Beauty (15 page)

“Uh,” Kemper said as I hesitantly waved back at the senior. Was her name Laura? Or Layne? Or maybe Lorainne? “We, uh …” Kemper shot me a panicked look in the rearview mirror.

“We’ll be there,” I jumped in.

“Cool.” Josh glanced over at Kemper. “Should be fun.” Kemper was practically glowing as she nodded back at him. It made me think of what Hayley had said. Maybe she was right. Sometimes your feelings are more obvious than you think. I watched as Josh steered us into the parking lot, his face impassive. To everyone but the guy they’re about.

We got a spot in the main lot this time, so Josh, Kemper, and I headed toward Miracle High’s red doors together. “Hey, Molly,” several people called out as we passed them.

“Morning!” I called back each time, waving cheerfully.

“Someone woke up on the right side of the bed this morning,” Kemper said, raising her eyebrows at me.

“Just being friendly,” I said.
With my 123 new friends
, I added silently. The thought made me even more excited to get this day started.

“Yo, Josh!” Mikey Samuels, a sophomore on the football team, was waving Josh over. He was in the football team’s usual morning hangout spot, by the old swing set leftover from when Miracle High used to be an elementary school. Josh didn’t always hang out there in the mornings like most players, but I knew Hudson did. I caught a glimpse of him talking to Taylor Mauer, his back to me.

Josh turned to me and Kemper. “I’m going to go say hi. See you guys later?”

“Sure,” I said. Kemper nodded eagerly next to me. As he jogged over to the swing set, Kemper and I headed inside.

“Uh, Mol,” Kemper said slowly as we crossed through the doorway. “Check out the footwear… .”

I followed her glance along the hallway floor. “No way,” I murmured. Everywhere I looked, girls were wearing blue Keds, identical to the ones I usually wore.

“Good thing you didn’t wear your Keds today. Or I might never be able to pick you out of this crowd.” Kemper eyed the red-and-pink-striped flats I had on. “Actually what
are
you wearing, Mol?”

I straightened up a little in my brand-new outfit. “Like it?” I raised my arms in the air so Kemper could get the full effect. I was dressed head to toe in Haute clothes: a red miniskirt, black tights, the flats, and a soft off-the-shoulder black shirt. Add a gold cuff bracelet and gold drop earrings and the outfit was a far cry from my usual jeans and Keds. “Hayley and I went shopping yesterday.”

“Nice,” Kemper said, but she sounded a little doubtful. I guess it wasn’t really her style. She gave me a quick wave when we got to her locker. “See you in a few.”

Ashley and Blair were waiting for me at my locker. “
Love
the outfit,” Ashley said approvingly. I smiled. Now
that
was more like the reaction I was expecting.

Blair eyed my gold cuff bracelet jealously. “I’m obsessed,” she said. “Where did you get it?”

“Haute,” I told her coyly. I couldn’t believe I’d only been at school one minute, and I’d already gotten one name-drop in. Now only six more to go this week, according to my contract. Not that Renee seemed to have any real way of keeping track. “They just got a whole bunch in.”

“I love Haute,” Ashley gushed.

I bet
, I thought. But out loud I just said, “Me too.”

“So, speaking of outfits.” Ashley eyed my striped flats as she lifted a blue Ked–adorned foot in the air. “What do we think? Over the Keds, or still liking them?”

Ashley and Blair both fixed their gaze on me, and I felt a sharp thrill run through me. Was Ashley Coolidge really asking my fashion advice? “Still liking them,” I decided.

“Yeah,” Ashley agreed. “Definitely.”

“Coming, Mol?” Kemper called over from down the hall.

“Yup!” I headed over to Kemper’s locker, Ashley and Blair flanking me.

“You’re coming to Scoop tonight, right?” Ashley asked, hooking her arm through mine as we all headed toward homeroom. She had a hopeful expression on her face as she looked over at me, like my answer really mattered. I thought about how much fun we’d had at Eddie’s the other day. It looked like Ashley and I were actually becoming friends.

“Definitely,” I said. “Actually,” I added, lowering my voice. Ashley and Blair leaned in closer to hear me. “Hudson invited me.”

“No way!” Blair squealed, squeezing my hand.

“Hudson never invites girls to Scoop,” Ashley added. She wiggled her eyebrows at me. “He must
liiiike
you.”

The thought made those nerves from earlier return with a bang. Maybe it really was a date then.

“Wait, what?” Kemper cut in. With Ashley and Blair on either side of me, she had gotten pushed behind a little, and I looked over my shoulder to see her. “He did? Why didn’t you tell me?”

“It just happened last night,” I explained. “After I got back from the mall. Isn’t it great?”

Kemper hesitated, and for a second I got the weirdest feeling that she might say no. But as we reached our homerooms, she smiled at me, her eyes crinkling up at the corners. “Course it is, Mol. She waved to me, pausing outside her homeroom. See you in Mr. G’s?”

But Ashley was already pulling me toward the homeroom we shared, chattering about who would be at Scoop that night, and by the time I managed to twist out of her grip to reply to Kemper, she was already gone.

The rest of the day, it seemed like nothing at all could go wrong. We watched a movie in Mr. G’s class. Mrs. Heckles loved my project in art class. And when our sub in chem asked me what subs usually did with our class, she actually
listened
when I claimed we got a free period. By the time lunch rolled around, it was shaping up to be one of those picture-perfect days, the kind where it feels like the world would stop spinning on its axis, if only you asked it to.

I walked into the Morgue at the same time as Karen Baker. “Molly,” she said. “I was hoping I’d run into you.” She pushed a strand of frizzy hair behind her ear, looking nervous.

“Is everything okay, Karen?” I asked.

“Yeah,” she assured me. “I was just … well, I heard you were going to Scoop tonight, and I was wondering if a few friends and I could maybe … meet you there?” Her voice squeaked, and it hit me suddenly what she was doing. She was digging for an invite to Scoop. From me. I thought of all the times I’d walked by Scoop, looking enviously inside. Now, not only was I going, I was apparently
inviting
people.

“Sure,” I said, smiling at her. “You guys should meet me there.”

“Really?” Karen perked up, barely noticing as several frizzy curls flopped into her face. “Like, that’s an invite? From you?”

I laughed. “It’s an invite.”

“Hey, Molly, over here!” Zach Martin was waving to me from the front of the hot food line.

I glanced from Karen to Zach and back again. “Go,” Karen said quickly. “Enjoy the UFOs. I’ll see you tonight!”

“Hey,” I said when I met Zach at the front of the line. “What’s up?”

Zach grinned. “Just figured you might want to sneak in line here.”

I glanced hesitantly over my shoulder. “I don’t really think I should cut… .” There were rules about those kinds of things in the Morgue—unspoken but strict. Cutting in line entitled you to an “accidental” tripping, the kind where your tray went flying and you landed in a ketchup-covered mess on the floor.

“It doesn’t look to me like anyone minds.” Zach motioned to the line behind us. He was right. Everyone was smiling and waving in my direction, several people calling out that they liked my skirt or shoes or shirt. Not one person seemed bothered by the fact that I’d just cut in front of them.

I smiled back tentatively. “All right,” I agreed, grabbing a tray. “If no one minds.”

Hudson joined us just as I was adding a pudding cup to my mystery meat–laden tray. “I’m taking action today,” he announced when Zach went to grab silverware for us. He grabbed the crook of my elbow. “I’m claiming you for our table before your legions of fans get to you.” He looked me right in the eyes as he grinned, and it took all my willpower not to blush as red as a fire truck.

“We do have a campaign strategy to discuss,” I managed to joke, as if sitting with Hudson at lunch was no big deal at all. But inside I was doing jumping jacks. And cartwheels. And splits.

“Don’t forget the posters and buttons,” Hudson said.

“Molly!” Ashley exclaimed as Hudson, Zach, and I joined her at their usual table. “We were just talking about you. Brit wants to know where you got your skirt. I said probably Haute, like the bracelet. Am I right?”

I nodded. “It’s the only place I shop,” I added, thinking: two name-drops down, five to go. I felt a pang of guilt as a look of disappointment crossed Brittany’s face. I had a feeling Haute wasn’t exactly in her budget. Not surprising, since it wouldn’t be in mine either if they weren’t plying me with free clothes. But what were a few white lies, really, when it meant more than a few free clothes?

“Scoop is going to be crazy tonight,” Hudson said, changing the subject. “Everyone’s going.”

“Yeah,” Ashley said. She raised her eyebrows at me suggestively. “Just crazy.”

Across the room, I saw Kemper picking up her hot food tray. She was by herself, and I vaguely remembered Hayley saying something about her math teacher forcing her to start math tutoring during lunch on Wednesdays to bring her grade up. Kemper’s eyes scanned the room and I knew she was looking for me. I waved my hand to get her attention. There was one seat left at the table, directly across from me. Her eyes widened a little as they landed on me. “Come sit,” I mouthed, at the very same time Ashley yelled out, “Josh, we saved you a seat!” She pointed to the seat across from me. “Come sit with us!”

Kemper’s face fell as Josh came over and took the last seat at the table. “Hey,” Ashley said, smiling at him. “Ooh, those fries look delish. Can I try one?” She leaned across the table without waiting for an answer, her hair tumbling over her shoulder as she stole a fry off his plate.

I waved Kemper over again, mouthing, “We’ll squeeze!” but she just shook her head and headed toward Karen Baker’s table.

“So,” Hudson said, bending in close to me. “Let’s talk strategy.”

“Okay,” I said seriously. “Here’s the game plan. You start slowly, with subliminal messages. You know, ‘accidentally’ leaving pictures of really cute dogs all over the house.”

“Catch her while she’s unsuspecting, huh?” His arm bumped lightly against mine as he reached for his soda, sending tingles running through my entire body. “Clever. You’re like a puppet master, Molly.”

“That is what they call me,” I said teasingly. I ran a hand through my hair the way I’d seen Ashley do.

“Puppet Master Molly?”

I nodded. “Yup. Or just Puppet Master for short.”

We both burst out laughing at that, and when Blair said, “Puppet Master? What are you talking about? Molly has puppets?” we laughed even harder, hunching over our lunch trays as we cracked up.

It was, hands down, the best lunch period of my life.

Everything’s Gone Bananas

WHEN I GOT home that afternoon, I was greeted by a familiar purse sitting on the kitchen table.

“Molly?” my mom called out, her footsteps making their way to the kitchen.

I stopped in my tracks. I wasn’t ready to see my mom face-to-face. Not yet. Not until I figured out what, exactly, I would say when I did. It was ironic, really, when you thought about it. Everywhere I went, people admired my newfound beauty, and yet the only people I couldn’t show my face to were my own parents.

“Molly?” My mom’s footsteps grew closer. Frantically I opened the fridge and stuck my head inside, pretending to peruse for a snack. At the last minute, I pulled my hair into a tight bun, hoping that would be enough to mask how different it looked now.

“Oh, there you are.” I heard my mom stop next to the counter and put something in the sink. “How was your day?”

“It was fine.” I desperately scanned the fridge for something—anything—that could cover up my face. My eyes landed on one of my mom’s famous cream pies. My dad loved them, so my mom liked to bake them when he was on trial, so he had a treat to come home to at the end of a long day. I took a deep breath. It was my only option.