Mickey's Lessons on Bad

Lesson 6: How To Pay Attention? You Don't

“How is this?” Tami asked, emerging from the changing room in a baby pink dress with white laced bodice.

       “It looks totes great on you!” gushed Kylie with a nod in agreement from Monica and the rest of the girls.

       The only one that stayed quiet though was Michelle, mentally hoping that her friend won’t ask for her opinion. She honestly didn’t like the skimpy dress her friend picked. It was too tight, too small. She could even see a small portion of her underwear and she was standing up, leaning against the wall.

       “What do you think, Elle?”

       She mentally cringed at the question and forced a fake smile to her face while all the girls turned to her. “It’s... cute,” she managed to choke out the lie. She didn’t make it sound like she was lying; it just sounded like she was thinking of the right word to say.

       Tami beamed at her compliment. “Really? Do you think I should buy it?”

       She screamed the word ‘no’ in the back of her mind, but knowing that her friend really liked the dress. “Sure,” she answered, lifting and dropping her shoulders. “Why not?”

       Usually, whenever they went shopping, Michelle would be in a different store just so that she wouldn’t have to lie to her friends about their choices in outfits. But it seemed like either faith was against her or that she just had a stalker in general, because she caught sight of Mickey with a group of his druggy friends and Ronnie in the mall. She didn’t want to deal with them and she also didn’t want to see Mickey after that embarrassing Friday night at Briar’s. She probably seemed like a complete loser to him for crying about Logan. So, she decided to just join her girl friends and lie.

       Ronnie wasn’t wrong when he said lying is like your best friend. It definitely is.

       “Now, what about you, Michelle?” inquired Stacy, who sat beside Monica.

       She looked over at her and raised an eyebrow. “What about me?” she retorted, folding her arms over her chest.

       “Don’t you want to buy something sexy to show off to your man?”

       Michelle practically did a facepalm. How she didn’t expect this question coming? She had no clue. “Uh.” She tried looking over at Tami for help, but she was already back in the changing room. “What is there to show off to Mickey? He already thinks I’m sexy,” she choked out yet another lie. “What more to do?”

       The girls giggled and she found herself fighting back a blush.

       “Sweetheart, you do realize who you’re talking about, right?” Monica chimed with the flip of her hair. “Mickey Varsity. He likes new and exciting things. You think if you wear the same old, same old attire that he’d still be interested in you?”

       Well, seeing as he was currently in a deal with me, I’d think so, Michelle thought bitterly to herself. She released a sigh and just decided that the easier route was to go along with her friends. “Oh, fine. I’ll find something, but after we eat. Deal?” she bargained.

       “Deal,” Monica and Stacy responded simultaneously while everyone else nodded.

       That was when Tami decided to step out of the changing room. She was wearing her regular outfit; a white, tunic tank top with black vertical lines and a black pocket over her right breast and a pair of black leggings with black wedges. Her pink dress was slung on her arm and she smiled at us. “Let’s get going,” she declared. “I’m hungry, so I’ll just pay for this after food.”