Counting to D (14 page)

Kaitlyn stood at her locker watching the entire exchange. It sucked having both Banks sisters hate me. Then Kaitlyn said, “Sam, if you’re not busy this afternoon, we could maybe hang out at the mall or something.”

I turned to look at Kaitlyn: blond, beautiful, practically perfect in every way Kaitlyn. “Um, yeah, I guess I could go to the mall.”

“Excellent.” Lissa spun on her heels and started walking toward the exit. “Now I don’t have to give either of you a ride. Later, losers.”

I slung my backpack over my shoulder and closed my locker before facing Kaitlyn. Everything about her terrified me.
Why is she suddenly being nice to me?
It made no sense.
Is it just a trick so she can hurt me later?
“If you don’t really want to hang out, I’m fine with taking the bus home.”

“I wouldn’t have asked you to hang out if I didn’t want to.” She rolled her eyes. “Lissa is the bitchy sister, not me, okay? Now come on. Your wardrobe needs serious help.”

Lissa is the bitchy sister.
Kaitlyn’s words rattled in my head. Could a popular girl be nicer than a nerd? I’d never seen that story on TV. But Kaitlyn was right about one thing, my wardrobe was in need of a major update.

When my mom was unemployed, all my clothes came from Goodwill or my friends’ closets. It was all last year’s fashions, and nothing seemed to fit right. I tried not to let it bother me, but I was ready for something in my life to change. “Are you offering to give me a makeover?”

Her blue eyes widened, and a giant grin spread across her face. “You’ll let me?”

“I don’t have anything better to do this afternoon.” I looked down at my faded jeans and worn-out T-shirt. “Let’s go shopping.”

“How much money have you got?”

My mom upped my allowance after we moved, but I hadn’t bothered to buy any new clothes yet. “About three hundred dollars.”

She jumped up and down. “Awesome. By the end of the day, you’re going to look
amazing.
This will be so fun.”

I followed Kaitlyn out of the school. Together we boarded the bus and headed toward the mall. She studied me carefully. “You have really great bone structure, Sam. Underneath all that drab, I think you might actually be attractive.”

“You’re starting to make me nervous.”

“Relax.” She stood up and moved toward the bus exit. “This is our stop.”

I got up and followed her into the mall. Kaitlyn was taking her job as my personal shopper really seriously. First, she made me squeeze into a pair of jeans that were easily two sizes too small. “I can’t even breathe,” I complained.

She stood next to me in front of the three way mirror. “Breathing is overrated. You look totally hot. Trust me.”

I’d never thought of myself as ugly. But I really didn’t think of myself as hot either. I was just me, boring and predictable, dressed in clothes selected for comfort, not fashion. I turned and looked at my hips in the mirror. The jeans were snug, showing off curves I hadn’t realized I possessed. “Do you really think I should get these? They’re so tight.”

“Get them. Heck, buy two pairs.”

I did. Kaitlyn even managed to convince me to wear one of the pairs out of the store, so I could start being my new, cuter self immediately. It wasn’t until after I paid that I realized my wallet no longer fit in my pocket. Neither did my cell phone. Or my house key.

I tugged helplessly at the front pocket. “How am I supposed to carry anything?”

“Buy a purse.”

A purse.
I’d never been a purse person. I’d been a pocket person. But I was now shopping with Kaitlyn, and she was dragging me into a new store filled with nothing but handbags. She looked at a Louis Vuitton bag with so much desire, I thought she might burst into tears.

“This costs two hundred bucks, and its only function is to hold my keys. Remind me what was so wrong with pockets?”

“This bag serves more of a function than just holding your keys. It’s Louis Vuitton. It makes a statement.” Kaitlyn fingered the leather longingly.

“Yeah, it says, ‘I’m pretentious. Please start hating me.’” I found a plain-black, no-name suede clutch for fifteen bucks hiding in the back of the store. “I’m getting this.”

“You’re no fun,” Kaitlyn said, but she was smiling. I was shocked to realize how much I enjoyed hanging out with her.

“Yes I am.” I hit her with my new purse. Maybe having a purse wasn’t such a bad thing after all. “Now help me find some cute tops.”

I
stood in front of another dressing room mirror. I had on a long-sleeved green shirt with a white outline of the state of Oregon across the chest with a heart in its center. I knew it was just another T-shirt, but I liked the way it hung over my tight new jeans. The sleeves reached all the way to my wrists, and the neckline rested over my collar bone. It tapered in at the waistline, tailored to fit girls.

“I can’t believe you’re going to buy more T-shirts.”

“I like this shirt. It makes me feel like a local. Besides, the only guy I want to impress is Nate. I don’t think he cares about stuff like plunging necklines.”

“He’s a guy. Trust me. He cares.”

Kaitlyn seemed so confident about everything, like she’d been wearing tight pants and eyeing designer handbags her entire life. “Nate’s my first boyfriend.” I studied myself in the dressing room mirror, wondering if I classified as
cute.
“I feel so clueless about everything. I don’t even know what I’m supposed to wear. How am I supposed to figure out how to act?”

Kaitlyn handed me a small red bundle of shimmering fabric and pushed me toward the dressing stall. “You just figure it out as you go along. Try not to stress about it. I mean, obviously Nate likes you.”

I took off the Oregon T-shirt and squeezed into the red top Kaitlyn had handed me. It didn’t even have a back, and the neckline scooped so low it practically showed off my navel. I felt totally naked. “Um, Kaitlyn, where am I even supposed to wear this? I’m sure it’s not allowed at school.”

“Come out and let me see it.”

I hesitantly opened the dressing room door and stepped out in front of the mirror. “I think this shirt covers less skin than most of my underwear.”

“If that’s true, we’re going to Victoria’s Secret next.”

I shuddered at the thought, then kept on shuddering. “It’s way too cold for a shirt like this.
Maybe
I’d consider wearing this on the beach in San Diego, but not here. I’ll freeze my butt off.”

Kaitlyn slapped my back side. “We wouldn’t want that to happen. Hold on, I’ll go find you a wrap.”

She came back a minute later with a thin cardigan made of the same material. I pulled it on and started buttoning.

“What are you doing?”

I froze, hands clutching the bottom button.

“Leave it open. It looks good like that.”

I let go of the button and looked at myself in the mirror. The unbuttoned sweater over the too tight pants and nonexistent shirt was kind of sexy. It also made me really nervous. “Kaitlyn, do you think I’m pretty?”

“When you’re dressed like that, heck yeah.”

“I’m not really sure if Nate thinks so. He’s called me cute a few times, but it’s almost always right after I do something really stupid and never seems to have anything to do with my appearance.” I turned sideways, checking myself out from every angle in the mirror. “I know it’s important to be liked for who you are on the inside and stuff, but I don’t want my boyfriend to think I’m ugly.”

“Are you looking at yourself right now? Trust me, nobody thinks you’re ugly. Especially not Nate.”

“You’re probably right, but this outfit isn’t what he likes about me. He thinks I’m really smart.”

“You are.”

“No, I mean, that’s what he likes about me. He’s flat-out told me more than once. He’s attracted to my mind. One time he even said, ‘I wish I could cut your head open and just look inside.’”

“How romantic!” Kaitlyn held up two more shirts in front of me, trying to decide which one to make me try on next.

“I know! I mean I’m glad he likes the real me. I’ve never felt like I needed to hide myself from him. But I also want him to find me attractive. Does that make me totally shallow?”

“No, it makes you human. Everyone wants to be appreciated.” She handed me both shirts. “And trust me, when Nate sees you in these, he’ll like what he sees.”

“Thanks, Kaitlyn.” I continued to try on various outfits until I’d settled on six tops. Four fitted T-shirts, the red bra and sweater, plus one other shirt that clung tight to my chest but at least covered enough that I’d be able to wear it to school. “So are we done now?”

“Of course not! You still need to buy makeup.”

“Oh.” I followed Kaitlyn out of the clothing store. “I’ve always been kind of afraid of makeup.”

“Are you serious? What’s there to be afraid of? Makeup is totally fun.”

“I don’t want to look like a clown. And people always say when you put on makeup, it should look like you aren’t wearing any. Why not just not wear any? Plus, I’ve heard some foundations cause acne.”

Kaitlyn shook her head and continued toward the cosmetics store. “You wanted a makeover, and makeup is definitely part of one. I promise we’ll find you a mineral-based foundation that isn’t going to make you break out and something subtle enough that you don’t look like a clown. The goal is to look like a supermodel who doesn’t have on any makeup, not a mathlete who doesn’t have on any makeup.”

I wondered if she knew how close to home the mathlete comment hit. “Fine.”

Kaitlyn led me into a cosmetics store and told the clerk at the counter I needed a full makeover and would be buying a starter set. The beautician set me on a stool and went to work tweezing my eyebrows. “You’ve got great cheekbones,” she told me.

“I know, don’t you just want to hate her?” Kaitlyn looked on. “Can you believe she’s worried her boyfriend only likes her for what’s inside that head?”

Powder was applied to my forehead. “That’s crazy. Only a gay guy could look at this face without drooling.”

“Hmmm.” Kaitlyn thumbed through tubes of lipstick on the counter. “I have always wondered if Nate was gay.”

“Why would you think that?” I spoke up. “Nate isn’t gay. You do know straight guys can be nice, right?”

“Yes.” She rolled her eyes in a way that reminded me a lot of Lissa. “Nate’s a total sweetheart. But that isn’t why I thought he was gay.”

“Then why did you?”

“Because he’s been best friends with Lissa for as long as I can remember. They used to invent really elaborate games that nobody else could understand. They were always totally wrapped up in their own little nerd world. I assumed they’d eventually grow up and start dating. When they never did, I figured Nate must be gay.”

I knew Lissa and Nate were friends, and they lived right down the street from each other, so it made sense that they would have known each other since they were little. I’d never thought about them as a
them,
though. “Is that why Lissa hates me now? ’Cause I’m dating Nate?”

“Duh, why else would she hate you?”

“Close your eyes for me.” The beautician came at me with eyeliner.

“Cause I’m in special ed, and she hates dumb people?”

“My sister is a bitch, but she’s not that evil. And you might ride the short bus now, but nobody thinks you’re dumb. If you were a dyslexic math genius dating Haroon, she’d probably think you were fascinating. But Nate wanting to be with a chick who can’t read instead of her — you know how competitive they are, so that’s got to sting.”

My stomach twisted, and I felt a sharp pressure in the back of my eyes. I hadn’t meant to steal Nate away from Lissa. All I’d wanted to do was make a few friends, and Nate was the kindest person I’d met.

“Open your mouth and relax your jaw.” The beautician colored my lips, giving me more time to think about how to respond to Kaitlyn.

Nate told me he’d never felt connected to anyone until he met me. How could he have been lifelong best friends with Lissa too?

The beautician handed me a tissue for me to blot my lips.

“I thought Nate was always a loner.”

“I guess he was, kind of.” Kaitlyn had moved from examining lip gloss to studying shades of nail polish on a nearby rack. “Even when he was a little kid, I thought he was weird. But he’s been way more reclusive in the last couple years. I don’t know if Nate and Lissa got in a fight or what, but he started coming over a lot less often and dressing in black all the time. Lissa started dying her hair weird colors right after that too.”

Curiosity gnawed at me, but I didn’t think Kaitlyn would be able to give me many more answers. The beautician held up a mirror. “You’re all done, gorgeous.”

I barely recognized the girl peering back at me. She was flawless and beautiful. The type of girl I’d expect would be friends with Kaitlyn. “Thanks.”

“It was my pleasure.” The beautician rang up my starter makeup kit and handed it to me. “Good luck with your maybe gay boyfriend.”

“He’s not gay,” I said. “Just kind of emo.”

She looked at me again. “Should I have gone heavier on the eye makeup?”

“No.” Kaitlyn locked her arm in mine. “Samantha is ravishing exactly the way she is.”

We gathered my growing collection of bags and walked out of the store. “Today was really fun. Do you want to grab a bite in the food court before heading home?”

“No, I live in a posh enough neighborhood that we have totally crappy public transportation. The last bus on weeknights is at six thirty.”

I pulled my cell phone out of my brand-new purse and checked the time. “Um, Kaitlyn, it’s six forty-five.”

“Are you serious?” She kicked at the floor. “Now I’m going to have to call Lissa. She hates doing favors for me and always hangs them over my head for weeks. There isn’t any chance your mom could give me a ride home, is there?”

“Not if you want to get home before ten. My mom’s a total workaholic.”

She sighed. “Mine too. I guess I’ll just call Lissa.”

I unlocked my phone. “Wait, I’ve got a better idea.”

Nate answered on the second ring. “Hey, you.”

“How were the batting cages?”