How to Outswim a Shark Without a Snorkel by Jess Keating Page B

contrasted with my hair to make it look extra shiny. I looked like me , but now I was a shiny, better version. Maybe even a kissable version?
    â€œLike it?” Ashley gaped at me. “You’re buying it. I don’t care if you have to sell a kidney or a snake or get your rich grandpa to send you a check. You’re buying that.” She crossed her arms over her chest.
    I felt the corners of my mouth turn up.
    â€œI probably wouldn’t have tried it on,” I admitted. “I mean, after the first one didn’t fit.”
    Ashley waved her hand dismissively. “Just remember, if something doesn’t fit, that’s the clothes’ fault. Not yours. Keep trying things on until you find something that looks like it was made for you. Everything in your closet should make you feel good.”
    â€œI never really thought about it,” I said. Something was swirling in my stomach, but I couldn’t pinpoint the feeling. “Spending so much time trying to look good…” I trailed off.
    â€œWhat? You think it’s shallow to want to look good?” Her eyes hardened.
    â€œNo!” I exclaimed, suddenly freaked out. “Well. I don’t know. I always sort of figured you looked great in everything and were trying to rub it in.” I could feel the heat crawl up my neck. “You know?”
    She scoffed. “Please. You’re dead wrong on that one. You should see me in lavender. I look like a zombie.”
    Ashley breezed past me, grabbing a pair of short shorts from the rack. “I’m going to try these on,” she said. “I got some shirts too, so wander around and see if there’s anything else you like.” She stepped into the fitting room beside mine while I ducked back into mine to change.
    As I stepped back into my comfy shorts and shirt, it occurred to me that this little shopping trip with Ashley was a sort of squat test of its own. And so far, I was eerily surprised by how it was turning out. I mean, she was trying to help, wasn’t she?
    Who knew that if clothes didn’t fit you, it wasn’t because you were some sort of freak? And could anyone have guessed that underneath that sneery, snarky exterior, Ashley was an actual person?
    â€œSo what’s going on with you and that geek guy?” she yelled from her fitting room. “Is that officially a thing yet or what?”
    â€œWho? Kevin? You know who he is?” I stuck my tongue out at her door. “We’ve gone to school together forever.” I fiddled with the antitheft tag on my swimsuit and hung the rejects on the rack outside the room.
    â€œBlah, blah. Spill it,” she said. I could tell she was smiling inside the room.
    â€œNothing. We’re just friends.”
    â€œOh, come on,” Ashley said. “I’ve seen the way you guys were at school. And you went to the dance together, and he totally stares at you all the time, and you stare right back at him looking all awkward and dopey.”
    Great. So the entire world knew then.
    â€œI mean it. We went to the dance as a group, with some other friends.”
    â€œAnd your brother,” she piped in.
    â€œYes, him too.”
    â€œHe’s kind of cute, you know,” she said. I frowned at the closed fitting room door.
    â€œWho? Kevin? Or my brother?” I couldn’t help but cringe.
    â€œWell, both of them,” she said. “Your brother is a nutcase, though. But Kevin is cute, if you like the whole nerdy guy thing. That’s not exactly my type. But I can see how he could be someone’s type, you know?”
    â€œI think he’s really hot,” I admitted, blushing. “Plus, he’s smart and nice, and that makes him seem even hotter.” I glanced at myself in the mirror again, surprised by the smile on my face.
    â€œYou guys gone out yet?” Ashley asked. “You know, on a date .” The word took up a lot of space in the