Paper Cuts (20 page)

Choosing wisely turns out to be the challenge. I’m trying to find an outfit that’s hip and sexy, classy and professional – and a reasonable price. Everything we’ve seen so far has either been insanely expensive or skanky.

‘What’s your
beshert
wearing to the gala?’ Rachel asks, heading to the discount rack.

‘Actually, I haven’t invited him,’ I say, holding up a flimsy dress. ‘I can bring only four guests, and that’s my mom, Grace, and you two.’

‘I thought Buzzkill said you could bring Dan too,’ Izzy says.

‘Okay, five. But I figure I’ve used up my favors.’

Rachel stops picking over the sales rack to stare at me. ‘I’m sure she’d want you to bring your soul mate, Newshound. All you have to do is ask.’

I drop the flimsy dress on the floor, but Rachel is still staring at me after I retrieve it.

‘You haven’t told him,’ she says.

‘You haven’t told him?’ Izzy echoes. ‘But you’ve been welded to his side for weeks.’

I throw out my only defense, knowing I’m going down. ‘It’s a secret column.’

Rachel turns away. ‘A secret that all your closest friends know about. Your soul mate might feel left out.’

‘You said Joey wants the kind of relationship where you tell each other everything,’ Izzy adds.

‘I left it too long. Joey and I have already confided in each other about so many other things that it’s going to be really awkward when I tell him. He might wonder what else I’m hiding.’

‘But, Lu, he’s going to find out,’ Izzy says. ‘Everyone is going to find out.’

‘Yeah, but that’s still a couple of weeks away, and by then Joey will like me even more, and he’ll have to forgive me.’

‘Look how well that worked with Jason,’ Rachel says.

Izzy plucks a gray dress off the sales rack. ‘I don’t see why you’re so worried. Tyler’s the one who’s in trouble. When Ella finds out she’s Lady Scoop, the easiest girl on campus, she’s going to kill him.’

Rachel takes the dress out of her hand and replaces it with a blue one. ‘Yeah, but Joey might not be too thrilled that Lu’s been painting him as a prince.’

Spinning another dress to figure out which plunging side is the front, Izzy says, ‘But a prince is good – isn’t it?’

Again Rachel takes the dress and replaces it. ‘The prince is already catching flak from Scoop. How about when the rest of the school finds out Joey’s the guy in the golden loincloth?’

Izzy seizes a third dress and holds it out of Rachel’s reach. ‘That’s just Scoop’s take on it. He’s an idiot, whereas Joey is a reasonable guy.’

I inspect what appears to be a blouse but turns out to be a very short dress. ‘Aren’t we overthinking this? Will anyone even remember what Scoop or Newshound said after the column ends?’

Rachel exchanges the dress I’m holding for a shirred number. ‘People have long memories for this type of thing.’

‘So I said he’s sensitive and romantic. It’s a compliment.’

‘Even good guys get stupid about their image, Lu. Think about what Paz will say.’

My stomach sinks. Paz will definitely take Scoop’s view, and Joey works with these guys thirty hours a week. ‘Oh, no. He’ll be laughed out of Donner’s.’

Izzy offers me a black dress covered in metallic sequins. ‘It’s not that bad.’

I shake my head at the sequins and counter with a pink sheath. ‘It’s pretty bad.’

Rachel dismisses the sheath and passes me a white
combo with wispy layers. ‘Like you always say, the column is the real you. If he doesn’t like it, maybe he’s not your soul mate after all.’

The thought gives me a pang. Joey is my soul mate. I felt it, and I don’t want anything to ruin that. Peering at Rachel through the transparent outfit, I say, ‘And like
you
always say, it’s a persona. Hopefully Joey will understand a little poetic license.’

‘He’ll try harder if he sees you in this,’ Izzy says. She displays a purple satin halter dress. ‘The color is perfect, and exposure is minimal.’

I perk up a little as I take the dress. ‘What if I minimize exposure by not writing about Joey in the December columns?’

Rachel nudges me into the change room. ‘That might help. But
can
you stop writing about him?’

‘Of course I can stop writing about him,’ I say, slipping into the dress. ‘I can write about lots of other things. I’m practically a journalist.’

Izzy gasps as I fling open the door. ‘You look beautiful!’

‘That’s definitely the one,’ Rachel confirms. ‘It’s
beshert
.’

I step in front of the three-way mirror and smile. The halter gives the illusion of a bigger chest but doesn’t show too much skin. Best of all, it’s fifty percent off. After tax I’ll still have enough to buy us all lunch.

‘You can borrow my black suede T-straps,’ Izzy offers, twisting my hair up and pinning it.

‘And my crystal earrings,’ Rachel says.

My smile fades a little. I look like a million bucks, but strangely I don’t feel half as good as I do when I’m wearing Joey’s old hat.

‘Do you think Joey’s “the one”?’ Izzy asks later, over a pepperoni pizza.

Since we’ve already established that he’s my soul mate, I have to assume she’s moving on to less spiritual connections. ‘I guess so. Someday.’

‘But you’re already thinking about it,’ Rachel says.

‘Just thinking about it,’ I say. ‘Like I’m sure you thought about it with Jason. It’s inevitable.’

‘What does that mean?’ Izzy presses.

I grin at her. ‘It means I want him to be “the one” when the time is right.’

‘When do you think that’ll be?’ she persists.

‘Depends if he’s still around after the gala,’ I tease.

Rachel and Izzy exchange a look, and I know what they’re thinking: I was supposed to be the last to take that step. We all believed that Rachel, the most intrepid of our group, would be the first; Izzy, the most extroverted, would be second; and I, the most timid, would follow only when I got good and tired of sitting on the sidelines.

It’s been that way since we met in kindergarten. Rachel and Izzy bonded almost instantly over hopscotch, while I sat nearby, admiring Rachel’s natural skill and Izzy’s determination. After a few days of this, Rachel called me
over, but I was too shy to join them. Izzy had to march across the playground and drag me over to play with them.

Our trio never looked back, but our approach to life is pretty much the same. Rachel was the first to get her ears pierced, the first to buy a bra, the first to kiss a boy. Izzy followed shortly afterward. And I … got around to things in my own sweet time.

If their relationships with Jason and Carson had worked out, our lives would have unfolded as usual. In fact, they still may if Rachel and Izzy meet someone new before long.

Life is full of surprises. Who would have guessed that the Perfect FB was a guy I saw all the time and never noticed? And who would have guessed that I’d be courting trouble by writing about him in my very own newspaper column? So much has changed this year. I guess it would be nice to be a leader instead of a follower for a change.

THE WORD … FROM NEWSHOUND
The New Goldilocks Conundrum

In Newshound’s opinion, there is no better hobby than shopping.

• First, it’s social. Nothing cements a friendship more than bargain-hunting.
  
• It’s creative. I seek inspiration on the Magnificent Mile and try to replicate those styles at the outlet mall.
  
• It’s educational. I’ve learned to stick to my budget, or suffer the consequences when I can’t afford fries at lunch.
  
• It’s competitive. It takes smarts and agility to battle the crowds at the best sales.
  
• It’s physical. A walk through the Loop gets anyone’s blood pumping.
  
• It’s enlightening. Some of my most treasured possessions came on the advice of my BFFs – items I would never have chosen on my own. 
  

Shopping has always been the ideal escape from Dunfield life, so I was surprised to find myself stressed and grumpy during a recent trip to the Water Tower Mall. The purpose of the mission was to find an outfit worthy of the Literacy Gala.

When the veil of anonymity lifts, I want to be wearing the right outfit – something that makes me look dignified and mature, even if that’s not always how I come across on the page.

It was a tall order, especially with a modest budget. I wandered with my friends from store to store, all of us increasingly discouraged. Even my favorite shops let me down. I discarded one outfit after another, like a modern-day Goldilocks. Some were too tight, some were too short, some were too low, others too flimsy. None were just right.

Now, I’m fine with showing a little skin, but there’s a
huge difference between sexy and overexposed. Clothes tell the world about the person you are, and I, for one, don’t want to tell the story all at once. I mean, who’s going to sit through the whole movie if someone’s already given away the ending?

So thank you, fashion world, but you can keep the microminis and transparent blouses.

If you ask me, a little mystery is where it’s at.

‘Luisa,’ Mr Sparling says, directing me to the seat across from him. ‘What happened here?’ He holds up the draft of my column.

I expected congratulations on my newfound restraint, not disapproval. After all, Scoop did suggest I poison myself in his last column. ‘What do you mean?’

‘It’s flat. You’ve danced around the issue instead of getting to the heart of it.’

‘But you and Mrs Alvarez thought we were getting too personal, so I took a different approach.’

‘It’s too late for that now. You’ve made a contract with your readers.’

‘A contract?’

‘I mean, people like it, and they come back every week expecting the same thing. That’s why we’re running an extra edition of the
Bulletin
for the first two weeks in December. Your fans want all “The Word” they can get before the big reveal. Plus, I’m putting it online.’

‘Online? That means it’ll be around forever.’ And I’ll
never
escape what I’ve said about Joey.

Mr Sparling taps the column with his pencil. ‘What’s really going on, Lu?’

I squirm uneasily in my seat. ‘Well, I’ve kind of started seeing someone.’

He smothers a smile. ‘So I gathered.’

‘I realized he may not appreciate my …
interpretation
of events. He doesn’t know about Newshound.’

‘Lu, any guy smart enough to hold your interest is going to recognize a literary persona when he sees one.’

Mr Sparling should not be giving me romantic advice. It’s just wrong. And yet I really want to buy what he’s selling right now. ‘His friends will tease him. Look at how Scoop reacts.’

‘Scoop is a persona too,’ he says.

‘Yeah, most people would never guess it’s Tyler Milano.’

The pencil drops out of Mr Sparling’s hand. ‘Nice try, Newshound. I’m not revealing any secrets.’

He doesn’t have to; the pencil said it all. ‘I know it’s Tyler.’

He smirks. ‘Why so sure?’

I smirk back. ‘I’m not revealing any secrets.’

‘What I
can
tell you is that the person behind Scoop is a pretty decent guy.’

‘He’s an idiot. His ideas about women are so backward he must be walking through the world butt-first.’

Mr Sparling laughs out loud. ‘
That’s
the Newshound who keeps people reading. So I want you to revise this. Talk shopping if you must, but dig a little deeper. And dig fast. I
need this back on my desk by morning if we’re going to make the deadline for the new Wednesday edition.’