a split second, then darted away again.
“Outside of school,” I said again. Now I know how Uncle Chuck feels around Aunt Doreen.
“Yeah. Look, it’s easier that way. I have to get back to social studies before the bell rings. Robbie might want to talk to me. We’ll catch up later, okay?”
Easier that way? Throwing your clothes on the floor instead of hanging them up is easier ? Did she really say that?!
I nodded, but I doubt she saw. The door banged open, and she didn’t even give me another glance. I slumped against the wall.
Funny, I didn’t know that a “best friend” was supposed to make you feel this miserable. This is what Theo Christmas means when he sings, “My heart is so dark, you’re all I can see in the mirror,” Red Bathing Suit Woman muttered, her voice bitter.
Thanks for the insight, I retorted.
Chapter 13
THE ONLY GOOD thing about the BBQ Day Incident was that it completely made me forget about Miss HuskyPeach. I trudged through the rest of that day enveloped in a cloud of numbness that covered me like a blanket since the bathroom. I kept hearing Sandra saying, “We can be best friends—outside of school” over and over in my head. Every pound of the Negative Twenty clung to my heart.
I couldn’t even explain what happened to Millie. When I got back to science, I just shook my head. Something in my face told her not to ask questions.
The cloud followed me on my walk home, all the way to my front door. Downstairs there was no sign of Mom.
“Celeste, I have something for you to see,” she called from the second floor. I went up, listening to Sandra and puffing the whole way.
Mom perched on the foot of my bed, a big bag at her feet and a pile of clothes covering my comforter. Was Theo Christmas smirking from the poster?
“What’s all this?” I asked, and slid my backpack to the floor. I wasn’t interested, but it seemed like the right thing to say. “Best friends—outside of school,” Sandra murmured as an answer.
Mom’s smile was as wide as our couch. “I’ve noticed that you’ve been making some healthy choices these days. I’m really impressed with how well you’ve been eating. So, as a treat, I went shopping for you. Plus, you should have something new to wear to the city tomorrow, something fun.”
A flood rushed through my body, washing away the Cloud of Numbness and replacing it with a Glacier of Terror. My hands tingled and I shivered. The Miss HuskyPeach interview and photo shoot were the next day.
“Oh,” I said, fighting instant panic. “You didn’t have to do that. I thought I’d just wear, you know, this.” I gestured at my track pants and hoodie.
Mom laughed. “You’re too much. Here—go try this on,” she said, handing me a purple and black bundle of cloth. “It’ll be our own private fashion show.”
There was no use arguing. Once the card was mailed in, my fate was sealed. It was easier to pretend like the day would never come, while eating salads and apples just in case it did. And now it had. At least no one knows, I thought. At least I never told Sandra. It was a small reassurance.
I changed in the bathroom. The outfit consisted of flowy black pants and a purple scoop-necked shirt with wide sleeves. The pants fit okay, but the shirt’s sleeves belled out at the wrist and I couldn’t figure out what to do with my arms. I settled on holding them out to the side, so they looked like wings.
“That’s classy,” Mom teased when I came into the room. I raised an eyebrow at her.
“Classy? I don’t think that’s what we should be going for.” From his perch on my wall, Theo agreed.
She stuck her tongue out. “Here’s another one,” she said, tossing a green shirt at me.
“Too tight,” she said when I returned. It transformed my belly into an inner tube. Had Operation Skinny Celeste even touched the Negative Twenty?
HuskyPeach, here I come, I thought.
And that’s how it went: I tried stuff on, she commented. We finally
“Outside of school,” I said again. Now I know how Uncle Chuck feels around Aunt Doreen.
“Yeah. Look, it’s easier that way. I have to get back to social studies before the bell rings. Robbie might want to talk to me. We’ll catch up later, okay?”
Easier that way? Throwing your clothes on the floor instead of hanging them up is easier ? Did she really say that?!
I nodded, but I doubt she saw. The door banged open, and she didn’t even give me another glance. I slumped against the wall.
Funny, I didn’t know that a “best friend” was supposed to make you feel this miserable. This is what Theo Christmas means when he sings, “My heart is so dark, you’re all I can see in the mirror,” Red Bathing Suit Woman muttered, her voice bitter.
Thanks for the insight, I retorted.
Chapter 13
THE ONLY GOOD thing about the BBQ Day Incident was that it completely made me forget about Miss HuskyPeach. I trudged through the rest of that day enveloped in a cloud of numbness that covered me like a blanket since the bathroom. I kept hearing Sandra saying, “We can be best friends—outside of school” over and over in my head. Every pound of the Negative Twenty clung to my heart.
I couldn’t even explain what happened to Millie. When I got back to science, I just shook my head. Something in my face told her not to ask questions.
The cloud followed me on my walk home, all the way to my front door. Downstairs there was no sign of Mom.
“Celeste, I have something for you to see,” she called from the second floor. I went up, listening to Sandra and puffing the whole way.
Mom perched on the foot of my bed, a big bag at her feet and a pile of clothes covering my comforter. Was Theo Christmas smirking from the poster?
“What’s all this?” I asked, and slid my backpack to the floor. I wasn’t interested, but it seemed like the right thing to say. “Best friends—outside of school,” Sandra murmured as an answer.
Mom’s smile was as wide as our couch. “I’ve noticed that you’ve been making some healthy choices these days. I’m really impressed with how well you’ve been eating. So, as a treat, I went shopping for you. Plus, you should have something new to wear to the city tomorrow, something fun.”
A flood rushed through my body, washing away the Cloud of Numbness and replacing it with a Glacier of Terror. My hands tingled and I shivered. The Miss HuskyPeach interview and photo shoot were the next day.
“Oh,” I said, fighting instant panic. “You didn’t have to do that. I thought I’d just wear, you know, this.” I gestured at my track pants and hoodie.
Mom laughed. “You’re too much. Here—go try this on,” she said, handing me a purple and black bundle of cloth. “It’ll be our own private fashion show.”
There was no use arguing. Once the card was mailed in, my fate was sealed. It was easier to pretend like the day would never come, while eating salads and apples just in case it did. And now it had. At least no one knows, I thought. At least I never told Sandra. It was a small reassurance.
I changed in the bathroom. The outfit consisted of flowy black pants and a purple scoop-necked shirt with wide sleeves. The pants fit okay, but the shirt’s sleeves belled out at the wrist and I couldn’t figure out what to do with my arms. I settled on holding them out to the side, so they looked like wings.
“That’s classy,” Mom teased when I came into the room. I raised an eyebrow at her.
“Classy? I don’t think that’s what we should be going for.” From his perch on my wall, Theo agreed.
She stuck her tongue out. “Here’s another one,” she said, tossing a green shirt at me.
“Too tight,” she said when I returned. It transformed my belly into an inner tube. Had Operation Skinny Celeste even touched the Negative Twenty?
HuskyPeach, here I come, I thought.
And that’s how it went: I tried stuff on, she commented. We finally
Similar Books
