"Andrea." He says, face serious. "Stop sucking in." His demanding yet caring voice feels like someone shoved butterflies into my stomach.
"I'm not." I lie, standing in a bikini I was trying on at Bikini Village.
"Andrea." That one word gave me chills. His deep brown eyes looking me, the real me. His perfect jaw line clenches. "I see your ribs, and you're talking funny. Also put your legs back together, instead of just turning your knees out." I do as I am told, and I see him look me over with no judgement, he stares as though looking at a famous painting. "That, is what I call beautiful. I call you beautiful. Don't think you have to change for me. You never should change, you're fucking perfect."
Though his language ruined the mood I still couldn't help looking into his deep brown eyes, looking at me with complete admiration. A way no one has looked at me before. How I got so lucky? I ask myself that everyday. Caleb Rosh-bin is the most attractive boy in my school and he's dating me. The nobody in a corner. It's only been a month, and we are already planning on going to Florida over Spring Break together. Alone. I've never been more excited in my life.
"I just don't always feel pretty." I say looking back at my pink painted toenails.
"Come here." He brings me into the change room and locks the door. He puts his hands on my bare waist, making my body tremble. He put his head on my shoulder as we looked in the mirror together. My pitch black hair covering most my face. He takes one of his hands and places it on my chin and lifts it up. Making me look at my plump body covered with freckles, my green eyes with flecks of brown in them, and the gorgeous hot pink bathing suit that covers my small boobs, and butt. "This right here." He says with his deep voice. "This is perfection. This is real beauty."
"I think we are looking in different mirrors." Is all that slips out. He turns my body around with a strong force and presses his lips against mine.
"I like this bathing suit on you, you should buy it." He says, then walks out of the change room. The feeling of his lips on mine still lingers as we walk out of the store, shopping bag in one hand, his in the other. "Wanna go or are there any other stores you wanna hit?" He asks.
"One, but you're gonna hate me for saying it."
"Coles? Or Chapters?" He asks.
"There's only a Coles here." I laugh, he gives a sigh. "Its only for one book I promise!"
"Five books later." he groans. I give him a small push and he laughs.
"At least I'm not into magazines or comic books." I mock him.
"Hey! I need the next issue of Spiderman, you know, to keep up with my collection."
"Okay, well I need the next John Green book. To keep up with my collection." I say and drag him into the store. I look around, not actually knowing what the one book I said I would buy is yet.
"Hey, come look at this." Caleb says holding up a book.
"Does this mean you actually read a novel cover? Oh my gosh call the police! Call over Guiness Book Of World Records!" I say holding my hand to my heart.
"Haha! You're so funny." He says sarcastically. "I'm serious just come here."
I walk over and see him holding a book with a reflector as a cover. "It caught my eye the second I walked by. It was so bright and pretty."
"Why because you can see yourself?" I asked.
"No," he rolls his eyes. "The book is called Mirror Mirror. Read the back. It sounds like a good read, well, for you anyways." I take it out of his hands and start reading the back.
"Maria Parent is a six teen year old girl in need of a mirror. Her eyebrows unplucked, her eyelashes uncurled, her hair unbrushed, but that's the way she likes it. Sweat pants and baggy sweaters are all she wears. So when a boy comes up and talks to her, she is speechless. Finding out he is dating Veronica, the most popular girl in school, Maria feels as though to catch his attention, the way he caught hers is to get a mirror. She becomes a whole new person, and creates rules for herself to get the boy of her dreams. Although, rules are made to be broken." I finish. "It sounds interesting. Okay, it will be my Florida book." I put it in my arms next to John Green's Looking For Alaska, and Kate Brian's Untouchable.
"Only one book right?" He asks mockingly.
"Excuse me, but who showed me this one? Oh that's right, you." I say and bring them to the cash.
We walk out of the mall and jump into his Moms old Jeep. I sit on the cow leathered seats and place my bags down on the dirt clattered floor. I take Mirror Mirror and get to reading.
"Really? You're not even giving it ten minutes?" Caleb laughs.
"How could I?" I giggle and read the first page.
"Maria manages to roll herself out of bed. Strangely and awkwardly, but it's out of bed. She throws her arms up in the air, listening to her body creak and crack. She takes off her pajama pants, revealing her Walmart pink underwear and replaces them with a purples pair. Pulling her Garage sweat pants up one leg at a time, and yawning to give her multiple chins. Then throwing on a navy blue Gap sweater over top her hand-me-down 32A bra. This, is an average morning for Maria. Checking her phone to see no texts, eating like a pig, wiping her face, placing a toothbrush to her teeth and leaving for school."
By the time we got back to Caleb's house, I had finished the first three chapters. In which, Maria had her first meeting with the boy of her dreams, named Daniel, after they bump shoulders in school. She automatically rushes to her best friend Tawnie who tells her how unattractive she is, and how to fix it. Maria decided to make herself a rule book. The rest of the chapters are all of the rules that she follows.
The more I read the more I realized how much Daniel and Caleb were a like, and how Daniels girlfriend (Veronica) is a shit ton like Caleb's ex...
