Consolation Prize

 

Chapter 1

 

“Ouch!” I flinched as Maryssa continued to pluck my eyebrows.

 

            “Oh shut up. I’m not hurting you. Trust me by time I’m finished with you you’ll be a shoo in to win." I didn’t want to tell her that I could care less if I won or not. She’d spent the past three hours working on my award winning look [well boy- winning I guess].

 

            See it was someone’s great idea to enter me into a blind-date contest. It would be aired on national TV. Embarrassing right?

But she was doing a good deed… she thinks.

 

            “Amie! Phone!” my mother yelled from the bottom of the stairs. Seriously she could stop being lazy and bring the phone to me, that way I could continue being lazy. I groaned sliding off the bed. I’d rather slide all the way downstairs to the phone. Who was calling me anyway? I guess I got a little curious because I hopped off the floor and ran downstairs.

 

            My mother was standing there phone in hand. I gave her a tight smile and took the phone. Hesitantly putting the phone up to my ear, I saw my mother was still in front of me. I made a shooing motion. She turned and left her hands up in the air. I could hear her muttering something. I shook my head.

 

           “Who is this?” Not proper to answer a phone like that but hey, I could hate the anonymous person on the other end.

 

            “Hello?! A- Amie?” Some Dude that sounded anxious and excited.

 

            “This is she… May I ask who's calling?”

 

            “Um… it’s Sherman? You know? From homeroom?” I groaned. My eyes widened. Kinda rude.

 

            “Yeah I know you,” how could I forget him he’s liked me since the first grade, “… How do you know my number?”

 

            “Uh well kind of a long story…”

 

            “Make it short.” He’s a stalker?

 

            “Well I was office help… and it was the day you broke your wrist. I mean nobody was in the office yet. So, I like, got your file and called your home to notify … the home. Oh, god, don’t think I’m like a stalker or anything.” Sure, cause it’s hard not to!

 

            Okay let me explain something. Sherman was this dude who I’d known since like birth. We used to play together. Then we started getting older and so did I. Sherman’s like 6’2, a towering figure over my 5’7. He had shiny red, curly, bouncy hair. I guess it was cute… But his eyes were really the amazing thing about him. They were green like little glowing emeralds. And they were slanted ever so slightly. I know, what girl would not want him? But he doesn’t seem to notice how good he looks. I mean he’s chasing me other than one of the million beauties at our school. And that can get pretty annoying.

 

            While I’m thinking about all of this I suddenly remember that Sherman was still on the phone.

 

            “Uh. Oh. Sherman?” It came out all broken, “I don’t think you’re a stalker… But why did you call here TODAY?” I heard some shuffling of papers in the background.

 

            “Oh,” I heard him mumble ‘here it is’, “Do you know that you owe like seventy dollars in overdue book fines?” My heart dropped to my stomach. Here I was thinking he was madly in love with me and he was just doing his job.

 

            I laughed. “Oh nooo. I did not know that. But I’ll be sure to get that problem resolved. Thank you Sherman. Buh bye!” I could hear his bye as I hung up the phone. How embarrassing.

 

            I climbed the stairs up back to my room and sat on the bed. I was ready to get this make-over and game show over. Maryssa continued doing my face brushing on some lip-gloss here, applying some mascara here. Then she moved to my hair. I thought it was fine the way it was , but she’d ask me if I’d had a boyfriend and declare that was one of the many reasons why. I could totally say she was a good friend. Ah, don’t you just love sarcasm?

 

            First she blow dried my hair with this fancy salon style blow dryer. Then she proceeded to add oils and sprays while simultaneously curling and pinning my hair in certain places. When she was finished she sprayed some more. “Hold” she told me. She was a major reason for the depleting ozone layer.  She spun me around to face my mirror like they do in those fancy movies. I gasped in surprise. Like the actors. I wasn’t an Ugly Betty in the beginning but I had to admit I looked gorgeous. I don’t know how Maryssa had to skill to make the hair and make-up look natural. Well as natural as it could be with someone sitting for three hours.

 

            Last, we had to pick out something to wear. I stood up and walked towards my closet.

 

            “Nuh Uh!” I spun around to stare at Maryssa.

 

            “What’s wrong with you?!”

 

            “No offense but, like your clothes are sweet and simple. I got something to make you POW.” She had a mischievous smile on her face.

 

            “You do know he can’t see me?”

 

            “Pshhh. Have you ever seen a guy pick an ugly woman,” I was about to say yes “When all of the women weren’t ugly?” She was right.

 

“My point.” She pulled out this pearled color mini dress with little diamonds encrusted on it. She then went to her bag again and pulled out these three inch heels. They were beautiful. I was going to look fabulous… if I didn’t trip and fall flat on my face in those heels.