Beauty (13 page)

“Gap?” I guessed.

“Nope,” Hayley said.

“Ann Taylor Loft?”

Hayley shook her head.

“Old Navy?”

Hayley scoffed. “Old Navy is
so
passé, Molly. We’re starting with a new store for the new Molly.” She paused dramatically, and I refrained from rolling my eyes. If there was one thing Hayley knew how to do, it was build drama. Even with shopping. “We’re going to Haute!”

I made a face. “I didn’t bring
that
much money, Hayl.” Haute was the nicest store in the mall. It was also the most expensive.

Hayley gave me a serious look. “One piece of couture is worth ten pieces from D-shopping, Molly. Believe me.”

“D-shopping?”

“
Discounted
shopping.” Hayley wrinkled her nose, like she’d just let loose a whopper curse.

“Okay,” I said, a little doubtfully. “You’re the pro.”

“Oh my God,” Hayley hissed suddenly. “Those guys are totally checking us out.” I followed her glance to a group of what looked to be college guys gathered outside Gino’s Pizza. She was right; they were staring. But it wasn’t really at us. It was at me.

I looked away. “Uh-huh.”

Hayley fluffed up her hair, oblivious. I noticed she’d added several more braids throughout, like the very beginning of cornrows. “We’re going to get the cutest outfits at Haute,” she decided. “And then tomorrow at school,
everyone
will be checking us out. Even Ashley and Blair. And”—she gave me another jab in the side—“Hudson.” I felt heat rise to my cheeks.

“You know too?” I groaned. “Does
everyone
at school know I like him?”

Hayley gave me a look. “I mean, you’re kind of obvious about it, Mol.” She glanced back over her shoulder at the college guys, flashing them her thin-faced smirk.

My heart plummeted. I
was
? “You think he knows?” I asked nervously. I thought of how easily we’d joked around this week, like we’d been doing it all our lives.

“Doubtful. Guys are oblivious. But why do you care anyway, Mol? He
should
know. He’d be crazy not to like you back with you looking like this.” Hayley gestured to our reflections in a nearby window. I blinked several times, still struggling to believe what I was seeing. Hayley looked pretty in the tight jeans and pink sweater she’d changed into from her dance uniform. Every inch of her was smoothed and brushed and primped to perfection. But what I looked like was beyond pretty, beyond perfect. It was beyond how even Ashley had ever looked. It was like I was lit up from the inside, like I was glowing with beauty.

“Yeah,” I said softly. “Maybe you’re right.”

Hayley gave my hand a little yank, steering me into Starbucks. “Pit stop,” she announced. “Before we shop, we caffeinate.”

I laughed as she led me over to the counter. “You really
do
have a route down.”

“Shopping’s serious business.” Hayley dropped my hand, leaning against the counter and smiling at the barista. “I’ll have a skinny latte to go,” she said. “Grande.”

The barista nodded, looking bored. “And for you, miss?” Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a familiar jumble of colors by the coffee shop door. Bright red hair against a colorful patchwork dress. Wait a second. Was that … ? I whipped around to get a better look. But the doorway was empty. I blinked. Had I imagined seeing someone there? I craned my neck, looking out into the hallway. For the briefest of seconds, I saw a flash of color a few stores down, but then just as quickly, it was gone. “Miss?” the barista said again, more sharply this time.

I shook my head. Apparently, I was seeing things. “Sorry,” I said, turning back to the barista. He looked up from the cash register, his eyes landing on me. Suddenly, he seemed to jolt awake. “No problem,” he said quickly. “Just let me know what I can get you. Our special today is a cinnamon Frappuccino. I’d highly recommend it. You could even have a taste first, if you’d like.” His words tumbled out faster and faster, like they were chasing one another to a finish line. His face took on an eager expression. I could almost imagine him panting up at me, his tongue lolling out to the side.

“That’s okay,” I said, trying not to laugh. “You sold me. A tall one of those please, and to go.”

“Sure.” He hurried to the other side of the counter, making the drinks himself. Several people groaned in line behind us.

“What’s he
doing
?” someone muttered.

He returned a minute later with our drinks. “Here you go,” he said, sliding them across the counter. I reached in my purse for my wallet but he waved it away. “These are my treat.”

“Oh,” I said. “You don’t have t—” But Hayley jumped in before I could finish.

“Thanks!” she said brightly. Grabbing both our drinks, she hurried out of the store, beckoning for me to follow. “I wanted to go before he changed his mind,” she explained. “Free drinks.” She passed mine over to me. “Score!”

We sipped our free coffee as we made our way across the mall. I kept glancing around for that outfit I’d thought I’d seen earlier—that bright jumble of colors—but there was no patchwork to be found. Just solids and stripes and a few polka dots. But the more I looked around, the more I noticed it: people’s eyes, trailing after us, watching us, following our every move. My every move. I shivered a little under all the scrutiny. Was that what it felt like to be famous, I wondered? Like you were never quite alone?

“Haute, here we come,” Hayley said as the store came into view. We tossed our empty coffee cups into one of the mall’s oversized trash cans, cutting across the wide tiled hallway. As we got closer, a dress in the window of the store caught my eye. It was a striking periwinkle color and made out of a shimmery silk, so soft and smooth it looked almost buttery. It was also shorter and more fitted than anything I’d ever owned. I felt a tingle of anticipation make its way through my body. I hadn’t come to the mall with anything in mind, but suddenly this dress was exactly what I needed.

“Hey,” a tall redhead whose nametag read RENEE said when we walked into the store. She had to shout a little to be heard over the blaring pop music. “Can I help you?”

“We’re just browsing,” Hayley said coolly. “Just ignore her,” she whispered into my ear. She gave me a knowing look, like she was bestowing me with life-changing advice. “They get commissions here, so they’re totally pushy.” She tried to pull me in the direction of a rack of skinny jeans, but, ignoring her advice, I signaled for her to hold on, turning back to Renee.

“Actually you can help me with something. Can I see that periwinkle dress in the window?” I smiled at her, and she took a step back, looking thrown off.

“Sure, yeah,” she stammered. “It will go great with your eyes.” But she didn’t make a move toward the window. She just stood there silently, staring at me with the strangest expression.

“Uh, is everything okay?” I asked. Hayley called for me to come over to the rack of jeans, but I held up a finger, motioning for one more minute.

“Yeah, sorry.” Renee shook her head. “It’s just, I’ve got to ask you. Were you the model on the last Armani campaign?” She gave me a sheepish smile, and I realized with a start what that look in her eyes was. She was
starstruck
. By me.

I laughed. “No, that definitely wasn’t me.”

Renee snapped her fingers. “I got it. You were on the cover of last month’s
Vogue
!”

“No,” I said again. “I’m not actually a model.”

“Oh.” She looked disappointed, but she shook her head, regaining her composure. “Sorry. I could have sworn you were. Well, I have a feeling you’ll look like one in that dress. I’ll go grab it and start a fitting room for you, okay?”

I nodded. “Thanks.” As Renee went to get my dress, I met Hayley at the rack of jeans.

“What do you think?” she asked. She held up a pair of light gray skinny jeans. They were clearly two sizes too small, but Hayley dangled them in front of her, smiling brightly.

“Uh, sure,” I said. “If you like them.” I turned toward the rack, grabbing a short red skirt off it. “What about this for me?” But by the time I turned back to get her opinion, she’d already taken off for another rack.

We browsed the store for a while. Every time I had more than one piece of clothing in my hands, Renee swooped in to take them from me. “Uh, over here!” Hayley had to call out eventually, her arms loaded up with clothes.

“Oh. Sorry,” Renee said, starting a dressing room for her too.

A half hour later, Hayley and I both had dressing rooms full of clothes to try on. Unfortunately, my three hundred dollars would pay for about one twentieth of mine.

“So, what are your names?” Renee asked as we drew the curtains to our dressing rooms shut.

“Molly,” I said, at the same time Hayley called out, “Hayley!”

“You girls go to school around here?” Renee asked.

“Miracle High,” I said, reaching for the periwinkle dress. I wanted to try it on first. “We’re sophomores.”

“Really?” Renee said. “I would have guessed juniors.”

I beamed a little as I pulled on the periwinkle dress. People had guessed my age wrong my entire life, but it had always been for younger. Once or twice people had even mistaken Seth for the older sibling. He
loved
that.

I carefully zipped the dress. There wasn’t a mirror in my dressing room—just the big one outside—but it didn’t matter. Even without one, I could tell it fit perfectly: slimming right over me without ever being too snug. It was one of those times when you put something on and you knew it was made just for you. I ran my hands down the sides, smoothing it out, then pulled the curtain back and stepped out.

“Wow,” Renee murmured. Her eyes ran over me appreciatively. “Now there’s a dress that’s going to break some hearts.”

I took my time walking to the mirror. I knew it was crazy—I had just seen my reflection a few minutes ago—but I was nervous suddenly. What if I looked in the mirror and it had all vanished? What if, out of nowhere, I went back to being plain old Molly? The thought gave me a heavy feeling in the pit of my stomach. I didn’t ever want to be invisible again.

I took a deep breath and faced the mirror. And there it all was—there
I
was. My shiny hair, my airbrush-perfect face, and of course, the dress.
Wow
was right. I’d never seen myself in anything like this before. The dress hugged me in all the right places, making me look sleek and glamorous and even a little curvy.

“Oh my God,” Hayley said as she stepped out of her own dressing room. She was squeezed into those gray skinny jeans, a Lycra tank top yanked down over them. Renee gave her an appalled look, but Hayley didn’t seem to notice. “I’m obsessed with that dress, Molly. I have to try it on too!” Hayley looked over at Renee. “Can you get me a size four?” she asked bossily.

Renee raised her eyebrows at her. “A four? You sure?”

“Yes!” Hayley snapped, her nostrils flaring a little. She coughed, quickly regaining her composure. “A four,” she repeated. As Renee went off to hunt down the dress, Hayley turned to me. “It’s called the law of positive thinking,” she informed me. “If I believe I’m a four, I’ll
be
a four. You know, so much of the human species’ inability to change stems from our inability to
believe
in change.”

I gave her a strange look. “Where did you learn that?”

“Oh,” Hayley said casually, turning from side to side as she examined her reflection in the mirror. “I must have read it somewhere.” She took a step closer to the mirror, and I caught a snippet of what she was chanting ever-so-softly under her breath: “I
am
a four. I
am
a four. I
am
a four.”

Renee came back a few minutes later with the dress for Hayley and a pair of strappy shoes and long silver earrings for me. I slipped them both on. “Unbelievable,” Renee said approvingly. I glanced down at the price tag dangling from the shoes. Unfortunately, between the shoes, earrings, and dress, I was already over budget. “You have to get the whole ensemble.”

“I would,” I agreed. “If I could afford to.” I threw up my hands in an
oh well
gesture. “I’ll definitely get the dress, though.” I didn’t need to try anything else on to know that. There was no way I was leaving the store without that dress, even if it did eat up almost my whole budget.

“Ta-da!” Hayley flung the curtain back and stepped out, wearing the periwinkle dress. I bit down on my lip as she put her hands on her hips and twirled around. The dress was so tight on her it looked like it was painted on. Bits of skin popped through where it buttoned in the back and with her ultra-pale skin, the color made her look sallow and washed out. “What do you think? Just a little bedazzling along the hem and then it’s perfect, right?”

“Um …” I was at a loss for words. No amount of positive thinking or bedazzling could make that dress fit her well. “It’s uh … well … it’s …”

“It’s not the best fit for you, Hayley,” Renee supplied gently.

“Yeah,” I agreed, shooting Renee a grateful look. “Maybe not the best fit.”

Hayley paused in front of the mirror, studying her reflection. “You’re right,” she said finally. “I think I’d look better in a size two.” She turned to Renee impatiently. “Do you have one?”

Renee swallowed loudly, looking incredulous. “Uh, no,” she said. I could tell she was struggling to keep her voice even. “Molly took the last two.”

“Oh well.” Hayley hitched the dress up her thighs, checking out what it would look like shorter. “I could always tighten this one up a bit myself… .” Tossing her hair over her shoulder, she sauntered back into her dressing room.

The second she was gone, Renee turned to me. “
Anyway
,” she said, casting one last incredulous look in the direction of Hayley’s dressing room. “I’ve got a proposal for you, Molly. A proposal that would let you get the dress, and shoes, and earrings.
And
,” she went on, wiggling her eyebrows, “anything else you wanted.”

I squinted at her doubtfully. “How?”

“We have this program called Haute Teen Ambassadors. Basically, we recruit the prettiest, most popular girls at all the local high schools, and let them take home Haute outfits for free—as long as they tell all their friends where they got them. We even have a little booklet for you, with tips on which shirts look good with which bottoms, which earrings to wear for different occasions, that kind of stuff. Actually, there’s one other sophomore at your school who does it—do you know Ashley Coolidge?”