How to Be a Perfect Girl

by Mary Williams

  Dad nodded, “That’s good. How’d she take it?”

  “Well enough, I guess. We’re not exactly gonna be friends again anytime soon—but at least I set things right.”

  “Yes, that’s good,” Mom agreed, “Good job, Val. I’m proud of you,” she smiled and nodded to herself.

  Dad was not quite satisfied, “And you won’t do anything like that again, will you?”

  “Oh gosh no,” Val tried to say the sentence as if the very idea of insulting someone else repulsed her, “I mean, I don’t wanna become just another mean girl.”

  “Exactly,” Dad leaned back in his chair, “Anyone can be mean, but it takes a special person to be nice. A special girl—like you.”

  “I’m not that special,” Val replied, attempting to change the subject from Jenny and the apology-that-wasn’t—she knew denying the complement would also gain points with Dad, since he would interpret the denial as modesty.

  “Sure you are. Why, I bet most girls wouldn’t have even apologized to someone who slapped them.” The words made Val a little uncomfortable, but she didn’t let it show.

  “Anyway,” Mom interjected, “What are you planning on doing today, Val?”

  “Oh, you know, this and that. I was thinking I would stay in and watch a movie or something.”

  “Val, I’m fifty, and that sounds boring even to me.” Dad laughed, “Why don’t you do something with your friends?”

  Sensing her opportunity, Val seized upon his suggestion, “Well Aaliyah’s having a—get-together. Can I go to that?”

  Mom and Dad looked at each other, their expressions nearly unreadable. “I guess I don’t see any harm in it,” Mom finally said, “When does it start, and how long are you going to be there?”

  “I don’t know, to be honest.” Val pulled out her phone, “Should I ask?” She hid her giddiness—they’re gonna let me go!

  “Please. I want to know as many details as possible; you know how much I worry sometimes.”

  Val nodded, “Ok , I’ll ask Aaliyah.” She sent a text asking for details; the reply was short in coming. “So, she says it’s starting at five, and there’s not really like a set end point. Just whenever everyone wants to go home.”

  “Five? But you’ll miss dinner,” Dad frowned.

  Val laughed, “I think you guys can handle me not being here for one night.”

  “I don’t know,” Dad laughed, latching onto the joke, “You are the only important thing in our lives.”

  “Psh, I’m not even in the top ten.”

  “Awh, don’t sell yourself short honey,” Mom said, “You’re a solid ninth place.”

  “Gee, thanks,” Val stuck her tongue out at Mom.

  “That’s rude, honey.”

  “Oh, so sorry,” Val replied, still in a joking mood, “I most certainly did not enjoy that last comment. I found it to be a disparagement upon my character.”

  “What?” Dad laughed, and choked on some of the water he’d been sipping. “Disparagement?” he said once he had regained his composure, “You trying to use vocab words at home?”

  Val shook her head, “No, I was just trying to get my point across in a non-rude way.”

  Dad nodded, “Also, I want to drive you to this get-together.”

  Alarms went off in Val’s mind—images of passed out high schoolers on the lawn, and, worse, of Aaliyah laughing when Val’s father dropped her off, like she was a small child. “That’s alright, I’ll take a cab,” Val said.

  “Nonsense! I don’t have anything better to do; I’m not sure I want you travelling alone late at night, anyway.”

  Val couldn’t think of any argument that would dissuade Dad from his plan; “Alright, sounds good. Could we leave a little early?” she hoped that, if they arrived before the party had really started, none of the scenarios she was imagining would come to pass.

  “Sure,” Dad agreed.

  It was still only one-fifteen; Val returned to her room and tried to work on homework, despite the heavy distraction now enticing her to think of anything and everything else. Her mind kept wondering what the “soiree” would be like—would it be a high-class affair, with champagne and fancy dresses? Or a classic high-school party, with alcohol? Val decided to go straight to the source and ask Aaliyah.

  “Oh, you know,” her friend replied via text, “It’s gonna be pretty casual. Just wear what you’d normally wear to school.”

  “Cool,” Val texted back, “Thank you.” Wear what I normally would for school, Val thought. Palm Lake’s dress code was strict; she decided that she would wear what she would if the dress code were a little more lax. After another hour of struggling with math problems, four pm came around—close enough to five.

  Val opened her dresser and retrieved a comfortable set of shorts—Dad had described them as “Pretty much underwear” when she’d purchased them, but Val found the cotton shorts to be both warm and soft. She traded her baggy blue shirt for a white tank top, and headed downstairs to find her shoes.

  “Unh uh,” Dad said, turning from his spot in the armchair in front of their tv to point at Val, “That’s not going to work. Put on some real clothes.”

  “These are real clothes,” Val argued.

  Dad coughed, “Will there be boys at this get-together?”

  “Yeah—”

  “Then those shorts aren’t going to cut it. And that shirt’s a little tight too.” Dad raised his eyebrows to drive home the point.

  “This shirt’s not tight! Seriously, it just looks that way from your angle.”

  “Val, I can see the cups of your bra. Go change, honey.”

  Val sighed and returned to her room; darn it, she thought, my one chance to wear these shorts and Dad won’t even let me. She looked at the clothes in her dresser before deciding the whole effort was pointless, I don’t want to wear what I’d wear to school. She went over to her closet, and the dresses hanging up there, if I can’t go for the comfortable look, why not overdress a little?

  When Val again descended the steps to the main level, she was clothed in a floral pattern dress that cinched at the waist. It was an attractive pattern, and Val had always liked the way it fit her so well.

  “Just what kind of get-together is this?” Dad asked, a look of genuine confusion on his face.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well, first you come down in short shorts and a tight shirt, and now you’re wearing a dress?”

  Val shrugged, “I knew you’d let me wear this.” She checked the time on her phone: 4:15pm.

  “Fair enough. How far away is your friend’s house?”

  “Not that far. I made a note with the address on my phone—here, I’ll google the directions.” Val typed Aaliyah’s address into her phone’s gps app, “It says it should be about a fifteen minute drive.”

  Dad glanced at his watch, “Then we should be going soon, if you want to get there early.”

  “I know,” Val said, “But I still need to put on shoes and makeup.”

  “Alright. I’ll be here.”

  Val retrieved a pair of flip flops from the hall closet and returned to her room, where she rushed through putting on makeup; remembering the incident yesterday, she made sure to slip her kit into her purse before deciding she was ready to go.

  “Four thirty,” Dad announced when Val walked into the main hallway; he was already standing with keys in hand. “I hope we don’t get lost, or we won’t be early.”

  “Yeah, me too.” Val led the way to their garage; she was nervous the entire drive over. It wasn’t just fear of what Dad might see at Aaliyah’s house—since they were getting there before anyone else—but a fear of the party itself, which surprised Val; she’d never been afraid of going to parties before. It’s probably just because I don’t feel like I know that many people at Palm Lake; Val preferred parties where she knew everyone and they knew her.

  Val’s gps led them to Aaliyah’s house, and she convinced her father to stay in the car. “Please, I don’t wa
nt anyone thinking you feel like you need to chaperone me everywhere.”

  Dad smiled, “Sometimes I do. But okay, honey, I’ll wait here. Just send me a text if this is the wrong house or something. Otherwise, have fun and try not to get in any trouble.”

  “I will. Have a good night. Oh, and do you want to pick me up?”

  “Of course. Just call when you want to go home, and also if you decide to stay after ten.”

  “Ten?” Val replied incredulously, “Ten’s so early, though.”

  Dad frowned, “What do you think a fair time is, then?”

  “I don’t know, like twelve?”

  “How about eleven?” Dad compromised.

  “Alright. See you,” Val hopped out of Dad’s white SUV and walked up to Aaliyah’s door. She rang the bell.

  “Hey,” Aaliyah opened the door, “You’re, uh—a little early.”

  “Yeah, sorry,” Val apologized, “My dad wanted to give me a ride, so—here I am.”

  “Say no more,” Aaliyah smiled and held out her arms for a hug, “It’s good to see you!”

  “You too!” Val embraced her friend.

  “I love your dress! It’s so pretty,” Aaliyah complemented.

  “Thank you. I wish I could have dressed a bit more like you, though.” Aaliyah was wearing a skirt-cami combination very similar to what Val’s father had made her change out of.

  Aaliyah laughed, “You could have.”

  “Naw, my dad made me change.”

  “That’s why you wear layers. Parents don’t have x-ray vision, they don’t know what you’re wearing under a hoodie and sweats.” Val had to admit, that was a good suggestion.

  “Maybe I’ll try that next time.”

  “You should. By the way, I wanted to warn you—Noah’s here,” Aaliyah whispered.

  “What? Why?” Val asked, flabbergasted that anyone would willingly socialize with Noah—in Val’s estimation a mean nerd was about the lowest rung on the Palm Lake totem pole.

  “He overheard me inviting some seniors, and I felt bad not inviting him too.”

  Val frowned, “What seniors did you invite?”

  “Don’t worry,” Aaliyah smiled, “Only the cute ones.”

  “Did you invite Porter?”

  “Yeah, but he said he couldn’t come because—well, it doesn’t matter.”

  Val breathed a sigh of relief, “Who all else is coming?”

  “A lot of freshman; I pretty much handed out an open invitation to everyone our age. There are some kids from St. Mary’s that I invited—“

  “Oh, I’ve heard of that school,” Val interrupted, remembering the kids from her church who’d claimed to go there.

  Aaliyah laughed, “Cool. So then you know it’s a good thing that they all pretty much declined. All in all, I estimate there should be about thirty to fifty people.”

  “That’s a good amount,” Val glanced at a pile of shoes in the front hall, “Do you want me to take my flip flops off?”

  “You can if you want. My parents aren’t home, and they’re really the ones that enforce the whole ‘no shoes household thing’—so do what you want.”

  Val kicked off her flip flops and added them to the top of the pile, “I’m not really feeling flip flops today anyway.”

  Aaliyah nodded, “You wanna help me put out the food and drinks?”

  “Sure,” Val checked her phone as Aaliyah led the way to her kitchen; she opened an unviewed text, wondering how she could have missed the buzz when it got sent. The message was from Dad, “Didn’t see any cars out front. Where are your friend’s parents?”

  “Their cars are in the garage,” Val lied. She sent the text and checked the time (4:50) before putting her phone away.

  “Okay, so we have a range of foods available,” Aaliyah swept her hand over a counter covered in ceramic bowls, “Junk food, like chips and cookies. But for the healthier-minded people, I also picked up a couple of those veggie trays—you know, the ones that have ranch in the middle and carrots and broccoli and stuff?”

  Val nodded, “I like that idea. I don’t see them here, though—“

  “Oh, they’re there, they’re just under—“ Aaliyah lifted an orange bowl, “—here. See?”

  Val grinned, “I see. A feast fit for a rabbit.”

  “Yeah. I can’t say I understand why some girls—it seems to be mostly girls—insist on eating, as you say, ‘rabbit food’.”

  Val shrugged, “I don’t know. I guess it’s just healthier.” She didn’t mention that she was one of the girls Aaliyah was talking about, and had simply been joking about the “rabbit feast”.

  A cough caused the pair of girls to turn; Noah was standing in the doorway between the kitchen and living room. “Hey Val,” he said.

  “Noah,” Val replied curtly.

  “Good timing!” Aaliyah enthused, “Here, take these to the coffee table,” she handed Noah a pair of cream-colored bowls brimming with chips. Noah stood for a moment before doing as she had requested. “And Val, one of the veggie trays goes in between the chips,” she handed a vegetable tray to Val, who followed Noah into the living room.

  The three of them spent the next few minutes distributing food around the house and putting away the more expensive or easily broken decorations. “I don’t think it will get crazy,” Aaliyah said, “But just in case it does, best bet is to put away the Warhols.”

  They were joined by Steven, who helped them finish their preparations. “I was gonna bring some of my dad’s calamari, for you to try,” Steven said to Val, “But I decided I didn’t want everyone else being jealous. I mean, I’ve told you how good it is,” he grinned.

  Val returned his smile, “Really? I’ve heard it’s—meh. And my source was pretty reliable.”

  Steven laughed. “You look really good today, Val,” he blushed and looked at the far wall.

  “Thanks. I was gonna wear something else, but my dad made me change,” Val shared; the doorbell rang, bringing more guests.

  “Ooh, must’ve been something naughty,” Steven’s mischievous smile caused Val to laugh.

  “I guess you could say that. It really wasn’t that—oh!” A pair of arms lifted Val from behind.

  “I hope my friend’s not boring you,” Val instantly recognized Alex’s voice.

  “Alex!” Val turned in the boy’s arms once he’d set her down.

  “Hey there,” Alex whispered, “You know, you’re pretty close to me.” He was right: Val’s face was only inches from his. “I just decided I’ll accept a kiss instead of the lap dance you owe me.”

  Val laughed, “Yeah, still not happening. Wait, if you’re here, where’s Keenan?”

  “Not coming,” Alex shrugged, “He’s being boring tonight. So it’s just gonna be you and me.”

  “And thirty other people.”

  “And thirty other people,” Alex agreed, “But none as funny or charming as me.”

  Val laughed again; a question entered her mind and she asked, “What would you do if I was actually interested in you?”

  Alex let go of Val, a look of genuine pain flashing across his face before he stifled it, “Keenan’s my boy. But we could still have some fun, and he’d never have to know.”

  “Oh, hey, look who it is!” someone said loudly from across the room.

  “That would be so horrible!” Val bit her lip, “Not because you’re bad looking, just—I meant, that would be unfair to Keenan—“

  “Gee, thanks,” Alex maintained his usual smile, “So if you weren’t with him you’d want me?”

  “I don’t know. I guess. It’s hard to tell.”

  “Hmm,” Alex rubbed his chin, feigning seriousness, “Then I guess the plan becomes—to kill Keenan.”

  Val swatted at her friend’s arm, “As if you could kill anybody.”

  “Oh, I could. I’m a black-belt in judo, you know.”

  “Look who it is!” the voice was closer this time; Val turned to figure out who it belonged to. She nearly bumped into Ethan a
nd was forced to suppress a groan as he pulled her in for a hug, “Val, right?”

  “Yeah.”

  “I didn’t think I’d run into you here. Hey Alex.”

  Val cocked her head in confusion, “It’s a freshman party—I’m a freshman. I’m more surprised you’re here, actually.” She made a mental note to discuss Aaliyah’s party-inviting process the next time she spoke with her friend.

  “Well I guess I’m gonna go mingle,” Steven slipped off into the crowd; with a jolt, Val realized she’d all but ignored him since Alex’s arrival.

  “I know,” Ethan replied; it took Val a moment to remember what he was talking about, “But I just figured you’d be out doing something else. You know, breaking boys’ hearts.”

  Val shrugged, “I can do that here,” she joked.

  “Mmm, I bet you can—“ Ethan made a point of looking her up and down, “Especially in that dress.”

  Something about the black-haired Senior made Val uncomfortable—perhaps it was what Scarlett had told her about him. “You wanna get something to drink?” she asked Alex.

  “Please,” from the way Alex glared at Ethan, Val could tell that he was not the other boy’s biggest fan either. Val led the way to Aaliyah’s kitchen, and thankfully Ethan didn’t follow.

  “You’re friends with Ethan?” Alex asked once they were in the kitchen.

  Val shook her head, “Not really. He’s annoying—he hits on me more than you do!”

  “Geeze, that’s a lot,” Alex laughed, “Plus I bet it’s weirder cause he’s so much older than you.”

  “Not that much older,” Val replied defensively, “I mean, I don’t know why there’s like this big taboo against seniors and freshmen dating.”

  “Cause four years is a big difference in high school.”

  “I guess. Anyways, you ready to rejoin the party?”

  “Sure. But let’s avoid Ethan. He seemed way too into you.”

  “Yeah, I know.” Val took the lead as they reentered Aaliyah’s living room; Aaliyah nearly tripped over them, carrying a pack of what looked like playing cards. “We’re starting a game of Texas hold ‘em downstairs, Val, if you want to join,” she said.