It's Just A Skirt

by Matthew Potter

  Every night after recording a conversation, I downloaded it.

  Then I backed up those downloads onto a secure off-site server.

  Then onto a flash drive.

  So even if someone did get my computer, I still had two more secure backups to fall upon.

  Call me paranoid but I made a promise to myself to never be a victim again.

  I already had a nice collection of highlights from Frank and his boys. After what Cherry told me, I was now convinced there was definitely more going on. I mean if it was just a prank then why go to all the trouble of keeping the items and what’s more, why all the secrecy. Especially tonight. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that it was them who put the card under my door. This must have been the second part of whatever it was they were planning. So I came prepared as usual.

  Trying to pretend everything was normal, I sat there reading.

  I was only half paying attention to my book. It was, after all, one I’d read before. The book was just a cover. I was more interested in my surroundings. Frank and the others weren’t here yet but they would be soon. If I were to guess I’d say they were up to something more juvenile and stupid. Probably another so-called “heist” in another girls dorm. These guys seemed really keen on taking stuff from the girls and keeping it for whatever. Some stupid macho display no doubt. Maybe it was payback. Frank and Cherry did break up over the summer after all. Though that wouldn’t explain why it had been going on for years now.

  I noticed I wasn’t alone a second or so after I started reading.

  “You read here a lot,” said a familiar voice.

  I looked up only slightly to see Jarrod standing in front of me.

  “Here to laugh at me again?”

  He sighed and sat on the little ottoman in front of me.

  “I’m sorry about that. Look those guys are dicks”

  “Then why hang out with them?”

  What was it with people in this school anyway? There had to be nice guys and girls out there right? So why in the hell was everyone always hanging out with the douche bags?

  "Because they’re my friends”

  I laughed. “You know I wouldn’t find that so funny if you weren’t the second person to say to me today”

  Today. Wow. Did that all really happen today?

  Jarrod looked like I punched him below the belt.

  ‘I didn’t want to piss you off anymore. I just came over here to apologize. I didn’t mean what I said. I mean, sure you look like a girl but umm…”

  ‘Its fine” I said and actually meant it. “I have a medical condition”

  Jarrod nodded, giving me a once over.

  The roaming eyes.

  That kind of creeped me out.

  I almost told him so but didn’t have too.

  At that particular moment, Frank showed up.

  “Beat it, dweeb,” he said, grabbing Jarrod’s shoulder and yanking him to his feet.

  Ok so it was mean but I was never so happy to see Frank in my entire life.

  Jarrod looked pissed at first until he saw who it was. I shot him an apologetic look before he scurried away.

  “That guy bothering you?”

  “No more than the usual,” I said and meant it.

  Frank nodded. He watched Jarrod head back to the couch and the games. Then turned back to me.

  “I see you got our message”

  “Yes,” I said, setting my book aside. “Very cryptic of you”

  Frank smiled smugly as if it was a compliment.

  Maybe all the rich ones were dense.

  “Well then are you ready for phase two?”

  “I’ve been waiting with bated breath” I deadpanned.

  Frank nodded. Clearly not catching the intended sarcasm.

  He stood up, stuffing his hands in the pockets of his jacket.

  “Well, c’mon then,” he said and started walking off.

  Confused, I stood up and followed.

  We didn’t actually go very far. Frank led me out of the Common Room then down the hall. When we went up the stairs, I realized we must be going to someone’s room. A few seconds later, I got the right answer when we stopped in front of a room that was marked, Curtis. So it was his room. Frank let us in and I found myself face-to-face with the rest of his little ragtag group. No, wait, there were two others as well.

  ‘Hey George” said Henry, smiling.

  Bill and Mark grunted their hellos.

  The other two just looked at me. One was tall and freckled, the other short and Asian. Both of them I realized I’d seen before. More Curtis residents.

  “George, meet Hiro and Spaz,” he said, pointing to the other two.

  “Spaz?” I asked, mildly amused.

  “Its Tom actually,” he said sheepishly.

  Hiro said nothing, just continued to stare.

  “Ok,” said Frank walking into the room, rubbing his hands together. “Now that we’re all here, we can discuss tonight’s little op”

  It was a good thing I remembered to hit record on my cell before coming.

  I definitely wanted to catch this bit.

  “We’re doing it tonight?” asked Spaz, a bit surprised.

  “Yes ”

  “So why the girl then?” asked Hiro, finally speaking.

  Frank smiled. He placed a hand on my shoulder. “This here is George, Hiro. He’s our secret weapon”

  I saw the look of surprise on Hiro’s face.

  Like most people, he thought I was a girl too.

  “I don’t think I’m following,” I said, more confused than ever.

  “Well Georgie my boy, you’re too good for your own good. You know you’re actually the third person we sent into the dorm to get that necklace. The other two failed to get anywhere near the place. Well, number one made it to the front lawn before they caught him. Number two made it as far as the front door. We knew the uniform would work but we needed the right person for the job. That’s when I saw you and I just knew you could do it”

  Ok, so I’ll play along.

  “All to get a family heirloom?”

  They all laughed.

  “Yeah that was a lie,” said Frank, feigning guilt. “We just needed a worthwhile cause to get you into the building. We didn’t think you’d do it if we told you it was just a stupid prank. Sorry for the deception”

  The honesty actually surprised me. I was sure he was going to make up some other stupid story. Not that I was happy that they fooled me. I think I would have been even more pissed if Cherry hadn’t told me everything already. As it was, I only pretended to be a little peeved. I gave them a show. You know crossing my arms and scowling, trying to look a bit pissed.

  It had the effect I wanted.

  Henry came forward and put a hand on my shoulder. “We’re really sorry dude. We just honestly thought if we told you the truth, you wouldn’t have gone for it”

  He was right.

  “Its ok” I lied, pretending to relax a little.

  "Well now that the kissing and making up is over,” said Frank with a laugh. “We can get to the reason why we’re gathered here tonight”

  ‘Retribution” said Mark.

  Frank smirked. He pulled a picture from his jacket and passed it around. When it got to me I realized it was a picture from last year’s yearbook. It was a pretty blonde girl.

  “This is Janet,” said Frank, holding up the picture when it got back to him. “Janet and Mark used to be pretty hot and heavy then she dumped him”

  “Yeah for a tool” grumbled Mark.

  “The tool in question is our target tonight,” said Frank with an evil look.

  Everyone in the room turned slowly and looked at me.

  I gulped.

  I definitely did not like where this was going.

  **************

  No matter how many times I pulled on the bottom of the skirt, I couldn’t seem to make it any longer. Hem, it was called a hem but of course, I wasn’t going to let anyone know that
I knew that. Hell, I’m not even sure how I knew that. I just knew that it was too damn short. When I mentioned that to Frank he laughed and told me that was the point. When they originally told me their master plan, I nearly walked out. I mean it was so ridiculously stupid I would have screamed at the top of my lungs if it helped.

  In the end, Frank greased my palm with another fifty.

  I still wish I’d asked for more.

  It was one thing to walk nonchalantly into the girl’s dorm dressed in the appropriate uniform. It was another to walk through the mall dressed like some cheap skank.

  Ok, so I was overreacting about the outfit I was currently wearing but not by much.

  It was a white spaghetti strap tank top, very small jean skirt and black leggings. Everything was too tight and restricting. The thing that made me feel the most skanky was the push-up bra. Frank hadn’t learned from his earlier mistake at all. I didn’t like the way it pushed my barely there little girl bumps into something that resembled boobs. I also didn’t like the heel on the boots I was wearing either. When I asked him where they got the outfit, Frank refused to answer so I could only imagine it was no place good.

  At least they got me a wig this time.

  It was long, blonde and wavy.

  Nothing at all like my original hair.

  It was all part of the plan.

  “Its real simple” Frank had told me. “You just need to go to this store in the mall---Teddie’s---and talk to this tool, his name is Greg. Chat him up, keep him preoccupied for as long as you can. Flirt with him if you have too. Spaz will be following you with his camera. Try to make things look as genuine as possible”

  The plan it seemed was to make Janet jealous. I was supposed to be the cheap tramp that was seducing her new man. Then the pictures would somehow make their way back to her. Mark wanted to crush her for crushing him. It was cheap and petty and just plain stupid. Why couldn’t he just accept that the girl had moved on and be done with it? I mean what was the point of ruining her new relationship just because theirs didn’t work out? Boys could be so stupid sometimes. Now I was partially glad that I wasn’t friends with a whole bunch of them.

  I would have walked out if not for the tech and the man who brought it.

  Hiro Yoshimura, son of Tanaka Yoshimura, founder, and CEO of Tanaka INC.

  It was the company that made pretty much all the tech that everyone used today.

  Quinn Waverly might have had a million dollar trust fund but Hiro probably had a billion dollar one. I could now see why Frank had roped him into this little venture of theirs. Not only could he provide extra capital if need be, he also had access to all the newest and latest toys.

  Like our wireless ear mics.

  It was a little overkill for something this stupid but who was I to complain.

  “You know the plan?” asked Frank in my ear.

  “Yes,” I said, rolling my eyes.

  We’d only gone over it an umpteenth billion times in the car ride over.

  Frank must have had a lot of pull in the school because no one was allowed to leave campus after eight o’clock at night without expressed permission. It being a Friday night and the fact that we were going to the mall, I’m not sure how he pulled it off. Somehow, though, he managed to get all of us permission to be out this late. Hiro was the only one who stayed behind, managing the computers and whatnot. He was currently patching himself into the security feed at the mall, borrowing their CC cameras for a little while.

  If I was a girl, I might have been in love.

  “We should have gotten you bigger inserts,” said Frank sighing. “I’m not sure if we have enough to pull it off”

  I rolled my eyes again. Leave it to a guy to want bigger boobs.

  I’d forgotten about the inserts. I’m not sure how I could, seeing as they were kind of cold and very weird. They were little gel enhancements that some girls used to pad out their bras. I’d seen them in the lingerie stores more than once. Yes, I’d been in those places. I was the proud owner of girly bumps after all. Bumps that were getting bigger by the day. How big I didn’t know, thankfully not as big as my current enhancements.

  I’m not sure how I’d ever be able to hide myself if things got this big.

  “You’re not walking sexy enough,” said Frank again.

  I turned around, glaring.

  I couldn’t see him but I knew he was around here somewhere.

  Dover Creek wasn’t a very large city but it was large enough for a galleria. Two stories, over fifty stores. I think it was built because of the school. I mean what better way to make money than build a mall, especially with the town populated by very rich teenagers more than half the year. It was a smart move that paid off handsomely. Tonight, though, there were mostly adults lingering about. I scanned the faces, trying to spot Frank and his gang.

  I knew they were out there somewhere.

  Frank had to be close if he could see the way I was walking.

  “Hey if you think I’m not doing it correctly, why don’t you come down here and do it!”

  There was a chorus of laughter over the mic.

  “I think it's someone’s time of the month” joked Mark.

  “Bite me” I snapped.

  “Cut the crap,” said Frank “let’s just get this done. We’ve got about twenty minutes before the store and the mall closes”

  I found a large clock on the wall and sighed.

  It was a 10:40, the mall closed at 11.

  Trying to ignore the fact that everyone was currently staring at me, I swallowed my pride and made my way to Teddie’s.

  It was a pretty low-end clothing store. I wouldn’t call it bargain basement quality but pretty close. More like bargain vintage. Lots of clothes from a bygone era. There were a lot of girls who swore by it, though. I’d overheard many a conversation about the place. Stepping inside, I could see where it might have some appeal. Retro and vintage stuff was in right now. I tried to look like I belonged there as I browsed the aisles. The whole idea was to look lost enough that I drew the attention of the clerk.

  That clerk, of course, being Greg.

  I’d spotted him when I first walked in.

  Tall, Emo boy punk.

  Bored out of his mind.

  He had a certain appeal I suppose. He wasn’t horrible to look at if you liked that whole pale, moody type. The dyed jet black hair and facial piercings sure seemed to fit with the vibe of this place. I could see his boredom, though. It was late at night, the mall was winding down and it was clear that he hadn’t had a customer in hours. When I walked in, he tried to pretend not to notice me.

  I said pretend because the way Frank had me dressed, it was hard not to.

  I waited for a few minutes, taking my time.

  I needed to play this right.

  I also needed a moment or two to get into character.

  There was one good thing about no one noticing me. I could sit around and watch people. Which of course might sound a little creepy but it had its perks too. One of which is that I knew how a lot of people acted. I observed and took note. So I knew the kind of girl who would ultimately wear something like this. Frank wanted me to go all skanky but besides the tightness of the outfit, it just wasn’t how I saw this girl.

  No, I was going to play it my way.

  I grabbed a dress from a nearby rack then slowly took it up the counter. I took a deep breath, getting her into my mind before I let it out.

  “Excuse me,” I said, adopting a sweet tone to my voice.

  He looked up from his alternative rock magazine, his face said it all. I piqued his interest.

  Good.

  “Hi,” he said, “how can I help you?”

  “Do you have this in a size 2?”

  Hey, I was a small, petite girl. Size 2 was right for me.

  “Ummm, if we do it would be on the rack. If you didn’t see it, then that’s all we have”

  “Bummer,” I said, pouting a bit.

  “There are som
e other really nice ones in your size, though,” he said, stepping out from behind the counter.

  He led me back to the aisles. He took me to another section where I was supposed to find a dress in my size.

  ‘I’m Greg by the way” he said, smiling.

  ‘Courtney” I said.

  Sorry Jade.

  Greg started rifling through dresses, pulling out one after another. I gave little comments like “nope” or “not right”. I’m not sure why I was bothering, to be honest. I was supposed to be able to flirt with him in the open. A place where Spaz could get good pictures. I was being method I suppose. I had to look like this was natural. So after a few dresses, I told him that’s “perfect”. He handed me the dress and I followed him back to the counter.

  I groaned at the idea of buying the dress but I had no other choice.

  “I really like your piercings,” I said as he rang me up.

  I touched his arm, giggling as I did so.

  That was the money shot.

  I needed something more, though. Something to really sell it.

  “Ummm can you help me out?” I asked, taking the phone out of my little clutch.

  Also part of Frank’s assembled outfit.

  “Sure,” he said, handing me my change and the dress in a bag. “What’s up?”

  “Well, I’m a bit new around here. Just moved here. Can you show me where I can get some really good coffee?”

  I handed him the phone, making sure I smiled big as I did so.

  “There’s a really good place here in the mall,” he said, trying to hand my phone back.

  “No, I was hoping for something a little artsier”

  “Hmmm,” he scrolled through my map app until he seemed to find what he was looking for. “This place on Main street, Java Mava”

  I smiled then I did something I knew was really going to make the pictures.

  I squeezed his arm then kissed him on the cheek.

  I walked out of the store backwards. I wanted him to see me smiling big and giggling like a fool. He saw me too. He was smiling too. I think I made his day. He certainly made mine. I had what I needed and hopefully they got what they needed.