Free Lone Star Legend by Gwendolyn Zepeda

and that HeartThrob Geek-Boy was actually a pretty good guy. She’d write that for her very next entry.
    But not right now. First she needed to finish some work for QBS Systems and e-mail it to her supervisor there. Then she needed
     to go to QBS physically and renew her contract. Then she needed to hurry back downtown for a noon meeting at Nacho Papi.
    But before she did any of that, she needed to e-mail Veronica and Jane a picture of her new hair. And, after scrolling through
     all the pictures she’d uploaded the night before and picking the best one, she did just that.
    Jane was at work at the Capitol already, which meant she was already goofing off online. She replied immediately: OMG, is
     that you? You look fabulous!
    Sandy was pleased, to say the least. They volleyed a few e-mails back and forth, catching up, and then Sandy got back to work
     in earnest.
    “J ESUS M OTHER M ARY , Sandy, is that you? You look beautiful!”
    Whereas Jane’s comment had looked moderately enthusiastic on the screen, Sandy’s mother sounded, in the driveway, like she
     was about to burst into tears. She ran up to her daughter as if they’d just won the lottery and gave her a big, disproportionately
     emotional hug. “Oh my gosh, oh my Jesus! Baby, I’m so happy for you! I’m so glad!”
    “Mom! Quit. You’re freaking me out.”
    Her mother made a visible effort to get hold of herself. “When did you do it? Last night? Where’d you go? Oh my gosh, you
     got new glasses, too! Sandy, what happened? Did you get a raise? Wait—did Danny break up with you?” Within this one paragraph,
     her mother’s voice had gotten loud again.
    “What? No. Why would we have broken up? Why would
he
have broken up with
me
?”
    “You know. I just meant, how sometimes, when women break up with someone, they suddenly start caring about how they look again.
     Or for the first time. Or—you know. Whatever. So what happened?”
    Sandy decided to overlook her mother’s verbal blunders. “Nothing. Angelica, my new boss, is having me do some interviews on
     camera for the site, and we wanted to change my look a little. That’s all.”
    “Oh, Sandy. You mean you got a
Mujer
makeover? For free?”
    “For free, yes. Related to the magazine Angelica used to edit, no.” Sandy would have laughed at her mother responding exactly
     as she’d predicted if that reaction weren’t so exasperating.
    “Let me see.” Mrs. Saavedra gently touched the new shoulder-length inverted bob, which Sandy hadn’t even had to blow out that
     morning, thanks to her naturally stick-straight locks. “You always had your daddy’s hair. Indio hair,” her mother said, shaking
     her head. “But it looks good like this. Let me see your eyes.”
    Sandy dutifully closed her eyes so that her mother could see that slightest dusting of taupe powder and the thinnest line
     of black liner on her eyelids.
    “Pretty!” her mother breathed. Next she examined Sandy’s silk blouse, pencil skirt, and high-heeled mary janes. Angelica’s
     two-hour makeover had led to a full evening of shopping. Sandy had let her boss pay for a few items of clothing, pretending
     it was a sort of required uniform, but then ended up picking out many more things to buy for herself. It was strange, she’d
     never really enjoyed shopping with her mother or even with her friend Jane. But with Angelica it was different. Her boss knew
     boutiques Sandy had never visited, and her shopping technique involved getting in, grabbing the good stuff, and getting back
     out in one streamlined process. It had been a whole new experience for Sandy—one she hoped wouldn’t become an expensive habit.
    “Why didn’t you get a new bag, too, though?” Mrs. Saavedra touched the olive green corduroy work bag that hung on Sandy’s
     shoulder from its black canvas strap.
    “Because I like this one. I’m used to it. It has the perfect number of pockets and the strap is the perfect length.” Sandy
     had carried that