Ask Kate

Chapter 9

Hey guys!! =D Third upload today!! Am I on a roll or what?! <3

<3 <3

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Chapter 9

“Hey,” Tom said as I walked toward our usual table. He didn’t have a laptop, but two brown paper bags and a bottle of orange juice sat in the middle of the table.

“Hi,” I said, sitting down.

If only Tom knew, as he gave me a very quick once-over, how much time I had spent on the outfit I was wearing the night before. If only everyone knew. I didn’t finish two subjects’ worth of homework as I emptied the contents of my closet, tearing through every dress, skirt, top, and piece of jewelry I owned. Finally, I had settled upon an emerald green, tight, to-the-knee dress. Around my waist was a dark blue, thick belt with a gold buckle. I slipped into gold colored sandals with an inch of heel. To complete my near perfect outfit, I triumphantly donned two huge gold studs, and a gold locket hugging my neck. At 5 am, I woke up to shower and curl my hair. Each strand had to be perfect, and in its place. My makeup also had to be perfect. I had put on the just-right amount of everything. And before walking into Starbucks, I adjusted my hair, outfit, and painted on a small stroke of gloss on each of my lips, pressing them together and taking a deep breath.

Just a normal day.

“You look nice,” he smiled shyly at me, and I snorted.

“Uh, really?” I asked. “I just threw this on ten minutes before I walked out the door…”

Tom rolled his eyes, still smiling. “Don’t lie to me, Kate.”

I gasped slightly, blinking. “What?”

“Perfection doesn’t happen ten minutes before you walk out of the door.”

I couldn’t help but blush. “You’re calling me perfect?”

“In a way, yes,” Tom said, nodding. “But I know how much you spend on your uh…what’s the word…uh…”

“Appearance.”

“Yeah. Appearance. Let me guess how much time you spent on yourself…two hours?”

I bit my lower lip, smiling sheepishly. “Yeah, it did take two hours.”

“You don’t have to look perfect when you’re hangin’ with me,” Tom’s eyes shone. “If you look perfect all the time, how can I know what you really look like?”

“Perfect is what I really look like,” I said, and then I realized how conceited I’d just sounded. “I…I mean…uh…”

Tom just laughed, shaking his head at me. “You’re crazy.”

“I’m hungry,” I made an attempt to change the subject.

He raised his eyebrows. “Look in your bag.”

I reached for the brown paper bag on the table in front of me and opened it.

“Another chocolate chip cookie?” I asked, taking a huge bite.

“Whoa there, Kate!” Tom cried. “Slow down!”

I closed my eyes and moaned in bliss. “I can’t help it. This is only about the fourth time I’ve ever had a cookie in my life.”

“What?”

I opened my eyes, chewing slowly. “Uh.”

“What did you say?”

“This is the fourth time I’ve ever had a cookie?”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”