Teenage Millionaire

Chapter 9: Sharp

I stare at myself in the (unnecessarily elaborate) full length mirror. I look like a much more stylish version of my usual nerdy self. I mean, I don't usually look like a stereotypical nerd, but in comparison to the snappy, polished guy in the mirror, I usually look like a complete dweeb.

"So, Todd? Final verdict?" Raymond asks, bringing me back to reality.

"W-wow," I manage to stutter out.

"Told you he's the best," Zach murmurs smugly from his chair, but he's not smirking as usual. He's examining my appearance too- I can see his eyes flicking over me in the mirror (I'm watching him through the mirror. He's looking at my actual body). I'm not sure whether to be self-conscious or not, because while I usually would if anyone looked at me like that, ever, I don't look like I usually do. And while this transformation would be enough to make me feel super outgoing and confident regardless of who was looking at me in any other situation, Zach currently is the exception to that rule. Mostly because he also just received a Raymond-makeover.

Since he's looking at my physical body, I decide it's safe to sneak another glance at him in the mirror. He looks sharp. I've never seen him look this good at school- which is fair. Most people don't get this dressed up on weekdays.

I notice Raymond watching me a moment later. He's smirking a little, and I immediately blush and avert my gaze, knowing that he saw me looking at Zach. Though, I really only glanced at him for a second, and he's been studying me for what feels like several minutes.

"I'm assuming that was a good 'wow', unless for some reason you don't like looking like a sharp-dressed man," Raymond comments, and Zach's gaze flicks to him, finally giving me a chance to breathe.

"'And every girl crazy 'bout a sharp-dressed man'," he immediately sings in a low growl-y voice that sends a chill down my spine, and Raymond leans over to give him a high five.

"Thanks, hon. Now I've got somewhere to be, so I'll see you tomorrow for your talk show appearance."

Zach waves, and Raymond disappears out the door. Zach pushes himself off the chair, sending it in the opposite direction as he stands. He comes over to me, slinging an arm across my shoulders and meeting my gaze in the mirror. His smirk is back in its usual place now, though more sly than gleeful. He doesn't say anything, so (feeling awkward) I ask, "Why would Raymond come today if he's just going to have to do it all over again tomorrow?"

He turns to meet my gaze (not in the mirror), and my throat goes dry when I do the same and see how close our faces are. I shift away a little and swallow. The corners of his eyes crinkle a little in amusement.

"Raymond's a perfectionist. So he'll come the day before to get a run-through, since the first time will often take a while. Then, the day of, he can pretty much cut the time it takes in half. It's a good system."

I nod a little, still kind of tense from his close proximity. Is he doing this on purpose, to try and make me uncomfortable? Is he even aware of how close we are right now? Or...

From what I can tell, he does this kind of thing pretty often. Every few days at school, he'll have a new companion, and they'll be glued to his side the whole day. His parents seem to have done the thing with the rules a lot, and clearly they've had enough situations to consider it necessary and compose the list. And Raymond mentioned him bringing other people to his practice styling sessions before. So he probably does this a lot. And I can't help but wonder- why? What does he want from me? Every possibility I can come up with makes me more anxious than the last.

I swallow again and carefully shift so his arm falls from my shoulders, then step away (trying to be inconspicuous, but it's really hard, so I don't think it worked at all. I probably made it worse). "So... what now? Homework, right?"