Total pages in book: 61
Estimated words: 57423 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 287(@200wpm)___ 230(@250wpm)___ 191(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 57423 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 287(@200wpm)___ 230(@250wpm)___ 191(@300wpm)
“If it helps, I actually think you’re pretty cool,” Kala said quietly. “Like you’re not fake. A lot of the shows my sisters watch are about fake people. You seem more real. And it’s funny how you take down the fake people. Your sister seems a lot like mine.”
Ally wrinkled her nose, feeling a kinship with the kid. “Yours perfect, too?”
“Yeah, but I have two of them. And one of them is my twin.”
Ally whistled. “That’s rough. It’s hard to be the one who always gets into trouble. I can’t imagine having to go to the same school as my sister.”
“It’s not easy. She gets along with everyone. She’s probably going to be in the spring court,” Kala said.
“Spring court?” Ally hadn’t gone to a regular school. Her mom hadn’t wanted to be tied to some school’s schedule, so she’d done distance learning.
“Yeah, our high school has this thing called spring formal, and Kenzie is all freaked about it, and even my best friend wants to go,” Kala said with a sullen look. “She’s a couple of years younger than me, but she’s in the same grade because she’s super smart.”
“Sounds like fun,” Ally said. “Do you not want to go?”
A slim shoulder shrugged. “There’s a stupid dress code. There’s always a stupid dress code. I don’t wear ball gowns.”
Something about the way she said the words made Ally think she was putting on a front. “I love wearing them. Not all the time, of course, but it’s fun to step out of your normal self sometimes.”
“I think people would freak if I showed up in some poofy dress,” Kala insisted.
Oh, she knew this girl. She’d been this girl. “You know I have this thing I like to do every now and then. I’ll do something completely out of character and throw off my haters. It’s got to be something I want to do. Something for me. Kala, do you think you would enjoy going to the dance?”
“There’s this guy,” she said. “I thought it would be cool to see him there, but I don’t think he would want to see me. I think he feels comfortable that I won’t be there so like his friends don’t see him with me. His friends don’t like me.”
Poor baby. “What might be cool is putting on a dress that will blow his socks off and dancing the night away with someone else.”
“Yeah, I thought about that. But like this is my look. This is who I am.”
This was her armor. Ally understood the importance of armor, but she’d learned a few things over the years. “You can be anyone you want, Kala. Even if only for a little while. It can be fun to see yourself in a different way.”
“Like playing a part?” She seemed to think about the idea.
“Sort of, but even when you’re playing a part, you’re always in there. You can learn a lot about yourself when you try new things.”
“You don’t think people will make fun of me?”
“Sweetie, I know they will. People suck. What I’ve learned is they only really win if you let them control your life,” Ally explained.
“I wouldn’t let them…” Kala sighed. “I kind of want to wear a pretty dress, and I’m letting the idea that they might laugh stop me.”
“The clothes you wear, they’re cool. You look good in them. But they’re also a kind of armor. They’re your costume. But even if you put on a different costume, that doesn’t make you less you. You are whoever you say you are, and screw anyone who tells you differently.”
She nodded, a look of determination coming on her youthful face. “Screw ’em.”
“There you are.” Charlotte Taggart stood in the doorway.
“Yep. I’m still here. Haven’t been kidnapped or anything.” Kala stood with a long-suffering sigh. “I’ll go back to my desk and do something boring.”
Charlotte’s eyes closed as though she was counting mentally as her daughter stormed past. When she opened them, a businesslike smile crossed her face. “Are you all right? Can I get you anything?”
“I’m good. Just waiting on my stepdad. She seems like a great kid.”
Charlotte looked to the doorway as though trying to figure out if there had been another kid in the room. “Really? I was worried she would say something to upset you.”
“Not much upsets me. She actually reminds me a lot of me. It’s hard to have perfect siblings.”
“Kenzie isn’t perfect.” Charlotte took a deep breath and sat down in the seat her daughter had occupied. “Tasha is, though. I will admit Kenzie is easier to deal with. Kenzie is every bit as stubborn as Kala, but she somehow seems easier.”
She knew this scenario. “She probably says all the right things and then goes and does what she wants. It’s what my sister did. We often did the same things. I was honest. She placated everyone around her. Because she was more pleasant, I often got worse punishments.”