Free My Paper Heart by Magan Vernon Page A

Brad Pitt may have touched during Interview with the Vampire , can we go find whatever you need and go?" Britt sulked, crossing her arms across her chest.
    "Fine." I almost skipped toward a boutique as Brittany dawdled behind me.
    "But this is going to be fun!" I thought maybe if I just stayed positive then maybe Britt would too. A shop keeper nodded in our direction, but was busy showing a blue-haired lady a very expensive looking watch.
    "So." Britt glanced at me from behind a rack of dresses. "Do you really like Blaine..?"
    I held up a pale yellow sundress in front of me. I was definitely not sure if I could still fit in a size six, and I was beginning to wonder how this was going to work out for Kristi's wedding.
     I was also not looking forward to having this conversation with Britt. She always gave me second thoughts about Blaine whenever we would talk. Sometimes it would turn into something good, and sometimes it would just cause an argument.
    "Well, yeah, I mean he is my boyfriend." I grabbed another dress off of the rack to keep my hands busy.
    She looked down and shifted from one foot to the other. "I just don't understand how you knew I liked him, and then met him." She looked up and put her hands outward toward me. "Then you absolutely hated him, then after one night y'all are inseparable, and I have to just sit and watch you cuddle on MY couch with my crush to end all crushes."
    I put the dress down and just looked at Brittany for a moment. What could I say?  Would anything really make it better?  I didn't want to just humor her and say there were plenty of other guys out there, and it would just be mocking for me to say she was too young for him anyways.
    "You know." I sighed. "Before college not even a single guy looked at me."
    Brittany rolled her eyes. "Oh please, like I haven't heard that ugly duckling story a million times before." She twirled her hair and in a mocking high voice uttered, " don't worry Brittany, once you fill out you'll be gorgeous. You know when I was younger I got picked on all the time and I turned out okay ."
     She stopped with the mocking voice and twirling her hair. Then she looked straight at me with a determined look on her face. "People can say that it gets better all they want, but when you're living in the now, and you see every other girl in your class get a date, every other girl in your class even get looked at by a boy, and you get nothing but horrible nicknames and terrible stories to come home and cry about."
    I could see the tears almost welling up in her eyes, but she pushed them back.
    Then I thought about Brittany's mom. The beauty queen whose reign ended the night Brittany was conceived. I winced when I realized that it wasn't all about me this time. Brittany never would be the beauty queen that her mother was and would always be haunted with the memory of what became of her.
    "You know what?" I walked over to her and put my arm around her. She was so short her head was practically at my chest. "This place is a bit out of my price range anyways. You want to get out of here? Maybe I'll take you to the batting cages?"
    Britt actually looked up at me and smiled. "Really?"
    "Sure. I'm not used to usually having a budget, but I'm sure we could find me a dress and a bedspread at Wal-Mart or something."
    "So what about you and your boyfriend back at school anyways?" Brittany piped up as we walked toward the car. "I know you told me he cheated on you and stuff, but what does he think about you and Blaine?  If I don't like it he must really not like it."
    I sighed. The last thing I wanted to talk about was Beau, and I could just imagine what he was saying about me to all of his fraternity brothers. "Remember how I told you that guys didn't even look at me in high school?"
    "Psh, yeah and you act like I really believe that one." Brittany opened her car door and I slid in after she did. "You're blonde, tall, and skinny and you think I believe you didn't have guys begging for