I stared at Destry, knowing that wasn’t exactly true. “It was the only thing I had that fit her,” she added casually. It set off her platinum hair and fair skin beautifully. “Lise didn’t have a costume and it’s a masquerade party.” She smoothed her own flawless white maxi dress, then adjusted her sparkling swan mask. “Destry … isn’t that the costume from your seventh-grade Nutcracker ballet?”ĭestry nodded, smiling. “Of course! Very clever!” Gail tilted her head. “And I’m a frog princess,” I corrected, stiffening. No way was I going to admit that she was right. “She’s going as a frog,” Destry quipped, giggling. It was the only part of my garish outfit I actually liked. My mask was a glittered green lily pad adorned with a pink flower and tiny gold frog. “That’s such an interesting mask,” Gail added. Words like colorful and interesting were what people used when all flattering adjectives failed. I smiled politely, but who was she kidding? She’d only tossed the cute in there as an afterthought to make up for colorful. “Aaaaah, Lise.” My stepmom, Gail, smiled from over the top of her ballooning baby belly. Since when did Dad call Destry his “little angel?” That was my nickname … not hers. But he’s never said “anjinhos”-plural-before. My dad is from Brazil, so I’m used to him sprinkling Portuguese words in here and there.
“Beautiful, marvelous! Would you look at my two anjinhos!” My dad took my hands, leading me out of the bathroom, and looked from me to Destry and back again. I sighed, then opened the door onto a hallway of expectant faces. I’d only been living with my stepsister for a week, but I could already tell by her tone when she was getting irritated, or impatient, or both. “Elise, if you don’t hurry up, we’re going to be late.” The voice was high, nasally, and annoying. I sagged against the bathroom door, then jumped when someone knocked on it.
And I was going to a party in it? My social life in Whitman would never recover. My outfit could’ve been a ballet costume from Cirque de Horriblé, with lime-green crinoline petals making up the sweeping, ankle-length skirt, and green and pink sequins glittering all over the leotard-like bodice. I knew my Valentine’s Day was doomed when I glanced into the mirror and an amphibian monstrosity stared back at me. Raspberry Macarons with Raspberry Jam Filling
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