Invisible Me

Chapter 5

After school, I'm standing out front, waiting for Denise. I check my watch. She's running about five minutes late. I'm wondering if she's full of shit about going shopping, when she approaches with two other girls.

"Hey, Portia," she says. Her smile is unforced, her voice lilting. "Portia, these are my friends, Mindy and Tara."

"Hi." I can't help but notice the way the two girls are staring at me. They look frightened.

"It's okay," I joke. "You won't catch what I have. I suffer from lack of pigmentation, not leprosy."

Denise laughs. "You're really funny, you know that?" She laughs again. Mindy and Tara chuckle.

"Well, if I couldn't laugh . . ." I leave the thought unfinished.

"I know what you mean." For a moment, Denise looks sad. I wonder if she's thinking about Randy and what he might be up to behind her back.

Denise perks up. "My mom will be here anytime now. She'll give us a ride to the mall."

I nod. I've already told my mom I'll be going to the mall with some girls instead of coming right home. I texted her while waiting for Denise and her friends. She texted back, "Good. Have a great time."

I realize she hasn't asked what time I'll be home, who the kids are, or where I'm having dinner. I wonder if she's so floored that I'm hanging out at the mall with anyone that she forgot to ask.

• • •

Denise's mother picks us up in a glossy black Beemer. Like Denise, her hair is blonde. Unlike her daughter, it's styled. And she's all duded up in a blue suit and pearls, as if she just stepped from a corporate boardroom. My mother goes around in jeans or sweats.

Hmm, I think. Not your typical soccer mom.

A chorus of "Hi, Mrs. Laughton!" erupts from Mindy and Tara, as we scramble into the car.

"Hi, Mindy. Tara." Mrs. Laughton cranes her neck and bestows a pearly white smile. "Hi, sweetie." She leans toward Denise, poised to give her daughter a peck on the cheek. Denise recoils. "You haven't introduced me to your new friend," Mrs. Laughton says. She sounds happy. Too happy. How can anyone be that cheerful?

Denise introduces us. "Um, Mom, this is Portia. Portia, this is my mom."

"What a beautiful name," says Mrs. Laughton, sounding rather dreamy. She catches my grimace in the rear-view mirror. "Your name is charming," she assures me.

Yeah. Right.

• • •

Mrs. Laughton pulls up to the mall and delivers a final set of instructions about what time she'll pick us up and where. She calls it the "pick-up point." Well, duh! "Please don't be late, okay?" Big pearly white smile. "Have a great time, girls."

We explode from the car and race toward the entrance. I'm giggling and rushing through the automatic sliding door. Mindy and Tara bounce a few steps behind Denise, whose blonde hair reminds me of a flapping golden flag. I let them lead the way down the main hall with its shiny marble-tiled floors. The air conditioning feels cool against my skin. I smell cookies or pretzels. The girls slow down as we approach the central court, where several people are milling about-a good-sized crowd of mall rats from my age to late teens and a few mothers pushing baby carriages or guiding toddlers by the hand. Denise reaches the railing, leaning against it as if staking a claim. Tara and Mindy hover, ladies in waiting to the princess.

"So, where do you guys want to go?" Denise asks.

"Old Navy," Tara says.

"That's old news! Hot Topic!" Mindy pipes up.

"Old Navy!"

"Hot Topic!"

I glance around. Wow, this place is overwhelming. Slightly dizzying even. The ceiling has lots of skylights and reaches halfway to the stars. Sunbeams wash over everything, making the place gleam. Plastic palm trees and flowers are arranged in the fake stone planters. I spot a bookstore across the way. It's all I can do to restrain myself from running over there.

"Well, let's ask Portia," Denise says, snapping me from my reverie.

"Huh?"

"Old Navy or Hot Topic?"

As a card-carrying nerd, I have no opinion and I couldn't care less. But it seems best to play along. Which store should I choose?