Kailey's story

I sat on Nikki's bed absorbed in my book, I was vaguely aware of her constant complaining about the fact I wasn't going to the party.

"Come on Kai!" She whined and peered in at me from her bathroom. "Put the book down and come help me," she said.

I sighed and headed to the bathroom. "What is it you need?" I asked.

"Straighten the rest of my hair would you?" She asked, not really caring to hear the answer.

"Sure," I replied. She had the prettiest blonde hair, it was so silky looking.

"Kailey," I saw her staring at me through the mirror. "Would you please get over your ridiculous 'I hate teenagers' issue and come with me to this party? We're graduating in two weeks and you won't get another chance for a high school party, it's a must have experience."

I couldn't help but laugh at her "must have experience" right… "It's not about my 'I hate teenagers' issue, which by the way, comes from you, I've never said such a thing. It just doesn't appeal me to go to a crowded place with loud teenagers who are either drinking or smoking their brain cells away."

I saw her roll her eyes as she put on her mascara. "Oh pa-lease Kai. Just because they're doing it doesn't mean you have to, and besides, would it kill you to be a normal teenager for just one night and be a little irresponsible?"

"Maybe it would. For example, what if-" I was going to go into a detailed story which involved both of us getting killed but she interrupted me.

"Do not go there, please, your what if stories are so ridiculous. Come on Kai, please? If you come I won't join in with the drinking, I'll just stare on longingly." I was about to go into a lecture, but she knows me all too well and stopped me before I got the first word out. She put her hand up.

"Stop, don't even think about it. No lectures tonight." She said. I sighed and handed her the straightener. I leaned up against the wall, bracing myself for whatever ideas she would try to come up with to get me to go.

"Okay Kailey, listen. You're my best friend, and every time I go to these parties, I just imagine how much more fun I would have if you came with me. You know, being the responsible one and not letting me drink, and lecturing me every time I suggested it, I actually like when you do that, makes me feel all loved. Instead, we would just sit back and make fun of all the stupid people who are getting wasted and doing ridiculous things, I know how much you love to make fun of people you consider stupid." She said with a wink. "I'll even let you make all the sarcastic comments you want." She was facing me now, her eyes pleading.

"Oh, you'll let me make sarcastic comments? Wow, thank you your highness, I don't deserve such treatment."

A big smile crossed her face. "See! That's exactly what I'm talking about!"

"Glad I can entertain you." I couldn't help but smile back.

"Alright, come with me, we'll hang out for an hour and a half there, that's it, that's all I'm asking. If you really truly can't handle it, we'll leave and go see a movie or something, no drinking or anything, just hanging out, please?" She put her hands on my shoulders and stared at me with her blue eyes.

"Alright. Fine. Ninety minutes." I crossed my arms and looked away from her.

"Really? Like seriously? Oh my God I've never been so happy in my life!" She squealed as she jumped and clapped her hands and then caught me in a bear hug. "Thank you! You won't regret it I promise!"

"Right. Sure, now, um…you're cutting off my circulation." I said as I pushed her away.

"Oh right, sorry." She said with a huge smile. "This is epic! Okay, can I make one more proposition?" She asked.

Uh-oh I thought, give her one inch and she takes a mile. I looked at her suspiciously. "If I say no will you ask anyways?" I asked.

"Hmmm…yes," she said.

"Oh, well, in that case. What?"

"Can I dress you? And do your hair and make-up? Please!" She looked very excited, and I was a little afraid.

"Do I look like a Barbie doll to you?" I asked.

"In those clothes, with your hair like that, no, but with my help you'll look more perfect than Barbie!" I couldn't believe it but she was actually being serious.

"Oh, okay! Maybe you could like totally put me in a slutty outfit, and it like, totally has to have pink, and then like, maybe you could totally put a pink bow in my hair too! And then, after wards, we can like hold hands and skip!" I finished with a huge fake smile.

"You have issues," was all she had to say. I was a little disappointed. I thought my display of sarcasm was exceptionally impressive.

"Well at least change, you can't go to a party like this, dressed like that, and just do a little something with your hair. It's so beautiful and has so much potential." She walked behind me and started playing with my hair, I could only imagine what she would do if I let her "fix" it.

"And what exactly is wrong with what I'm wearing?" I asked skeptically.

"Kailey, honestly. Come here." She grabbed my arm and pulled me to her door mirror. "Look. Does that look to you like a teenage girl about to go to a drunken party?" She asked.

I looked in the mirror. Funny, I never noticed how opposite me and Nikki dressed, actually, we were opposites on pretty much everything. "No, but, then again, I'm not a teenage girl who goes to drunken parties so what do you expect?"

"Okay, fair enough. I'll make you a deal. I will shorten our time to an hour, if you let me pick out your outfit, and fix up your hair. You can do your make-up since you do good with that anyways, and I promise I won't pick anything too revealing for you."

"Oh I can do my own make-up, really? Oh happy day!"

"Alright, do me a favor, and save the sarcasm for the party? That way we can get things moving a little bit faster." I could tell she enjoyed my sarcasm, she just wasn't willing to admit it. "So, what do you say? One hour, I pick your clothes and fix your hair?"

"Fine. I refuse to wear any of your bright colored clothes though." I grimaced. But I had to admit, I was happy it was making her so happy.

"Okay! No bright clothes, in fact, I'll get you something black, you like wearing black." She took off into her closet, and I headed back to my book I left sitting on her bed.

"Oh no you don't." She said as she grabbed my book. "No reading tonight alright? We're going to get ready and go. Now here," She threw some clothes at me "try those on, and I want to see after you're in them, don't just tell me they look bad, I know you lie when you say that."

"You're so pushy." I said and headed towards the bathroom. "I hope you realize you're a horrible influence and ruining my life." I yelled through the shut door.

"I know, but you love me anyways. After all, I have to balance out your ridiculous obsession with being responsible." She said.

"Oh my goodness you're right. How dare I not want to be reckless?"

"I thought we agreed on no sarcasm?" She asked.

"No, you agreed with yourself in the mirror, I was going to object put you seemed to deeply infatuated with yourself."

"Funny, almost sounds like you're calling me conceited." I could hear in her voice that she was trying to hold back a laugh.

"Me? Call you conceited? I would never, I mean, what would even give me that idea?"

I could hear her laughing through the door. She was the only person I could call conceited and not get in trouble for it.

"Sarcasm! I don't want you using up all your comments so you have plenty at the party."

"Oh don't worry, I never run out."

"Oh right, I forgot, my bad. Are you dressed yet?"

"Umm…I think I'll go back to the hour and a half deal." I said. I usually wore t-shirts with a big jacket, and loose jeans. But the black shirt fit a little too nicely on me, the jeans too.

"Kailey come on at least let me see, you haven't even seen yourself! The full mirror is out here. Please let me see."

"Fine." I said, "But please, don't harass me."

"Cross my heart and hope to die." She replied.

I opened the door slowly and avoided making eye contact with her. "Be honest, how ridiculous do I look?" I asked. I waited but got no answer. "Nikki?" I looked up and she was staring at me. "See I told you!" I turned to go back in the bathroom and change.

"No no!" She yelled as she ran over to me and grabbed my arm. "Kai, you look amazing, look in the mirror." She dragged me over to her mirror. "See?"

I slowly lifted my eyes to the mirror, I didn't recognize the girl staring back at me. "I um, I think that the shirt is too…too…I don't know, too something." I said as I pulled on it, hoping to stretch it out.

"Too what? Perfect? Kailey, you look amazing. Come on I'll fix your hair and you can do your make-up." She grabbed my arm again and we headed towards the bathroom."

"Nik, are you sure? I mean, it's not what I usually wear…and it's a little…strange."

"Don't be ridiculous, you look awesome. And you're right, it's not what you usually wear, but if you think about it, for you that's a good thing, because trust me, no one there is going to recognize you, so then you won't have anyone at school hassling because you finally decided to make an appearance."

"I guess." I said as she fixed my hair.

I spent the next twenty minutes listening to Nikki talk about how I was selfish for not letting anyone see my how amazing I looked in "real clothes." I wanted to turn and smack her, but I realized she probably forgot how uncomfortable it made me, she was too caught up in her excitement.

"There!" She said with triumph. I groaned, I didn't really want to see what she'd done with my hair. Nevertheless, I followed her out the bathroom to the mirror.

"Hey, Kailey?" She looked at me through the mirror.

"Yeah?" I replied, I was a little afraid of the response.

"You're a total babe. The guys at school wouldn't dare call you plain if they saw you right now."

"I'm assuming this is something I should be proud of?" I asked, with all seriousness.

"Hell yes! I mean come on, look at yourself. How can you not be proud of that?" I looked at her, confused. She had completely lost it. She took in my expression and smiled.

"Alright, think about it this way, you go to the party, looking like you do, I can guarantee a flock of guys will surround you, and instead of flirting with them, like a normal person would, you can give them sarcastic comments, lecture them, crush them, and then walk away."

"Strangely enough…that does sound appealing." Actually it sounded rather mean, but then again, they need to learn some day.

"See? This'll be fun. Ready?" She asked.

I took a deep breath. I couldn't believe I actually let her talk me into this. "Ready as I'll ever be…" I said. She rolled her eyes.

"This'll be fun, promise, you won't regret it." She said as she took my arm and we headed out.