Some say getting out of The Friend Zone is hard. Well, try getting out of The Sister Zone.
Vanessa Hayes-Wong has been best friends with Oliver Morrison for five years, one month, and fourteen days. Just as she starts to realize her feelings for him...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
—Present Day—
I stare at the subheading of the gossip magazinein my hands, grinning.
Spotted: Oliver Morrison and Vanessa Hayes-Wong on a Romantic Date. Is it official?
Normally, I would be busy wondering what kinds of awful nicknames my haters would come up with for me on social media.
But not today.
The thought of being followed by those pesky paparazzi all night long still disturbs me, but since there's nothing I can do about it, I might as well start seeing things from a different perspective. This magazine—and the other ten I bought during my quick visit to the grocery store earlier tonight—is proof that I'm already in The Girlfriend Zone.
A fit of giggles threatens to erupt from my throat as I flip the tabloid open and search for the said exclusive report of my date with Ollie last night. But before I can find it, Sophia yanks the pink pumpkin pouf from under my legs and plops on it.
A dull pain shoots from my heels as they hit the floor with a thud. "Ouch?"
"You haven't been listening to a single word I've said, have you?" she snarls, her features twisting into a ferocious scowl.
"Sorry." I flash her an unapologetic grin, sit upright on my cat-shaped bean bag chair, and close the magazine. "You were saying?"
She lets out a loud huff. "You're not in The Girlfriend Zone yet."
I snap my head back. "What do you mean I'm not in The Girlfriend Zone yet?"
"Did Oliver explicitly ask you to be his girlfriend?"
"No—"
"Did he say I love you?"
"No—"
"Did he even ask you out on a second date?"
"No, but—"
"Then you're not in The Girlfriend Zone yet."
"But Ollie and I went on a date, Sophia. See?" I hold up the magazine and point at the subheading. "Spotted. Oliver Morrison and Vanessa Hayes-Wong on a Romantic Date. Is it official?"
"Cous." Sophia leans forward and rests her arms on her thighs, her enviable assets bulging out of her low-cut scarlet dress. "If going on one date means you're already in The Girlfriend Zone, then I'd have millions of exes already."
As much as I hate to admit it, Sophia is right: I am not in The Girlfriend Zone yet.
"Fine." I put the magazine on my lap. "But surely I'm out of The Sister Zone already."
"Yes, you are." As my face splits into a grin, she continues, "But don't get too excited yet. To be officially in The Girlfriend Zone, you need him to either explicitly ask you to be his girlfriend, call you his girlfriend, or say the three magical words." Sophia stands up and turns back to the whiteboard. "Right now, you are . . ." She erases the pink stick woman on the sixth step of the ladder and draws a new one on the eighth step. "Here."
