photographer living in Los Angeles, CA. Her most recent poetry can be found in One Art Poetry, The Rising Phoenix Review, The Blue Route, and The Sucarnochee Review. Her photography has been included in exhibitions at the Griffin Museum of Photography, Los Angeles Center of Photography, Lightbox Photographic Gallery, The Curated Fridge and PhotoPlace Gallery. Michel is currently pursuing her M.F.A. in Poetry at Antioch University Los Angeles.
Issue 34 Highlights
Issue 34 is live! | The crack in my armor by Michael Nagle
Issue 34: dervish; wolf 3 | poem and artwork by Melissa Leto
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