Chapter 3: Mall Makeover

"I can't believe your mom was okay that you went to the mall with me after that total rager last night!" Hannah winked and laughed at herself. "I think she's just happy I am making friends. Not like I am a total loser or something, I just didn't want to come." I shrugged and looked away. "Why not?" "My parent's divorce wasn't exactly easy. The only reason I can even afford to be at this overpriced school is that my dad is covering my tuition." I don't feel shame for my mom's financial status, but I do hate how she ended up in this situation with me. I want more for her. I clicked the seatbelt in. Hannah had offered to drive, which I just came to realize was terrifying because she isn't that great of a driver. She started to blare some pop songs over the radio, and the belting of lyrics soon came after. As she pulled into the parking lot and put the car in park, she turned to me with a serious face. "Are you ready for a make-over?" she asked with a devilish look. "What are you talking about? No!" I laughed, pushing her hands away from my face. "Seriously, I saw the way you looked at Chase last night. You are into him." She practically shouted, jumping out of the car. "Yeah, he is hot and saved my life, which is a plus." "See!" She nudged me as we kept walking toward the mall doors, waving her arms in the air. "But he is also out of my league, and he seems experienced and popular," I said. "What if you faked experience? Or we could get you out and do the real thing! Kidding. Just kidding," She saw the look on my face and gave in quickly. Hannah started dragging me to her favorite store. It had a few mannequins in the front windows. She ran up to one with a short black skirt and white tank. It was simple but cute. "Here's what we are going to do! We are going to get you a few new clothes and some make-up that you don't hate." I interrupted her. "I have make-up. I just don't like wearing it every day." I offered up. "Exactly, meaning you don't like it." She tossed a dark purple low-cut blouse onto my hands. As she started to pile things up, my concern grew. "Hannah, I can't afford all of these things, especially for some guy I barely know. Besides, what is wrong with what I have?" I questioned. Insecurities surrounded me, and I felt like the poor kid I never wanted to feel like. "Aria, I heard he likes flirting with edgy and sexy girls. You've got that up here," she pointed to my head, "and you've got it down here." She waved her hand over my body. "Let me guess, I just need to show it." My eyes rolled. "Exactly!" She exclaimed and started darting through the store. I had to chase her, making myself look like a fool. "Hold up! Look, I admit I am interested in Chase, but I want to do this my way, okay? Nothing too crazy, and I don't want to change who I am." I literally stomped my foot like a child, probably not helping my case. She locked eyes with me. I thought she ultimately just wanted to do a make-over for fun. "Fine, sensible girl, on one condition." She raised her finger. "Maybe. What's the condition, Master?" I chuckled. "Wear what you want but let me do your make-up before school." She held my gaze. "For how long?" Eyebrows up, I could not unlock the gaze, or it might mean she wins. "Until graduation." I shook my head. "No way," I said. "Next Friday?" I thought about it for a split second, realizing this was as good as it was going to get and she could sense that, I nodded my head. She squealed and plopped into a big comfy white chair. "Dazzle me! I want to see a fashion show!" she exclaimed. Hannah took out her phone while I sorted through the racks. I found a pair of skinny jeans in the clearance rack and held onto the black skirt Hannah tossed at me earlier. It made sense. Excitement filled me. It had been years since my mom and I had this kind of time together. Maybe one day we could again. Once mom popped into my head, I realized I couldn't afford both outfits. After putting on the jeans and a low-cut blouse, I popped out of the dressing room. Hannah's mouth formed an O. "You look so amazing! Wowza!" She fanned herself, and I started to laugh. Spinning around in front of the mirror, I couldn't help but look at my butt. I hadn't seen it in ages or ever really. "I like this. It is kind of me with a side of badass, right?" I looked at her begging her to be easy on me. She nodded aggressively and quickly looked back at her phone. "Hey, what are you so focused on?" I jumped onto the side of the chair and glanced at her phone. "Facebook… I just remembered I might have made a fake Facebook account ages ago for some fun. And..." She looked at me, trying to feign innocence. "I just found my fake account once added your hero as a friend." "Wait, you created a fake identity? Lying to your online friends? How many friends do you have?" I squirmed. This seemed very eighth grade. "Relax, almost everyone has a fake identity online." She waved it off. "Really?" I asked. I felt like I was a person born in the last century. "Come on, granny, you are a beautiful high-school student. Just discover something fun online," she said. A ding went off from her phone. She smiled at me, raising her eyebrows. "I have a good idea. You log into the fake account from your phone so you can learn more about your dream hero." She started dancing in her seat. "Or I could actually try to get to know him in person." When I said that, she looked defeated. This was giving her life for some concerning reason. Starting this off by lying didn't seem like the best plan. "Just test the waters and make sure you are interested. Plus, you might learn something that will make your next interaction smoother." Hannah had to be a good speaker. Chase kind of looked like the bad boy in a romance novel. His dark hair and dark eyes still popped into my head every few minutes. Although reason told me no, a little voice inside my heart encouraged me to approach Chase. "But you were messaging him from this account. " I said. Was she into him? "Yeah, I messaged him months ago, but I'm really not into him. He has the bad boy thing going. No worries, it was just for fun." Hannah pointed out. My reason gave in my little inner voice. I handed her my phone. She logged into her fake account, and I sent Chase a message from the fake account. Trying something as simple as "Hey" seemed like enough. I saw the dots come up. He was typing. Hannah and I were staring at it as if we had never been more concentrated. His message finally came through. "Hey, what's up." We squealed. This felt so wrong. "What are you up 2?" I messaged back. Dots. "Darts with the guys" is what he responds with, and then nothing. I am disappointed. He seemed not to want to continue this chat. Hannah shrugged it off, and I left Messenger. It was a stupid idea anyway. "Look!" She pointed at her phone's screen. "What?" I tried to hide my disappointment. "New photos he posted just now. It's the game center in the mall." She got up quickly, and I ran to go change into my clothes. I paid for the skinny jeans and blouse. Hannah bought the other outfit for me, saying it was a gift for being so awesome. I happily accepted, probably because my adrenaline was so high at that point. We made it to the game center, and there he was—Chase and three others I barely recognized. "Who are they, Mrs. Know-it-all?" I question. He was throwing darts standing next to two guys and a blonde girl. The girl turned around, laughing. It was a beautiful girl who looked vaguely familiar. Hannah frowned. "Not sure why that b*tch is here." "Do you know her?" I asked. "Yeah, but she is a b*tch. The other two are Luke and Thomas. I heard Thomas is a druggie, but I don't think it has ever been proven." She pulled my arm. "Oh, then we are not going there." I pointed at the girl. As soon as I pointed at her, she spotted us. Chase went to turn around, which would have caused him to see me. She pulled his arm and turned him back around. "Let's go." Hannah turned me around pulled me out of the mall.