The Art of Life (25 page)

               
“I, well, no you can come
in.
 
Just don’t laugh or anything.”

               
With a look of bewilderment,
Cassandra gasps, “Why would I laugh?”

               
“Because people usually do,” I
reply quietly.

               
“That’s ridiculous,” she
snaps.
 
“Come on.
 
I will make sure no one laughs at you.”

               
I let her in and we try on a lot
of tops.
 
Jeremy finally comes up to the
dressing room door and knocks.
 
“You
know, I should probably come in there, too.”

               
“No, you
perv
,”
I retort.

               
“It would be strictly objective,
no perversion whatsoever.”

               
“Yeah right,” Cassandra
replies.
 
She looks at me, “Okay, I am
going to get you some skirts and dresses.
 
Do you want to come with, or do you trust me?”

               
Emphasizing, I plead, “Nothing
pink please!”

               
“Got
ya
,”
she assures, as she leaves the room.
 
I
turn and look in the mirror.
 
I have on a
pair of black pants and a red button up shirt that is formed to my body.
 
I don’t look too bad actually.

               
There is a soft knock on the door.
 
I shout, “Yes?”

               
“How are you doing in there?”
Jeremy asks.

               
“Fine,” I answer happily.
 
“How are you doing?”

               
All I hear is a groan.
 
“I am so bored.
 
You guys are having all the fun, and I am
standing out here having no input whatsoever.”

               
“Get me an outfit then,” I
reply, rolling my eyes.

               
He is silent for a minute and
then replies, “Will you promise to try on what I give you?”

               
“Sure, why not?”

               
“Remember that you just said
that,” I hear Jeremy say, as he walks away.

               
Uh oh.
 
I think I am going to regret this.
 
A little while later, Cassandra
reappears.
 
She has three skirts and two
dresses.
 
One skirt is a pleaded, red
plaid skirt.
 
That one I try on with the
shirt I am already wearing.
 
“Wow,” is
all I can say.
 
“I didn’t know I would look
like this in a skirt.”

               
“You have nice legs and a great
body.
 
You just need to wear the right
stuff,” Cassandra says.
 
“Now, try on
this skirt, with this top.”

               
I do and can’t help but
smile.
 
Suddenly, there is another
knock.
 
“I have what I want you to try
on,” Jeremy states through the door.

               
“Okay,” I reply, “hand it over.”

               
“Now, you promised to try it on,
remember that.”

               
Great, I can’t wait to see
this.
 
“Throw it over.”

               
A dress
comes
flying into the changing room.
 
Cassandra
catches it and holds it up.
 
“Jeremy!”
She exclaims.

               
“What!?”
He laughs.
 
“She promised!”

               
“You can’t be serious!?” I yell.

               
Cassandra is holding up a tight
black dress.
 
It is strapless and leaves
nothing to the imagination.
 
“Put it on
Isabelle,” he says from the other side of the door.

               
“Jeremy,” Cassandra articulates,
“This is a clubbing dress.”

               
“Well then, I will have to take
her clubbing.
 
Put it on young lady.
 
Don’t break your promise.”

               
With a lot of aggravation, I
snap, “NO!”

               
“Isabelle, my love, you
promised,” Jeremy murmurs through the door.

               
Fine, if that is the way he
wants it to be.
 
I grab the dress from
Cassandra.
 
Hissing, I say, “I don’t have
a bra on for this.”

               
“Umm, you don’t necessarily need
to wear one with that.”

               
“Great,” I mutter.
 
I take the off the outfit that I have on and pull
on the dress.
 
My eyes instantly turn to
Cassandra to get her reaction.

               
She smiles and claps her hands
together.
 
“You look amazing.”

               
“You can’t be serious,” I snort.

               
“Look,” she replies, spinning me
around to the mirror.

               
My jaw drops.
 
I look…well….sexy, at least for me I do.
 
“I think this is a little much,” I whisper.

               
“So, did you put it on?” Jeremy
asks.

               
“Yup,” I
reply,
turning and looking in the mirror.
 
“I
actually look really good in it, or at least I think I do.”

               
“Awesome!
 
Let me see!”

               
Laughing, I retort, “Nope, I
tried it on like I promised.
 
I made no
promise of showing it to you.”

               
There is a shocked gasp from the
other side.
 
“What!?
 
That’s ridiculous and unfair.”

               
“I think it’s just fine,” I
giggle happily.
 

               
“You are getting that right?”
Cassandra asks.

               
Bewildered, I say, “What?
 
Why would I?”

               
“Because you
kill in that dress!”
She exclaims.

               
“Who kills in what?” Jeremy
asks.

               
Cassandra replies, “Nothing.”

               
There is a loud bang on the
door.
 
I jump.
 
“What in the world was that!?”

               
“Me, banging my head on the door
in frustration,” Jeremy grumpily replies.
 
“Remind me why I invited you, Cassandra?”

               
She laughs in reply.
 
“Because she needed me.
 
You will see her in it someday….maybe….if you
are a good boy.”

               
“Can we at least go to a store
with some guy’s clothes in it?
 
I mean, I
can go start hitting on girls to preoccupy myself, but I came here to help my
friend Isabelle, not stare at a changing room door.”

               
Sighing, I strip off the
dress.
 
“Let me get my clothes on.
 
I think we have enough stuff.
 
I have to pick what I want anyway.”

               
“Well, I want some say so there,”
Jeremy retorts.
 
“Geez, I am not just
your chauffer.”

               
“Wow, we must pay bank to get
such a hot driver,” Cassandra yells, with a big grin.

               
There is a chuckle from
Jeremy.
 
“Be careful what you say
Cassandra.
 
Your boyfriend packs a pretty
good punch, and I don’t want to be on the receiving end.”

               
“You know I am one of the few
girls that can resist your charm,” Cassandra retorts.

               
“Yes, well, I know deep down
inside there is a burning flame for my good looks.”

               
That makes me groan.
 
“Geez Jeremy, full of
yourself
much?”

               
“Always,” he laughs.

               
I finish putting my shoes on,
and open the changing room door.
 
“There
are you happy now?
 
You can see me.”

               
“Yes, but you don’t have on any
of the clothes.
 
What fun is that?”

               
“Well, you can help me carry all
this to the counter so we can go through it,” I reply, turning and grabbing
clothes.

               
We carry it to the cashier and
set it all down.
 
“What do you want?”
Jeremy asks.

               
“All of it,” I sigh, “but I
don’t have that much.
 
So, what do you
think I should get?”

               
“Hmm, I don’t know.
 
You know
what,
I
think you left that one dress in the changing room.”

               
Confused, I say, “What
dress?
 
The black one?
 
It’s right here.”
 
I hold it up.
 
“And I didn’t say I was getting this one.”

               
“No, that other dress, just go
check the dressing room,” he urges, as he shoves me in that direction.

               
Shaking my head, I walk back to
the dressing room.
 
Of course, there is
nothing there.
 
He is so weird
sometimes.
 
When I make my way back to
the cashier, she is ringing stuff up.
 
“Whoa, whoa, wait a minute!
 
I
didn’t go through it all!”

               
“I know,” Jeremy replies.
 
“We are just going to buy everything.”

               
“Jeremy!
 
I don’t have that much!
 
What are you doing!?” I yell.

               
Cassandra sighs.
 
“He is buying it all for you, because you
desperately need shoes to go with this and he promised to buy me a pair for
helping out today.”

               
“Can I speak to you for a
minute?” I snap at Jeremy.

               
“Sure,” he replies with a grin.

               
I pull him to the side, and ask,
“Why are you spending so much money on me?”

               
“Because I
want to.”

               
“Jeremy, you are a bike
mechanic.
 
I am not going to have you go
into debt to help me out!
 
This is
ridiculous!” I exclaim loudly, probably too loudly.

               
He brings his hand up and slowly
traces his fingers down my face.
 
“I have
the money.
 
Let’s just say I am good at
saving.
 
Let me do this, alright?
 
It makes me happy to see you happy.”

               
Aww
,
okay that is sweet.
 
“Fine,” I
mumble.
 
“But I am going to pay you back
somehow.”

               
“Fine, you can help clean my
apartment.”

               
“I am already doing that,” I
groan.
 
“I need to do something else,
too.”

               
Jeremy frowns.
 
“You don’t think I was going to really make
you clean my apartment for me helping you out with that chick, right?”

               
“Well, I was going to do it to
show my gratitude.”

               
He shakes his head.
 
“I don’t expect you to do anything back for
me Isabelle.”
 
Jeremy then smiles, “Hot
fairy godfather’s do everything pro-bono.
 
Just instead of a magic wand, I have a bank account.”