John Hughes Movie

Chapter 9

Lara Jean

I turned on my music and pretended I was in the opening montage of a movie. I hopped in the shower and let the warm water wash over my body. As much as smelling like coffee, sugar & sweat was appealing to some, it wasn't what I was going for tonight. I shaved and exfoliated, making my skin soft and supple in case the night takes an unexpected direction.

I let my hair mask sit on my scalp for a little longer than usual. My sister once told me my hair was my best feature so I took extra care of it on nights like this. I used to hate how dark and thick it was growing up. All the cool girls at school were tall and blonde. Everything I wanted to be but never could accomplish. When I would complain about it to my older sister Margo, she would tell me that if I ever dyed my hair she would kill me. She had my dad's thin lighter brown hair, totally different from my younger sister and I. I kind of loved that I had something she didn't have. I was always living in her shadow. She was only a year older than me. To have something that made us different, that was me having something better than her, was addicting to me.

I stepped out of the shower. My mirror fogged with steam. I swung a large white towel around my body before wiping a small circle to see what we were working with. My face already looked tired from a busy morning at the café. I needed to give it some TLC. I leaned down to my cabinet full of Korean skin care that my aunt gave to me last Christmas. I loved how supple it left your skin and the cute characters on the packaging were just a bonus in my eyes.

I laid down on my bed as the face mask's serum soaked my face. If I kept myself unbothered, I would surely fall asleep and we didn't have time for that. I grabbed me phone and started playing a matching game. 3 blocks. 5 blocks. Win the level. A notification that Peter had texted me back. We'd been debating what film to watch next. I said a classic, like Pretty in Pink. He insisted on something more modern. We had been going back and forth since I saw him at the coffee shop. He was supposed to be working on an essay, but hopefully these were just breaks to make the writing go faster. I texted him back.

Easy A? It has lots of JH references only with cellphones and vlogs. Could work for the sex / sexism stuff?

I immediately got back a thumb's up emoji. He was cute when he replied so quickly. I liked thinking I was on his mind or he was waiting for me. I know today I was asked out by TWO men, but usually I felt invisible to the other gender. Most of the time I was instantly friend zoned and not seen as sexy or someone who could be someone's girlfriend. Those small touches that made it seem possible, made me have a confidence I never had before.

My phone buzzed again. Time to take the mask off and do something with my hair. I texted Kitty earlier and she said to curl it, insisting that's when it looked best. Kitty was younger than me. She had just started high school but had the sass of someone double her big age of 14. She was feisty and had more confidence than she knew what to do with. I always wished I could have a smidge of what she had. But, I was the shy one. Always had been.

After spending more time on my hair than I would ever admit, I looked at my phone. An hour before I was supposed to meet him. The restaurant was only 5 minutes from me, meaning I could take all the time I needed for my makeup. I had watched so many make up wizards on YouTube alone in my dorm that I had started to become good at this. I wanted something natural and glowy. I never think I look good in a lot of make-up. Every time I try to do a smoky eye or ultra-bold lip, I think I look like someone's trashy cousin. It works for some people. Hell, Chris does a smoky eye every day. It just doesn't work on me.

I searched through my closet. It was the one place in my room that wasn't a mess. I picked through my racks. We weren't going anywhere fancy, so I didn't need to be completely dolled up, but I wanted to look pretty. I had put enough effort into my hair and makeup, that I might as well also have a good outfit. I picked one of my favorite dresses. It was white and emerald green with a delicate vine design. It was a little poofy and made me feel like a fairy in the best way. I threw some white platform sandals on my bed and put on my usual jewelry, a heart necklace from my dad and small gold earrings that were my mom's.