I sat up in my bed and rubbed my head. I felt the need for yet another hot shower. I stumbled into my bathroom and scrubbed until my skin was raw. I got out and pulled my hair back into a tight ponytail. I walked back into my room and saw a trundle bed laid out on the floor. I walked over to it and saw a duffel bag laying on top of it. Angela must've set up camp while I was napping. My stomach grumbled, craving food. I went downstairs to the kitchen. Karen and Angela were whispering in the kitchen, while Karen chopped green onion on the wooden cutting board. They looked up and Karen smiled at me. "How was your nap, sugar lump?" she asked sweetly.
I shrugged my shoulders and sat beside Angela on the next bar stool. "It was okay, I guess," I replied glumly. Her face fell at the tone of sadness in my voice, but she nodded her head and looked at Angela again.
"Angela and I were talking about how nice it would be if you girls could spend some more time together, and she mentioned that she wanted to go to a party that was at Madison Baker's house tonight...I was wondering if you went...maybe you could see if Madison doesn't mind an extra guest?" I froze, mentally banging my head against the granite counter. Madison was a good friend of mine, and I already knew that I was invited. I just didn't want to go to another party and run into Sebastian or worse, Jeffery.
"Mom, it's fine. She doesn't have to if she doesn't want to," I heard Angela whisper in a embarrassed tone. I lifted my head from the table and looked over at her. Her cheeks had turned a pale pink and she nervously tucked her hair behind her ear. I felt guilty then. Guilty because Angela didn't get invited to all the parties like I did. In our school, outer beauty didn't matter, but money sure did. Angela was never invited because of me. Her parents worked for mine, thus making it unacceptable for her to be at any party that I would be attending. Funny thing was, at our school, you had to have money to get in, and I knew that Karen and Doug didn't get paid near enough to send her there. So...how was she getting into the best school in the country when her parents struggled to make ends meet?
I remember when I was a young girl, Karen had asked my mother if she could have a raise. Before she could even explain what it was for, my mother told her no. She said that if Karen wanted more money, then maybe she just needed to find another job or two. It hurt me to see Karen being rejected so quickly, because I knew what the money was for. Angela had broken her arm on the playground, and the money was to pay for her expenses. When my father came home for work, I hurried to him and begged that Karen got that money. He looked at me funny for three weeks after writing the check, never knowing what the money had been for.
It was a act of kindness. Something that Karen rarely saw in this house at the hands of my mother. She wasn't a cruel woman overall, but she could be pretty vicious when she wanted to be. Karen told me for a month straight, after she received the check, that I was nothing like my mother. That I was a very good person and that I would go far with my acts of kindness. Now it was time for yet another act of kindness for Angela. I sat up and turned my body towards her. "Do you want to come with me tonight?" I asked firmly. She stared me down like I was delirious.
"I would like to go," she replied shyly, staring at her hands as she played with her fingers. I looked over at the clock on the microwave. It was almost four in the afternoon.
"Well, we have a lot to get done before we head over to Maddie's. You can borrow some of my clothes from my closet. We have to be at her house before six though so let's hurry up." She looked overjoyed and pounced on me, her arms strangling me in a hug. She giggled as she ran up the stairs to my room. Karen stared at me as I sighed and ruffled my hair. "What?" She blinked and continued to chop.
"That was very sweet of you, Lindsay. You didn't have to take her along," she said with a large smile on her face. I shrugged my shoulders and got off of the bar stool.
"I wasn't even going to go tonight, but I'm not going to wreck the fun for someone else. I'll just smile and have fun." I started to leave the kitchen, when Karen's voice stalled me.
"Can you please be home before ten tonight? You have my daughter after all." I looked back at her and nodded my head.
"Sure," I said with a weak smile. I was hoping to be home before nine at the least anyway. I pushed open the door and headed up to my room. I found Angela there, sorting through all of my skimpy dresses, shorts, and low cut shirts. Not to mention she found my large collection of Prada shoes. Her face was glowing as she bounced from hanger to hanger, trying to find the right outfit. I watched as she stared at my two-hundred dollar dress designed by Ann Taylor. It was black and short with a low V-neck and the straps tied behind your neck. Her fingers grazed the fabric as she stared. "You can have that. I don't want it anymore. Come to think of it...I'll probably be cleaning out some of my wardrobe sometime. Maybe if the clothes fit, you can keep."
Her face looked as bright as the sun. "Really?!" She jumped up and down excitedly as she took the dress off of the hanger. She hurried into the bathroom to change and I sat on my bed. 'Please don't let Sebastian be there.' I thought to myself. I flopped down on the bed and stared at the pink ceiling. I heard my bathroom door open and I rolled onto my stomach as Angela came shyly out. The dress fitted her perfectly. She had the curves in all the right places and her body was just small enough that the dress swished when she moved. "How do I look?"
She ran her fingers down the skirt. I tapped my finger against my chin, thinking of the right shoes to complete the outfit. I climbed over the bed and went through the closet. I picked out my black Pura Lopez shoes and handed them over to her. "Keep them," I said as she started to put them on. I watched her face bloom into another smile as they fit perfectly onto her feet.
"Thank you, Lindsay." I nodded my head as I grabbed some Big Star jeans, a black tank top, and a leather vest. I walked into the bathroom and changed, noting the small scratches on my body from the two showers that I had taken. I replayed what of last night that I could remember, and things were piecing together in all the wrong ways. I let my hair down and shook it out. I rubbed my eyes, wanting to go back to sleep. I looked for my bag of make up. I found it sitting on the back of my toilet.
I unzipped it and started to apply the foundation and lotion. I started carefully applying the layers of make up, making sure to remember the Ravish Me Red lipstick that I stole from my mom when she left for a business trip for three weeks.I took a brush through my hair, smoothing it out over my shoulders. I walked back out, spotting my old Converse All-Stars hiding underneath my desk. I picked them up and slipped them onto my feet. I had missed those shoes. They were by far the most comfortable shoes that I had even owned in my whole life. Slippers weren't as comfortable as my Converses.
I looked over at Angela as she took her turn staring in the mirror. I knew Karen would kill me if she had as much make up as I did on. I walked in and took the mascara stick away from her before she poked herself in the eye. "Sit down," I said as I gestured towards the toilet. She sat down on the lid as I did her make up. I only added eye liner, mascara, a little blush, and some lip gloss. I stepped back as I took her in. Her braid was perfect and so was the rest of her outfit. She opened her eyes and looked into the mirror.
Her smile was enormous and she covered her mouth, her eyes brimming with tears. "I look beautiful," she said to herself. I smiled at her through the mirror.
"You don't have to add a ton of make up to be beautiful. You just need enough to enhance the beauty of that person." She turned around to look at me and she stepped forward, carefully hugging me.
"Thank you, Lindsay." I smiled and caught myself staring into the mirror. My eyes looked old and faded, like a worn pair of blue jeans, and I just looked so tired. It was almost pitiful. Angela pulled away with a large grin on her face. "Come on we have a party to get too!" She bounded down the stairs and I followed closely behind her.
