Beauty's Only Skin Deep

by Sunshine G. Bruno

  Meg

  The girl who was helping Lauren-Anne and I figure out what to wear for the week was appalled when she saw our clothes.

  “These are your cutest clothes?” She asked.

  We both nodded.

  “Why didn’t you do anything with your hair? Why aren’t you two wearing make-up? I know it’s the weekend but you at least have to look somewhat presentable.”

  Marylin walked over. “Now, Casey, Meg and Lauren-Anne are new to the Charm Club. They don’t know how to behave yet. It’s almost better that way. We can mold and shape them any way we want. They don’t have any ideas about fashion or beauty stuck in their heads.” She pointed to Lauren-Anne and me as she said, “Come on, ladies. Let’s find you some clothes to wear. And some make-up too, I guess, since I’m assuming you don’t have any of your own.”

  “Wow, really? That’d be great!” Lauren-Anne said.

  “Are you sure it’ll be alright with Beverly?” I asked.

  Marylin nodded. “When Evelyn, Beverly, and I formed this club we all agreed that our closets and make-up drawers are open to all members of the Charm Club. Now follow me.”

  Later that day when Lauren-Anne and I were walking home with suitcases full of Beverly’s clothes and makeup, Lauren-Anne asked, “Can I ask you something?”

  I nodded. I was too out of breath to say anything. The suitcases were heavy.

  “Do you think that people are going to think we’re vain?”

  “For joining the Charm Club?” I asked.

  “Yes.”

  “I guess. It’s not too big of a deal though. Everyone knows that all high school girls are at least a little vain.”

  “Well, it’s just that we made a pact to not let high school change us, remember? And isn’t that what we’re doing right now? Changing?”

  “Everyone changes sometime, Lauren-Anne. It’s our turn to change.”

  Chapter 5

  Lauren-Anne

  On Monday morning, the Charm Club met on the front steps of the school. Meg and I had put on Beverly and Marylin’s make-up, as well as the clothes they had lent us. The other girls in the Charm Club couldn’t stop telling us how great we looked. I couldn’t help but notice, however, that Tiffany wouldn’t come over and speak to us. Once everyone was there, we gathered in a circle around Beverly and Marylin.

  “Alright, ladies.” Beverly began. “We are all beautiful and we are full of class. The other girls in this school need role models. We are those role models.”

  The girls in the Charm Club clapped.

  “Now, let’s show this school what the Charm Club is made of,” Marylin said.

  The Charm Club stood in a straight line, arms linked together. We walked up the front steps and into the school.

  I could feel people looking at us as we passed by. I looked at the other girls to see if they noticed it too, but they were all staring straight ahead, so I did the same thing.

  In homeroom, the girl next to me turned to me and said, “Wow, Lauren-Anne! You look great! No offense, but it’s a serious improvement from junior high.”

  I smiled. “Thank you, Ashley.”

  “What’s your secret to looking so good?”

  “I joined the Charm Club! It’s great. Beverly and Marylin, the girls in charge, lent me their clothes and showed me how to do my hair and make-up.”

  “Do you think you could show me how to look like that?”

  I didn’t really want to. I didn’t want someone who wasn’t part of the Charm Club to look as good as me, but part of the Charm Club was helping girls better themselves. “Sure,” I said.

  “Great! I’ll give you my phone number and you can call me when you’re not too busy.” Ashley said.

  I smiled. It was my first school day since officially joining the Charm Club and things were going great.

  Brittany

  By lunch, I wasn’t “the new girl” anymore. I was Brittany Lends, member of the Charm Club. People were talking to me like they had known me since kindergarten, which was exactly what I had wanted.

  “Isn’t it great?” Beverly asked me when I told her about it. “You have a name at this school now.” She gestured to everyone at the table as she said, “You all do.”

  “I already did.” Tiffany said. “I was the most popular girl in junior high.”

  “Don’t brag like that. It’s not becoming,” Marylin told her.

  Tiffany frowned and looked down at the table.

  I was kind of glad that Marylin had shut her up. I had noticed that Tiffany thought that she was better than everyone else and it was annoying.

  “Hey, Brittany, right?” A guy’s voice asked.

  I looked up. Meg’s brother was standing over me.

  I smiled. “Yeah. You’re Graham, right?”

  “Yeah. Meg’s brother,” He looked over at Meg, who looked really annoyed.

  “Graham, what are you doing here?” She asked.

  Graham ignored her and asked me, “Do you want to go somewhere to talk?”

  I looked at Beverly and Marylin, who were nodding and grinning. I smiled. “Sure.”

  I got up and followed Graham to an empty table.

  “So, how do you like White Grimm so far?” Graham asked.

  “I like it here.” I told him. “I’ve made a lot of friends in the Charm Club and most of the people here seem really nice.”

  “That’s good. I’m glad you like it here.” There was a moment of silence before he asked, “Do you want to go out?”

  I grinned as I said, “Yeah, I’d love that.”

  “Great. Where do you live? I’ll pick you up on Friday night. Maybe at seven?”

  “That sounds great,” I said. I gave Graham my address and went back to my lunch table.

  “What happened?” Marylin asked.

  “We’re going out on a date! On Friday night!” I said excitedly.

  Everyone jumped up and started clapping. Everyone except Meg and Tiffany.

  “Oh my gosh, I’m so happy for you!” Marylin hugged me.

  “He’s one of the most popular guys in school! You’re so lucky,” Beverly said.

  Once everyone composed themselves, Marylin said, “I say that we go to Brittany’s house after school today to pick out an outfit for her date.”

  “Yes! That is a great idea!” Beverly said.

  I smiled. I was beginning to remember what it felt like to have friends.

  Tiffany

  I laid in bed thinking about the day’s events. Things weren’t going my way. Not at all. I had never really thought about Graham, but Beverly was right. He was one of the most popular guys in school. Why didn’t he like me?

  I got up and stood in front of my mirror. I looked at myself for a long time. Was it my hair? No. It couldn’t be. I had the best hair in the class. Was it my skin? I leaned in and looked at my face closely. No. You couldn’t see any pores and I had never even had a pimple. It certainly wasn’t my body. I had the perfect hourglass figure.

  I sighed. What was wrong with me? No boys had paid attention to me at all yet. How was I supposed to be popular if I didn’t have a boyfriend? I thought to myself. This was the age of feminism! This was the age of women’s rights! If Graham wouldn’t come to me, then I’d go to him. I looked at the clock. It was only 8:37. It wasn’t too late. I grabbed my jacket off the bedpost on my way out the bedroom door. I was a woman on a mission.

  Meg

  I was watching tv on the couch with my family when the doorbell rang.

  “Meg, will you get that, sweetie?” My mom asked.

  I sighed as I stood up. “How come Graham never has to answer to the door?”

  “Because I’m older than you,” Graham answered.

  I opened the front door. Tiffany was standing on the porch. “Tiffany? What are you doing here?” I asked. Tiffany and I had never been friends. Not even in elementary school. Tiffany was born to be popular. And girls like Lauren-Anne and I... Well, we weren’t.

  Tiffany grinned
at me. “Hi, Meg!” She peered past me, into the living room. “Am I interrupting something?”

  “No, not really. We’re just-”

  Tiffany walked past me, into the house. “Great. I had a few things I wanted to talk to you about. Can we go up to your room?”

  I didn’t say anything. What was going on?

  “You two go on upstairs.” My mom said. “But remember, Meg, it’s a school night, so you have to be in bed by nine o’clock.”

  “Mom,” I groaned. I couldn’t believe she was doing this to me.

  Tiffany and I went up to my room.

  “What are you doing here?” I asked.

  “I need to borrow an outfit,” She told me.

  “Why? We went over outfits at Beverly’s house yesterday.”

  “Yeah, but I spilled punch on my outfit for tomorrow.”

  I stared at Tiffany for a moment. “Beverly and Marylin won’t like the fact that we did this behind their backs.”

  “Meg, I don’t know what else to do! Help me, please!” Tiffany cried.

  “Alright, alright, I’ll help you.”

  Tiffany grinned. “Thank you so much! What do you have?”

  I walked over to my closet. I opened the door.

  “Wow!” Tiffany started taking things out of the closet. “How come you never wear any of this stuff? It’s all great.”

  “I borrowed all this from Marylin and Beverly.” I explained. “They made Lauren-Anne and me throw away all of our clothes.”

  “Well, no offense, but you guys had terrible clothes.”

  “I don’t have to help you, you know,” I reminded her.

  “You kind of do. We’re both part of the Charm Club.”

  “Yeah, but Marylin and Beverly aren’t going to like the fact that you changed an outfit without consulting them. And they especially aren’t going to like the fact that I helped.”

  Tiffany rolled her eyes. “They aren’t the bosses of us.”

  “They are. They’re in charge of the Charm Club.”

  Tiffany shrugged. “But they’re weird. What’s up with Ms. Ruffinio being part of the Charm Club? And I tried to quit, but they wouldn’t let me.”

  “Who wouldn’t let you?”

  “Who do you think? Marylin told me that I’ll never be able to quit.” She grabbed a dress out of the closet. “This is perfect. Where can I try it on?”

  “The bathroom is across the hall,” I said.

  Tiffany left the room, leaving me with my thoughts. Marylin wouldn’t let Tiffany quit? What? She couldn’t make us stay in the Charm Club. Neither could Beverly. Tiffany had to be lying. The whole thing was just too weird to be true.

  Tiffany came back into my room. “What do you think?” She asked, twirling around.

  I smiled. “You look great.”

  “Let’s go see what Graham thinks.”

  “Why do you want to see what my brother thinks?”

  “I need a boy’s opinion.”

  I frowned. We weren’t supposed to dress for boys. We were supposed to dress for ourselves and each other. It was one of the Charm Club rules.

  Tiffany hurried down the stairs.

  My parents weren’t in the living room. They must have gone to bed.

  “Graham, how do I look?” Tiffany asked.

  Graham looked shocked. I think he was as confused as I was. “You look nice,” He said simply.

  “But do I look cute?”

  “Um, sure.”

  Tiffany smiled as she sat down on the couch, next to Graham. “Do you have any plans for this weekend?”

  “Actually, I do. Brittany and I are going out on Friday night. You guys are friends, right?”

  I stood there in disbelief. I might not have liked Graham and Brittany going out, but Tiffany was trying to sabotage Brittany. That was definitely against the Charm Club rules.

  “Tiffany, it’s time for you to go,” I said.

  Tiffany stood up. “Thanks for the dress, Meg. I don’t need the clothes I wore over here. You can bring them to school tomorrow.” When she got to the door, she turned around. “Bye, Graham.” She said, waving to him.

  I slammed the front door and hurried into the kitchen, where the phone was. I dialed quickly and impatiently waited for someone to pick up.

  On the third ring, someone answered. “Hello?”

  “Hi, this is Meg White. Is Beverly there?”

  “Yes, hold on one moment.”

  I waited, tapping my foot.

  “Meg?” Beverley said. “What’s wrong?”

  “Tiffany was just here.” I told her. “I have a few things to tell you.”

  Chapter 6

  Lauren-Anne

  “Brittany, how excited are you for your date tonight?” Evelyn asked.

  Brittany turned away from the mirror, putting her make-up brush down. “I can’t wait. Graham said he’s taking me to Penny’s Diner. I heard it’s really good.”

  It had been strange referring to Evelyn by her first name and holding conversations with her at first, but now it felt totally normal.

  Evelyn smiled and clapped. “That’s great! Only the serious couples go there.”

  Tiffany rolled her eyes as she spoke up from her corner in Marylin’s room. “That’s so cliche.” She had been sulking all week since Beverly and Marylin yelled at her for wearing an outfit she didn’t have permission to wear, and for trying to steal Graham from Brittany.

  “It’s better than the movies,” I said.

  Marylin smiled at Brittany. “I think that sounds like a lovely date.”

  Beverly nodded in agreement. She couldn’t talk. She had a bunch of bobby pins sticking out of her mouth as she tried to do Brittany’s hair. She turned Brittany’s head, forcing Brittany to stare straight ahead. After doing a few things, she clapped her hands once and stepped away from Brittany. “Perfect,” She said.

  Brittany stood up and turned around.

  Everyone in the Charm Club clapped, except for Tiffany and Meg. Meg hadn’t come to Marylin’s that night since she didn’t approve of Brittany and Graham dating. But everyone else clapped. Brittany looked great.

  A car honked outside. I looked out the window. “It’s your mom,” I told Brittany.

  Brittany grinned. “I should get home right before Graham gets there to pick me up. Wish me luck, everyone.”

  We all wished her luck as she closed the bedroom door behind her.

  We all started chattering excitedly. Brittany was the first Charm Club member to be going on a date this year.

  Shortly after that, I walked home. I felt bad for Meg. Her brother was dating one of her friends. Even though I was happy for Brittany, I still understood how weird that must have been for Meg. So, I called her.

  “Hello?” She picked up on the first ring.

  “Hey. It’s me.”

  “Hi, Lauren-Anne. What is it?”

  “Do you want to do something tonight? I don’t want you moping around all night.”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Come on. That Joan Crawford movie that came out last month is still in theatres. We should go see it.”

  Meg sighed. “Alright, fine. I’ll be at your house in twenty minutes.”

  I smiled. “See you then.”

  Brittany

  Five minutes after I got home from Marylin’s house, the doorbell rang.

  “I’ll get it!” I said excitedly.

  “No, I’ll get it,” My dad said.

  “Daddy, be nice,” I begged.

  He opened the door. “Hello, Graham. Come in.”

  Graham stepped into the front hallway. He was wearing his letterman jacket. He looked so handsome. “Good evening, sir. Mrs. Lends.” He smiled at me. “Hi, Brittany.”

  I grinned. “Hi, Graham.”

  “Where are you kids going tonight?” My dad asked.

  “Penny’s Diner, sir.”

  “Where are you going after that?”

  “Daddy.” I rolled my eyes.

  “
We’ll take a walk.”

  “And you’ll have her home by ten o’clock?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Alright, have fun,” My dad said as he walked into the kitchen.

  Once we were in Graham’s car, I said, “I’m sorry about that. I’m an only child. My parents are really protective.”

  “No problem.” Graham said. “It’s all worth it to take you out.”

  We talked while we drove. Graham stopped and parked the car out on the street across from the school, in front of Penny’s Diner.

  When we walked in, we were greeted by the sound of loud music and people talking. It sounded like everyone was yelling over each other. I guess they were.

  We sat in a booth in the back. The waitress came over and took our order. While we waited for our food, we talked.

  “How are you liking it here?” Graham asked. “I bet this is really different from Los Angeles.”

  “It was really crowded in Los Angeles. There were over a million people there. I read that the population here is less than twelve hundred people. And it’s colder here. The temperature was perfect in California. It’s strange, though. I thought that it’d be hot here since we’re in Nevada.”

  Graham shrugged. “We’re in the mountains. It’s not like Las Vegas or anything. But don’t worry, I think you’ll learn to like it here.” As he said the last sentence, he put his hand over mine.

  I smiled. “I’m learning to.”

  Tiffany

  I walked into the eight o’clock showing of Female on the Beach. White Grimm may have been lacking in a lot of areas, but the movie theatre had plenty of movies to choose from.

  I froze when I saw who was sitting in the second to last row. Lauren-Anne and Meg. I walked up the stairs with my head down. Hopefully, they wouldn’t see me.

  “Tiffany!” Lauren-Anne called.

  I sighed to myself before looking up. “Hey, Lauren-Anne,” I ignored Meg.

  “Sit with us,” Lauren-Anne urged.

  I couldn’t say no. They were part of the Charm Club. It would look bad if I didn’t sit with them. Unfortunately, Lauren-Anne was sitting in the aisle seat. I had no choice but to sit next to Meg.

  Meg smiled at me like nothing was wrong. “Hi, Tiffany.”

  I was already in a bad mood. Before I could stop myself, I asked, “You’re going to act like nothing's wrong?”