by Tara Brown
I laughed, “That’s because my sister doesn’t read books without pictures so I have to always have a visual comparison available or she will get lost.”
We walked until we got my house.
“Want to come in and meet my dad?” I asked hoping to have more time with him.
He shook his head, “No I need to get going, and I was actually walking in the other direction when you distracted me.”
I laughed, “I’m sorry.”
Just as he was about to say goodbye my sisters car pulled into the driveway and she was out and flashing her smile before I could push him and shout run for it.
“Well well you must be the mystery man. I’m Alise, Aimee’s older sister.” She put her hand out for him to take like she were the queen. He turned her hand in his and shook it.
“Hi I’m Aleksander. It was nice meeting you, see you later Aimee.” He let go of her hand but smiled at me and walked away quickly.
We watched in silence as he walked hastily away from us. When he was out of sight Alise smiled, “Oh my god they weren’t kidding he is hot. Wow, he looks like a celebrity. I feel so relaxed around him, like I know him from somewhere.” She licked her lips, “He seemed to not really notice me though hey. Maybe I’ll see if I can catch up with him. Maybe he wants a ride.” She winked at me and ran back to her car.
She started it and drove off in the direction he went. I wanted to strangle her but I went inside and ate coconut milk ice cream instead.
I wished everyone could see her the way I did.
Blake sent a text asking if I was going to the party later. I ignored the message and watched the history channel, it was about the Tudors.
My sister never came just left a message for our dad saying that she was sleeping at Jamie’s house, her new bff since Giselle had gotten sick. Jaime was another of the popular crowd my sister insisted on being attached at the hip with. I wondered if Aleks was going to the party. If my sister stopped him from his destination with her tempting good looks he probably would be going tonight. The thought of them kissing enraged me; I was starting to feel like a crazed psycho. I started to twitch my foot thinking about whether to go or not.
My phone made another noise; I looked at the message from Shane now asking if I wanted to go the party or just hang with him and watch a movie. That sounded pretty tempting at that moment, my sister could have Aleks if he was dumb enough to fall for her. My foot twitching reached a whole new level.
“Arggg.” I stood up and stormed to my sisters bedroom to get a pretty outfit since my whole closet looked like it belonged to Wednesday Adams. I messaged Shane and told him to pick me up at nine. When I went into my sister’s room I picked only from the closet selection. I assumed if it was hung she either cared for it or it was clean.
I grabbed at the hangers looking for just the right look.
I found it at the back of the closet and I knew she loved this one. I smiled feeling an evil boil in my blood as I stormed into my room. I put the dress on and looked at myself frowning. Who was I kidding? My long dark blonde hair looked slightly frizzy, my eyes had dark circles under them, my chapped lips were still peeling, my thin long face was making my nose look bird like and my grey eyes seemed to have a small amount of sparkle but nothing to write home about. The only thing working for me was that I had managed to gain back a bit of weight and I had breasts again. The dress looked pretty good on my body but cutting off my head was not an option.
I looked like an idiot I was certain.
I phoned Giselle.
“Hello.’ Her voice sounded weaker than normal.
“Were you sleeping?” I felt bad.
She laughed, “God yes all I do is sleep. What’s shaken bacon?”
I laughed at bacon, “I am going to a party tonight stealing my sister’s clothes and I don’t know how to do my makeup. I look bad still from being sick.” I regretted saying it to her the minute I did but she ignored it.
She burst out laughing, “I have never been more proud than I am in this moment. Which outfit?”
I looked down at the dress letting an evil grin cross my lips, “The red one, it has the tags on it still. It’s from the back of her closet.”
There was silence, “Oh my god, that’s the one she got on harsh sale at Holt Renfrew in Vancouver. Ok you’re a blond in a red dress, you really aren’t going to need much, is your face clean?”
I laughed, “Give me a second.”
I used the makeup wipes I stole from my sisters' room.
“Ok clean slate what do I do?”
“What kind of materials am I dealing with here?” Giselle sounded very serious in all of this.
I looked down at the old kit my mom gave me a year earlier and grimaced, “You know those kits you get that have everything all in one?”
I heard a sigh, “dear god I knew it.” She thought for a moment and started to speak again, “Ok this is what you’re going to do.”
She led me through the makeup, the hair and the shoes. When the doorbell rang and my dad called up at me I whispered into the phone, “Thanks Giselle, see you next week k?”
“Uh speaking of visits are you bringing the new hottie in your life or just regular old Shane?” Her voice was full of sarcasm.
I groaned, “Look I don’t know what’s going on with either of them. Shane likes me and we kinda kissed but Aleksander is the guy I was telling you about with the crazy blue eyes. I’m lost.”
“Oh my god Aimee he could be the psycho.” She sounded panicked.
I shook my head like she could see me, “No it’s not him. His lips aren’t the same, at all. I think my sister has her claws in him already anyway. So I guess Shane is the one for me.”
“So he kissed you, is that your first kiss?”
“Yeah. It was nice.” I blushed smiling so hard I looked at myself in mirror and new Shane made me happy. I could see my face transform talking about him.
She moaned, “Awe I’m so bummed I’m missing your first party with a boyfriend, sort of. Good luck tonight. Don’t drink anything you didn’t open.”
I laughed, “Yeah lesson learned.” I hadn’t told her or anyone about Alek's, beyond what our small town had said and it seemed the news had traveled even to a children’s hospital in the city. Sad really.
I hung up my phone and stuffed it down my top off to the side of my boobs like always and started down the staircase. I was one of those cheesy movies; I started down the stairs, nerd transformed into hottie and my date at the bottom staring at me the whole way down the stairs. I smiled at him, but focused more on the stairs. The shoes Giselle picked were very high heeled and I was feeling very unstable. The stairs actually hurt as I realized my side cramps were back. I was feeling bloated and sort of gross but I pushed it aside in hopes that Shane and I would have fun and maybe I would see Aleksander again.
“Dear god what are you wearing. Go put something on.” My dad groaned at me.
I laughed, “Dad Alise wears less to church.”
He rolled his eyes at me and sighed, “If Alise went to a church it would light on fire instantly. Besides you’re my jeans and t-shirt daughter, I expect certain things from you just like I expect certain things from her, my high heel wearing daughter. You’re not supposed to interchange like this.”
I kissed my dad on the cheek and looked at Shane who smiled like he had just gotten his favorite new toy for Christmas morning.
“You look amazing but your dad’s right. You look a bit like your sister tonight. I like you better the other way.”
“I like that you said that.” I smiled back at him.
He gave me his arm and I laughed, “I’m going to need your arm tonight, these shoes are death.”
“Night dad.” I waved back at him as we left out the front door.
He shook his head and waved us off, “Please take it easy and slow, drink nothing, Shane do not take your eyes off her no matter what and for Christ sake please for the love of god and all things holy do not go in
to any woods, no matter what Aimee.”
Chapter Seven - JUST CALL ME JESSICA FLETCHER, WITH A CRAMP
The party was at some girl’s house I didn’t really know, I knew who she was but I had not spoken to her since second grade. Her name was Michelle Mitchell and she had a party every month when her parents left for the city. They had been having a date night once a month since she got old enough to stay home alone. My sister had been partying at their house for the last two years. The Mitchell’s didn’t seem to mind the partying as long as there was no mess. To me this was not responsible parenting.
As we pulled up to the house Shane leaned over to me, “You look very pretty so I want you to stay glued to my side all night okay.” He kiss me softly like he had before but I felt his tongue slip into my mouth this time. It was an exciting feeling, I kissed him back moving the way he did until his hand moved up into my hair pulling me into him more.
“Not here okay?” I pushed against him.
He reached down and kissed the side of my throat once. I didn’t know what to do to get the calm back. My pheromones were going nuts on his.
He opened his door and came around to my side and opened my door for me. He growled slightly as he helped me out of the truck and kissed me once more, “That dress is driving me nuts.”
“So that’s part of my sister’s beauty, the wrapping.” I blurted it out before I could think about what I was saying.
He laughed, “You are such a nerd. Stop thinking about pheromones and what scientific results you will get when a woman in wearing different outfits.”
I raised an eyebrow at him and he conceded, “Yes the fact she is always dressed like a sex kitten helps her out in the sex appeal department. I think that is common sense.”
I shook my head, “Only to people who look for beauty on the outside.”
He took my hand, “Well you’re lucky then because I don’t even think you’re that good looking I’m attracted to your personality and maybe the small hope you’ll do my trig homework.”
I hit him in the arm hurting my hand. We walked up to the house but before we got to the door he stopped me and looked at me intensely, “Aims I’m not trying to pressure you but I just want to know what you’re thinking about us and everything.”
I nodded, it was a fair request. “I am really confused right now Shane, I went from nerd girl with no friends or boys interested in me to dating you sort of and my best friend being a girl in a hospital bed dying. I’m leaving for college in four months and my mom died nine months ago. Some freak is stalking me. This has all happened really quickly for me and I don’t feel caught up. So right now I can offer you what we are now, dating sort of.”
He kissed me again, I liked this kissing bit. “I didn’t really think about how much you were coping with which is really selfish but I will take anything I can get right now.”
I smiled at him and walked through the door he opened for me.
The party was loud and annoying and I couldn’t help but think about how much I was going to hate it. There were drunk teenagers everywhere and loud music with people making out in one corner and others doing shots in another.
I looked back at Shane as he glided me through the door. His smile reassured me.
I looked around for my sister and hoped I wouldn’t see Aleks with her.
I didn’t see her anywhere, which made me concerned. Was she alone with him somewhere wrecking him for all other girls?
I let Shane put his hand on my back through the entry way and then step in front of me and take my hand to pull me along through the mass of drunken teens.
The smell of smoke and pot filled my nostrils as we walked one way; I looked over at the kids who were sitting in a circle on the back deck with the screen door wide open. They were passing joints and cigarettes after taking a hit. I felt my lips twist into a look of severe disapproval.
Shane laughed at my face, “Okay lets walk this way.” He pulled me away from the kitchen and the smell as I started to rant, “Do they have any idea how many toxins and narcotics they’re breathing in at that moment. There are four thousand chemicals in a cigarette, forty-three of them are known cancer-causing toxins like weed killer and bug spray. They could just suck on the can of DDT. And don’t even get me started on the marijuana, it can raise your heart rate any where from twenty to one hundred percent and cause heart attacks. And it has more cancer causing chemicals than a cigarette.”
Shane raised an eyebrow at me, “You’re really fun at parties.”
I stuck my tongue out at him, “Cancer is a serious problem not only for health reason but also on the costs it presents to the economy. Did you know there is an increase in dogs with cancer since smoking has become a national pastime?”
“I can dress you up like one but you will never be one.” He smirked and looked around the party, “Wanna get out of here?”
His eyes had a gleam to them, which told me he had plans other than dropping me off. Like the releasing of the hounds butterflies raced around my stomach. I shook my head, “Can we stay for a couple minutes longer?” I felt guilty that I wanted my hot new sort of boyfriend to stay at a party in hopes I would get to see the one guy I couldn’t get out of my mind.
He nodded showing a minuscule amount of disappointment in that request.
I didn’t know what I would find when I did finally locate my sister. I sort of assumed she would be sitting on the stairs somewhere dressed like a whore with Blake kissing her neck from the back and Aleks kissing her hand kneeling before her mesmerized by her beauty. She would sip from her drink and smile that wicked step-mom grin she had mastered when we were little as she always focused on the wrong part of the classics. I would stand there watching my friends under her spell like everyone else was.
I looked back at Shane feeling reassured he had at least had crawled his way from the pit of despair and unrequited love with my sister. He was not under her spell.
I stood beside Shane as he held my hand protectively and chatted with Tommy, not my favorite person.
“Holy shit Aimee James is that you? Damn I thought we had a new girl at the party and I was wondering how Shane found her first. You wanna dance?” His wide smile and pointed eyebrows reminded me of the bad guys on my Saturday morning cartoons when I was younger.
I looked at Shane whose breath had started to increase, “She doesn’t want to dance T.J.”
Tommy shrugged his filthy smile not reaching my eyes, “When you get tired of this you know where to find me.” He turned and walked away making a howl like a wolf, everyone at the party howled with him. I felt like an outsider not initiated yet and here on Crazy Island the ritual was going to be something I wasn’t willing to bargain on.
Shane leaned into me, “Sorry, ignore him I think most people do. I’m going to get a drink of water want one?”
I felt panicked, probably a side effect, “From the tap and clean glass from the cupboard?”
He laughed, “Yeah.” I nodded.
Suddenly as he walked away I felt the warm wind hit me. I looked around, as my sister walked through the front door with Blake wearing her usual uppity self-indulgent smirk that was full of the knowledge she could have any guy in the room and you were lucky she let you keep yours. Blake looked uncomfortable but true to form he wore a grey t-shirt with a symbol of an atom on it. His dark hair seemed styled and without his glasses his blue eyes were brighter than ever. He had on baggy cargo pants I didn’t recognize and a watch that was most definitely not his NASA space camp one. My sister had started to put her tastes on him, like a puppet he wore what she wanted. He saw the look of distaste on my face and slid his hand behind his back. He was ashamed of his new watch which oddly was enough for me to feel satisfied that a small amount of the person I had always adored was still inside of him.
Alise wore a bright purple party dress, she out shone me in the red dress of that there was no doubt. I tried not to think about the fact as I put a smug look on my face as she rounded the room to
where I was standing.
“Nice dress little sister.” Her perfectly manicured right eyebrow lifted. Her lips glistened with a berry colored lipstick under an inch of gloss.
“You’re going to age prematurely if you don’t stop wearing so much make-up.” I continued to examine her.
She looked unfazed by this fact and looked down at the dress again, “I WAS taking it back but since you like it so much you can keep it.”
I gulped trying not to let her get to me as her face lit up, “Ahhh and here comes another one of my leftovers you seem to like. Hello Shane.”
I felt the warmth of him come up behind me, “Hello Satan. You know without the horns its deceiving, maybe you should wear them year round instead of just on Halloween.”