The Skylar Experiment : The "X" in Apex

Chapter Twelve - More Gaslighting!

"Depends on the lighting."

She swatched shades and matched them. "Mmh, pretty sure you're light blue, my friend."

She asked Sam to tame my chaotic hair, one heck of a tall order.

I sat there obediently, enduring all the tugging and slathering of products. There was very little I could do about it at this stage except take pictures of the process for my parents.

What seemed like twenty minutes later, I stood in front of my reflection. My hair was straight now. The makeup was natural, but it changed everything.

"It's all in the details, honey," Emma hummed. "Now... there's this pair of short shorts I had lying around. I modified it last year. It just screams you."

Running over to her backpack, she shook out a pale scrap of denim shorts, ripped at the front thighs. A lopsided chain dangled from the waistband to a pocket, made of friendship bracelet beads. It was cute. She wasn't wrong. I'd totally buy this sweet pair if I saw it in my hometown.

I traded my shirt and jeans for the rainbow tube top and her creation. I almost told her it wouldn't fit me, given how slim and narrow she was everywhere, whereas I was visibly sturdier in the legs. Against all odds, it sat high on my waist as intended. My stomach was covered as long as I didn't raise my arms too far.

Sam dropped in by the mirror and did a sassy meow. Then she gave her boobs a squeeze.

"Yeah, I think that's what the monitor imagined I'd do around the school."

Jen, who had been applying lip gloss at her vanity, choked on a laugh. "Why wouldn't you? You have the build. And you know who's gonna die when they see this? Every dude in the radius."

I tugged at the rips in my shorts, scanning my reflection.

Back home, some kids from surf class started dating each other. A boy had been nagging me nonstop when we weren't alone. Others told me it was because he liked me, but Mom dispensed all kinds of warnings against boys who were mean to their crush.

▲▲▲

Jen's parents warned us not to destroy the house in their absence. We gathered a ton of chips, crackers, sodas, and chocolate bars, dumping them in bowls and spreading those over the counter.

"How many people are coming, exactly?"

"I don't know," Jen answered, straddling over Spartacus to reach her Wii console. She opened a drawer underneath and took out a game. "Pretty much everyone in school has got the memo that the team celebrates tonight."

The doorbell rang just as the back door slid ajar, and Adam stepped inside. He made for the front when he stopped, eyes yo-yoing over my frame.

"Wow, Riley," he blurted. "That banned top is one for the books."

I ignored the girl's intrusive goggling. "It's mostly Emma's job. I had nothing to do with it."

He approved with a nod, then smiled goofily. I bit my cheek on the inside to keep my poker face. The doorbell rang again.

"I'll get the door, in case anyone forgot," Jen mocked as she rose from sitting.

Male voices sounded at the threshold, and we swiftly broke eye contact. Adam headed over to greet his buddies. I glanced down at the chocolate I was holding in my left fist and loosened it, only to find that it had melted all over my palm into unrecognizable goo. I went to the sink to take care of it.