True Colors

by Krysten Lindsay Hager

  Mom picked us up at six o’clock and took us out for dinner after Peyton had checked in with her parents. Mom even let us order dessert.

  “Did you have fun?” Mom asked when we dropped Peyton off. I nodded. “She seems like such a nice girl,” she said.

  When I got home I checked my e-mail, and Tori had written me about how she was glad we were friends again. She said Ericka had said the American Ingénue thing had changed me, but Tori told her it hadn’t. As I logged off, it felt weird to know Ericka had been saying stuff about me. I wondered what else she thought about me.

  Chapter Twenty

  On Monday, Tori told me she ended up going to the movies with her dad after they dropped me off.

  “My dad sat on something and had chocolate all over his pants when he walked out of the theater,” Tori said. “What did you do?”

  Devon was watching me, so I shrugged as I got on the bus.

  “I ate the rest of the candy last night,” Peyton said, moving her bag so I could sit next to her.

  “Didn’t you buy a pound of it?” I asked, and she made a face.

  “Kinda, but we didn’t have any good candy at my house. My dad only buys chocolate covered cherries, and those taste like cough syrup,” she said.

  “I don’t like fruit in my candy,” I said.

  India agreed, but Devon pulled out her poetry journal and started writing. I leaned over the seat and asked what she was writing, but she made a noise and scrunched down in the seat. Devon got up as soon as the bus stopped, and I had to run to catch up with her. I slowed down when I got inside so Ms. Ashcroft wouldn’t have a fit. I went to Devon’s locker, but the first bell rang and she started walking to her class.

  “Are you mad at me?” I asked.

  “I gotta get to class,” she said.

  “Okay, see you at lunch,” I said. The second bell rang, and everyone disappeared into the classrooms. I was left in the hall with my coat and backpack still on.

  “Why are you wearing your jacket?” Thalia asked when I sat down. “Did you miss the bus again?”

  “No, I’m cold,” I said. It was hard to write with puffy sleeves, and I was getting hot.

  Devon didn’t wait for me at lunch, and I had to walk to the cafeteria by myself. I saw her sitting at Hana’s table, but there weren’t any empty chairs. Ashanti wasn’t there either, so I sat at Ericka and Tori’s table. My tater tots were soggy and usually there was at least one chicken nugget with real chicken in it, but today they were all fatty. Then my straw broke in my juice box, and I had to drink out of the little hole. The juice dribbled down my chin and got on my white sweater.

  “Are you ready to go outside?” I looked up, and Devon was standing there.

  I wasn’t finished eating, but I was so happy she was talking to me I got up and dumped my tray in the garbage. Devon said Doug wanted us to go to the Cougars basketball game on Friday.

  “We have to go,” she said. “And my mom said she’d drive us.”

  I actually had an audition for a fashion show on Saturday morning, so I knew my mom wouldn’t want me to stay out late. I called my mom at work as soon as I got home, and she just sighed.

  “Landry, you’ve got to be responsible and look at this like a career,” she said.

  “I know, but we won’t be out too late, and I’ll go to bed as soon as I get home. Promise,” I said. “Nobody’s ever going to invite me to do stuff again if I always have to say no,” I said.

  Mom gave in, so I called Devon to tell her I could go.

  ****

  On Friday, Devon and her mom came to pick me up for the game. Devon wore a jean skirt and had even put on eyeliner. It made her brown eyes look huge. The public school gym was much bigger than ours with tons of banners hanging from the ceiling. There were a lot of older kids sitting in groups, and I shrank back. Even Devon looked freaked out for a minute, but then she saw Doug and Jeremy sitting in the bleachers. She sat next to Doug, and I sat between her and Jeremy. She and Doug were talking, and she elbowed me and whispered to me to talk to Jeremy. I couldn’t think of anything to say so I asked him about the cute blond guy who was playing.

  “Oh, Vladi Yagudin,” he said.

  Okay, now what? “He’s good,” I said.

  “Yeah.”

  “Doug and I are going to get some candy. Do you want anything?” Devon asked.

  “I’ll go with you.” I got up so she couldn’t leave without me.

  Doug bought her a box of candy, and he talked to Devon like I wasn’t even there. I just stared at the team pictures on the wall.

  “I’ve got to go to the bathroom. Be right back,” he said.

  “Isn’t he cute?” she asked.

  “Because he has to go to the toilet?”

  She sighed. “No, because he bought me candy.”

  “I guess,” I said. She was staring over at Doug, who was standing at the end of the hall with his arm around another girl. Devon’s shoulders tensed up.

  “Let’s go sit down. He knows where to find us,” she said.

  We went back to the top where Jeremy was talking to some guys he knew. He introduced us as “Devon and what’s-your-name-again?” Devon started talking to one of the guys, but Jeremy kept interrupting them. It was pretty obvious Jeremy liked her. Nobody seemed to notice I was alive, so I just sat there eating Devon’s candy and watching the game. The varsity players came out to warm up when the J.V. game ended. Doug hadn’t come back yet, but Cristian came and sat in front of me.

  “Hey guys,” he said.

  He started talking to me about school, and I ended up telling him I had a modeling audition tomorrow.

  “You model?” he asked. I nodded. “Cool. I’ll be able to say, ‘I know her,’ when you’re famous. Hey, can I have some?” he asked pointing to my candy. I passed him the box as Doug came over to sit down.

  “Did you get lost?” Devon asked him. She leaned toward the guy she was flirting with and put her hand on his arm. Doug reached for the candy box, and Cristian said they were mine. Doug stared at me like he forgot I was even there. I told Cristian Doug had bought the candy, but no one heard me since they were all watching Vladi, the basketball player, walking up to us. I had never seen anyone so hot in my life. He was tall with blond bangs, and he looked like an adult. Vladi sat sideways on the bleacher in front of me, and Doug passed him the candy box. Note to self: always have food. It gave guys a reason to talk to you. Vladi looked at me and nodded.

  “What’s up?” he asked.

  “Hi,” I said. Oh yeah, he’ll fall in love with me now.

  “This is Landry and Devon,” Cristian said.

  Vladi stretched out his legs as Doug started kissing his butt and telling him how great he played. Even Devon had gotten quiet. Vladi asked what school we went to, and Devon said we went to Hillcrest. Vladi looked at me.

  “How old are you,” he said.

  “I’ll be fourteen soon.” Great, I must have looked twelve.

  “Hey, Vladi, we’re leaving.”

  I looked down, and some guy was waving at Vladi to join them.

  Vladi winked at me as he walked down the stairs. Oh wow, an older guy had winked at me. I could die now.

  I picked up a program off the floor on the way out. It was torn, but I could kind of make out Vladi’s face underneath a dirty shoe print. All it said under his name was he was six-two. I felt like I was floating as we walked out of the gym.

  “Do you guys want to go out for ice cream with us?” Doug asked.

  The guy Devon had been flirting with had left without asking for her number, so Devon had started talking to Doug again. We walked up to the counter to order, and Jeremy said he’d pay for Devon. She ordered a caramel sundae, and the guy behind the counter asked what I wanted so Jeremy ended up paying for my ice cream cone, too. It was pretty obvious he wasn’t thrilled about having to pay for me. I offered him some money, but I don’t think he wanted to look cheap in front of Devon.

  I slid into the booth next
to Cristian, and he offered me one of the little brownies from his sundae. I didn’t finish my ice cream because I couldn’t figure out how to eat the cone without making a fool of myself. Doug had to meet up with his older sister for a ride, but Cristian and Jeremy walked us back to the school where Devon’s dad was picking us up. Jeremy looked nervous and asked Devon if he could talk to her alone, so they went around the corner by the gym door.

  “Gloves — you’re smart,” Cristian said as he shoved his hands deep into his pockets. Jeremy and Devon came back just as her dad drove up. Cristian asked me for my e-mail address and I figured he was just being nice, but I searched my coat pockets for a pen and paper. Nothing. Not even a gum wrapper.

  “I’ll remember it,” he said. I told him my e-mail address, and he walked backward down the sidewalk reciting it. Devon asked her dad if I could come over. I knew I needed to get home, but I didn’t want to make her mad by saying I had to get up early to model. So I went to her house and she waited until we were in her bedroom before she told me Jeremy had tried to kiss her.

  “It was so gross. He was nervous, and his mouth was open,” she said pulling a pillow to her face.

  “What’d you do?” I asked.

  “I backed away and told him I had a cold,” she cracked up. “I didn’t even know he liked me.”

  “Please, if looks could kill then the other guy you were talking to would have caught on fire,” I said.

  She screwed up her face.

  “Can you believe Vladi Yagudin winked at me?” I asked.

  “Who?”

  “The cute basketball player,” I said. How many guys did she know named Vladi?

  “Oh, him. Did he?” she picked up a bottle of nail polish and started fixing her nails.

  I started to tell her how Cristian had asked for my e-mail address when the phone rang. It was for her mom, but I decided not to tell her about Cristian because he probably wouldn’t write to me anyway and then I’d look stupid. Devon and I made plans to go to the movies tomorrow night, and I checked my e-mail as soon as I got home. I noticed an address I didn’t recognize.

  To: Albright@alphamail.com

  From: Cris996@alphamail.com

  Re: Hey

  Did you have fun tonight? I can’t believe they lost. What are you doing tomorrow?

  -Cristian

  I hadn’t even noticed who won the last game. I thought about waiting to write back like I had such a busy life, but then I decided to e-mail him in case he was still on-line and we could Instant Message each other. I told him Devon and I were going to the movies tomorrow and I waited online for ten minutes, but he didn’t write me back.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  I loved sleeping in on Saturday mornings, but today was the fashion show audition so I had to get up and get ready. Plus, I wanted to check my e-mail to see if Cristian wrote me back. I got an e-mail from him saying he and Doug were thinking about going to a movie and wanted to know which one we were going to see. He made it sound like they might go see a movie, or play football, or go mountain climbing, but I wrote back and told him which movie we were planning to see and at what time, just in case they did go.

  Mom drove me to my audition in Rockford for the fashion show. I knew it was just a little store, but Delilah said they did a show every year before Christmas. Mom wanted to stay, but I told her to wait for me some place else because I knew she’d make me nervous.

  “What’s the address again?” Mom asked.

  “Two-twenty-four,” I said. “Wait, it’s a store for little kids?”

  “Well, what did you think a store named Wee Fashions would be, genius?” she asked.

  I actually hadn’t seen the name of the store, and I thought Delilah meant Oui Fashions, like the French word for “yes.” I guess I had just been excited to get the chance to be in a fashion show. Once I got inside there were about twenty girls there, but they were all younger — much younger. I was the oldest one there — and the tallest. The storeowner, Kasia, gave us numbers and had us each walk across the store and then gave us clothes to try on. I was surprised anything in the store would fit me, but there were a couple of ugly flowered dresses and some weird teddy bear sweat suit outfit for me to wear. One of the dresses had a big white collar, and the waist was past my hips. They were the kind of dresses your grandmother would buy you. And they all cost over two hundred dollars.

  Kasia made her decision and called out our numbers. She called my number, but probably just because she wanted at least one older kid in the show. She had us line up, and the store workers gave us accessories for each outfit. I was wearing four outfits, and they had to mark down everything we were wearing and then put the accessories in little bags attached to the hangers. I was supposed to provide my own black shoes — flats, no heels, and tights. I asked if I needed to bring my own makeup, and Kasia stared at me.

  “Just keep it natural,” she said. “But no nail polish or perfume. I don’t want the scent on the clothes. There’s a ten percent discount on the clothes for the models.”

  I nodded, but there was no way I’d ever want any of those clothes. Afterward, I went to find my mom at the coffee shop across the street.

  “I’m in the show,” I said. “But everyone else is way younger than me.”

  She seemed happy for me and asked if we were supposed to call Delilah. I shook my head. Kasia had already said she’d contact our agents. I didn’t realize how late it was until Mom pointed out we had to get home to pick up Devon for the five o’clock movie. I was starving since I skipped lunch because I was nervous and didn’t want to get sick during the audition. Mom went through the drive-thru and got me a burger and fries.

  “Stop eating so fast, Landry,” Mom said. “You’re going to make yourself sick. Just call Devon and see if she can go to a later movie.”

  I called Devon and she checked the newspaper for the movie times. “There’s one at seven-fifteen,” she said.

  “Okay, good. I’m just eating now since I missed lunch. Guess what? I’m going to be in this fashion show—”

  “Landry? My dad has to use the phone. I’ll see you about seven, ‘kay?”

  When my mom dropped us off at the movies, we saw Cristian and Doug leaving the theater. They walked over, and Cristian said I told him we were going to the five o’clock show. Oops.

  “It sucks we missed seeing the guys because of your dumb audition,” Devon said. I didn’t say anything, but it wasn’t like she even knew they were going to be at the theater. I hadn’t even told her about Cris asking for my e-mail address. The movie was okay, but I was kind of mad at Devon for acting like it was my fault we didn’t get to hang out with the guys. After the movie, we went to a café in the mall to get Italian sodas.

  “When did you tell Cristian we were going to the movies?” she asked leaning over. Her hair smelled like Bouncy Hair shampoo.

  “He asked me for my e-mail address last night, and I told him when I wrote back.”

  “You didn’t tell me he asked you,” she said. “Do you think he likes you?”

  “Nah. They were probably gonna see a movie anyway,” I said.

  “Yeah, probably.” She pulled out her straw and licked the end. “Let’s walk around before we call my mom.”

  Even though Perry Mall was smaller than Harper Hills Mall, which was the one we usually went to, I liked the Perry one better. I mean, I had kinda been discovered here. Of course, it was also the reason Ericka and Tori had stopped talking to me. I asked Devon if we could stop at the bookstore, and she went to look at the journals. She showed me a butterfly journal just like the one she carries in her backpack. I was going to get the blue one, but she told me to get it in bright pink so we’d match. When I got home I called Peyton to tell her about Vladi and Cristian.

  “Oh wow, I want to go to the next home game so I can see him,” she said. “And make sure to tell your other boyfriend, Cristian, to meet us there.”

  “Yeah, I wish. I was so nervous yesterday. Going to a public sc
hool game was big, but having Vladi talk to me was like… wow,” I said. “You’re going to think I’m a loser, but I saved the candy box he touched.”

  “So not stupid. I saved a cigarette butt the bass player from Playing Dead dropped outside an airport until my mom made me throw it out,” she said.

  “You saw Adonis at the airport? I used to like him, but then he married a swimsuit model,” I said.

  “I stopped liking him, too, but I think he and Freesia split up,” she said. “You know, his real name is Bert Ferdinand.”

  My mom came into the kitchen later and pointed to her watch. I looked at the clock above the stove and was surprised it had gotten so late. We had been on the phone for almost two hours. I went to write in my new journal and used my stuffed mouse as a pillow. I tried to write in my best handwriting, but I wrote faster when I started to write about getting chosen for the fashion show and about Vladi and Cristian and it looked sloppy.

  I almost missed the bus on Monday. Mrs. Jackson had started to drive off, but she stopped when she saw me running like a lunatic. I got on panting and sat next to Devon.

  “Did you bring your journal?” she asked, holding hers up.

  I had written personal stuff in it I didn’t want her to see, so I said I left it at home. I had also left my best friend bracelet at home, and she noticed. Her window was open a crack, and she rolled her bracelet off her wrist and held it up to the opening.

  “I might as well throw mine out since it means nothing to you,” she said. “This is the first time I’ve ever taken it off.”

  I wanted to ask if she wore it to bed and in the shower and didn’t it get all gross? Instead, I said I was sorry and I’d start wearing mine all the time, too. I made up some stupid story about taking it off to clean my room so it wouldn’t get ruined.