Free The Real Me by Ann Herrick Page B

into my new black jeans that minimized my no longer so terribly big hips. I sprayed cologne onto my throat and behind my ears.
    From my jewelry box I selected a delicate gold chain with a single pearl set against a gold heart. I put it on. If the chain had been a quarter of an inch longer the pearl would have been lost in my newly improved cleavage.
    I checked my reflection in the mirror, turning left, then right. I looked straight down into my blouse. I decided there wasn't too much showing. Or was there?
    I ventured out into the hall to have a look in the full length mirror. Even though I knew my folks were half way to New Haven , I kept expecting one of them to pop out of their room.
    What I saw in the mirror totally astonished me. I hadn't really taken a good look at my whole self since I'd started dieting. Where once there'd been a drab, chunky girl hunched over in an attempt to make herself look smaller, there was now a relatively slender, attractive girl--with a ton of cleavage!
    I turned and looked at myself over my shoulder. Facing the mirror again, I buttoned the third button on my blouse. I considered my reflection. I was more covered up, but I certainly did not look plain. It wasn't just my clothes, not even my bra. I was different. But did I want to be? Could I handle it? How was I supposed to act? What was I supposed to do?
    I unbuttoned the third button. I was supposed to flaunt myself! Wasn't that what I had decided on the shopping trip in New Haven ? Hadn't I vowed to somehow get Kevin's attention? I brushed any doubts from my mind. I had to if I was going to show off my new self.
    I would go to Erwina's party and show Nicole Sandhurst that she wasn't the only girl in Waterside who could make guys' heads swivel!
    A horn sounded in the driveway. It was Erwina. I grabbed a sweater, checked my hair one more time, and ran to Erwina's car.
    "Hi!" I locked the car door and pulled my sweater around my throat.
    "Hi," Erwina said. "Are you cold or something?"
    "Um, a little."
    "I see." Erwina looked sideways at me as she backed out of the driveway. She stopped at the sidewalk and checked for traffic. "Well, I'm sure it will be plenty warm in our family room."
    When we got to her house, Erwina's parents were waiting at the front door to greet us.
    "Hi, Mattie," said Mrs. Lane . "You look lovely tonight. Let me take your sweater."
    I clutched at my throat. "I, er, I think I'll keep it with me. I'm, um, a bit cold."
    "How are your folks?" boomed Mr. Lane .
    "They're fine." I tried to edge my way to the stairs that led down to the family room.
    Freddie loped into the hallway. "Hey, Mattie. What happened to you? You look nice!"
    "Freddie!" exclaimed Mrs. Lane . She looked as if she didn't know whether to faint or pinch Freddie's head off.
    Mr. Lane narrowed his eyes at Freddie. "Mattie always looks nice."
    "Oh. Oh, yeah!" Freddie said, finally getting the message. "She does. I mean, you do, Mattie. That is …."
    "Freddie, go back to your video game," Erwina said. "Come on, Mattie. Let's go." She rushed me down to the family room and yelled up the stairs. "And don't come down here, Freddie!"
    I surveyed the family room, amazed. It looked like a tropical island. On every wall were posters of sunny beaches. A jungle of plants hung from the ceiling and sprang up in the corners. The food table stood in a model of a grass shack. "This is great! Where on earth did you find all this stuff?"
    Erwina blew on her fingernails and rubbed them on her sleeve. "Thanks. I bought the posters at the discount store. The plants are ours. I just moved them all down here. I borrowed the grass shack from a travel agency." She cleared her throat. "Did you notice the palm tree?"
    I turned in the direction Erwina was pointing and saw the palm tree.
    "Fake," said Erwina. "And from the travel agency, too."
    "But how--"
    "A couple weeks ago I went job hunting and got myself a summer job at Holiday Travel. I've been so busy--I guess I forgot to tell