I've Hoped For Change, It Gets Better Everyday

“Aimee?” I called out into my older sister’s apartment. I had called her on my way home and since I had the afternoon off, I went over. My sister was five years older than me, living with her boyfriend, and working at a fashion magazine, which made her the perfect choice for my plan.

“Abby, I’m so glad you came to visit. What’s up?” She hugged me and sat me down in her living room.

“Well, you remember how you offered to give me a makeover?” I asked.

“Oh yes. Are you gonna let me?” she asked excitedly. I nodded as she squealed.

“Let’s go shopping!” Aimee grabbed her purse and my arm. “Baby, I’m taking Abby shopping I’ll be back later!” She called up the stairs to Brad, her boyfriend.

We went to the mall, and while this was my idea, I wasn’t entirely sure that I was proud of my decision. We went to countless stores and clothing shops. By the end of our trip, I was weighed down by tons of shopping bags containing clothes, shoes, and accessories my sister deemed necessary. It cost me an entire paycheck.

“Aimee, I’m tired and I’ve already spent enough money,” I complained.

“But we’re not even done yet,” Aimee protested. She pulled me towards a hair salon.

“Aimee, no, I really have to stop the spending,” I objected.

“You’re not spending a dime on this, I am.” Aimee pulled me in.

“Hello there, welcome to Fernando’s. How can I help you?” The lady at the front desk greeted us. Aimee spoke first.

“Hi, my sister here needs a new hairdo. What would you recommend?” She and the stylist talked for a minute as I spaced out. I started thinking about Jack, Alex, Zack, and Rian. Did they really mean what they’d said about me joining them? I really hoped so; I was tired of sitting alone in the restroom or library with my lonely lunch tray a la Mean Girls.

“Abby, what do you think?”

Aimee and the hair stylist were looking at me expectantly. “Huh? Oh yeah that’s great,” I answered absently. They sat me down in a chair and again I spaced out. Then I heard the snip of the scissors and saw locks of my hair falling to the floor.

“Oh my god, what are you doing?” I yelled.

“Don’t freak out, I have an idea and you let me have control. Now close your eyes and sleep or something,” Aimee told me.

I closed my eyes and tried to go to my happy place. I finally pulled out my iPod and stuck in the headphones, listening to the beat instead of the music instead of the snip, snip of scissors. After an eternity of worrying and trying to calm down, I felt a tap on my shoulder. Aimee was smiling ear to ear.

“Oh god, what have you done to me?” I asked before I turned around to look in the mirror. I gasped at the sight. My once waist length, frizzy, limp, blonde hair was cut right under my shoulders. Without all the extra weight, loose curls took shape and I now had side swept bangs. I turned to inspect it from each angle and found that I loved it. It wasn’t a drastic change, but it was a very noticeable difference.

“Well, what do you think?” Aimee asked hesitantly. I turned to her with a grin on my face.

“I love it. Thank you. It’s what I needed.” I smiled, genuinely happy.

“You’re welcome. Gosh, we need to get you home to pick out some outfits.” Aimee drove me home and spent the next hour showing me what went together and throwing out old items from my closet. My mother and father walked in on us and surveyed the disaster that was my room. They eventually left after realizing that Aimee would make them help.

“Okay sis, you’re all set. You’re gonna look amazing at school tomorrow.” She sat next to me on my bed. “So, why the sudden interest in fashion? Does it have anything to do with a boy?”

“No, I just got fed up with being picked on and treated like crap,” I said. I wasn’t really lying. I was tired of the bullying. “I decided that maybe if I look decent, I’ll feel good.”

Aimee nodded. She knew all about Jordan and the bullies at school. In fact, she was the only one who knew the whole story. My parents only thought that Jordan and I broke up just because and that I was okay with everyone at school.

“That’s true. Well you’re gonna be feeling great, because you look fantastic. Oh yeah, here.” Aimee threw me a box.

“What is it?” I asked turning it over.

“Contacts, try them tomorrow. You know how to use them.” She looked at her watch. “Well I better get going. I have work tomorrow.” She hugged me and walked out, leaving me alone to put away my stuff. I heard my parents say goodbye to Aimee and my brother walked in.

“Wow, you look different,” Adam noted.

“In a good way or a bad way?” I asked as I put the last of the shoes away and lay on my bed.

“Good way,” he replied and lay down next to me. “We’re cool right?”

I looked over at him. “Why wouldn’t we be?”

“Well this morning you said you would kill me.” He shrugged. “I was wondering if that threat was still standing.”

I chuckled. “I love you, kid. I couldn’t kill you.”

~*~
The next morning, I woke up earlier than usual. The clock on my nightstand read 6:00 am in big, glowing, red letters. I stretched my arms above my head and remembered that today was the first day that I would be testing my new look. I ran into my bathroom and took a quick shower. I brushed my teeth and pulled out the curling iron Aimee had given me several years ago. I hardly ever used it, but my new look demanded that I seriously consider it. I flipped my head upside down and put in a little mousse, hoping it would air dry quickly. Then I started on my makeup, pulling out pots of silver and navy blue eye shadow. I added more color than usual, trying to make my look as different as possible. I walked back into my room to pick out an outfit. I chose a navy blue ruffled blouse, light blue skinny jeans, and navy blue flats. Finally, my hair was dry enough for me to use the curling iron. I curled a few pieces; my natural curls just needed a little touch up. I wasn’t into dressing up, but at least my hair cooperated nicely when I needed to it. I slipped on my favorite necklace, a platinum chain with a key pendant and put on the matching earrings.

I was ready within an hour and a half, a new thing for me; I was usually done in half. I packed my work uniform in a separate back pack and checked the mirror one last time and smiled at my reflection. My outfit was working for me; I’d never felt quite so pretty. I walked down stairs into the kitchen and twirled in front of my mother.

“What do you think?”

My mom smiled as she poured coffee into two cups for my dad and herself. “You look beautiful, dear.” She nodded. “It suits you.

“Thanks. Well I’m going to go.” I told her. The clock said it was 7:15 and the bus would be there in another 15 minutes.

“Okay, have a good day. Do you work this afternoon?” She asked.

“Yeah, I go in at 4:00 so I won’t be coming home. I’ll be going straight to the diner,” I answered. “Bye mom.”

I walked to the bus stop and made it with plenty of time to spare. There were two other kids there already and I could feel them looking at me. One of them gathered up the courage to ask me if it was really me.

“A-Abby? Wow. You look great,” the boy from my English class, Mike I believe, told me. The other boy nodded enthusiastically.

“Thanks.” I felt my cheeks burn. Elton rounded the corner looking at a book in his hands. He went to put it in his back pack when he looked up and saw the three of us standing there.

“Bookie?” He asked in disbelief. I scowled at him.

“That’s not my name,” I stated as I turned my back on him.

The hum of an engine turned the corner and a familiar car pulled up. Jack and Alex stared at me with a shocked look. I felt my self esteem soar, just a little bit. I waved timidly.

“Get in loser!” Alex called out of the window with a smile on his face. I smiled back and walked toward them.

Alex stepped out to let me in the middle. “Oh, I can go in the back, Alex. Thanks though,” I told him opening the back door. He closed it and shook his head.

“Nope, get in the middle.” I shrugged and slid in, Alex getting in right after me. He looked back at the three boys I’d left behind.

“Take a picture it’ll last longer, damn!” he told them, flipping them off as we drove away. I laughed and looked at Jack.

“Hey Jack.” I smiled at him.

“Hey Abby,” he grinned back. “You look… very nice today.”

I blushed and looked straight forward, not used to positive attention. I felt a pair of eyes on me and turned to my right to see Alex looking me over, his eyes landing on my chest. Then he looked up at my face with a shocked expression.

“Abby, you have boobs!” He accused. “And a really nice butt.”

I opened my mouth to speak and shut it again. “Um… okay.” I couldn’t find anything else that would satisfy his comment.

“You’ll have to excuse him, he’s an idiot,” Jack laughed. “But you do look very nice in both, er, areas,” he stammered.

I blushed harder and tried to change the subject but thankfully Alex beat me to it.

“So what time’s practice?” He asked Jack.

“At 7:00 like always, Alex,” Jack replied.

I looked at them confused. “Practice for what?”

“We have band practice. We’re in a band,” Jack replied.

“Really?” I nodded. “That’s pretty cool.”

“I’m lead vocals and guitar, Jack’s the other guitarist, Zack’s the bassist, and Rian’s the drummer,” Alex explained. “You should come hear us sometime. We’re recording an EP.”

“I’d love to,” I replied.

“Come tonight,” Jack suggested.

“I wish I could, but I have to work tonight,” I answered sadly. I really would love to go.

“You work, where?” Jack and Alex both said in unison.

I giggled. “I’m a waitress, at Lucille’s Diner.”

“Hmm… since we know you, can we get free food?” Alex asked.

“Uh, no sorry, I don’t even get free food,” I laughed.

We pulled up to the school and stepped out. I smoothed my shirt and made sure my hair was in place. “Thanks for the ride boys; I’ll see you at lunch.”

I walked towards my locker with ease; no one bumped into me. I was almost there without any run-ins when someone ran into my shoulder, and as always, I dropped my books. But this time, unlike the norm, the person apologized and helped me pick up my books. Imagine my surprise when I looked up to see Jordan handing me my book.

“Bookworm? Seriously?” He stood up at the same time I did and looked me up and down. “Uh, well, wow.”

I felt my face heat up, memories of us filling my mind. I looked away, shifting my weight as I thought of something to say. “Uh, yeah.” I readjusted my back pack and cleared my throat. “I have to be somewhere.”

“We – we should hang out sometime, again.” Jordan smirked, still checking me out.

This time, it was my turn to smirk. “Jordan, you had the chance to hang out with me before but you just wanted to hit it and quit it. It’s safe to say I really don’t want to hang out with you ever again, you idiotic pretentious snake.”

I walked away, swinging my hips hoping it looked kind of sexy and not like I had something stuck up my butt. Jack fell into step with me and looked at me funny. “What?” I asked him.

“That was Jordan.”

“Yes, what about him?” I asked.

“What did he say to you?” He asked looking at the other kids who passed us and kept staring.

“He said we should hang out sometime.” I shrugged and looked at Jack. He didn’t seem to like the answer I’d given him, as if it wasn’t enough. I thought everyone knew about Jordan and I, and how I hated him. “So I told him that I had little to no desire to hang out with him.”

He seemed to find this twist in conversation a little more amusing. He smiled slightly. “That was a good answer.”

I reached my class and stopped at the door. “So I’ll see you later?”

He nodded and looked down as if he was contemplating something. I waited expectantly until he looked back up.

“I’ll see you later, Abs,” he said as he walked in the direction of his next class.

I stood there watching him until he was out of view and rushed to my seat. Jack was kind of odd, wasn’t he?