One Step

Social Skills

Christa thought she was having a panic attack. She and Vivienne had just finished purchasing cheaper versions of those found in the Vogue magazine. They had even ventured into the more expensive stores such as Armani, Bardot, Levi's and Review. They had both maxed out their credit cards by the end of the day and had already called their employers to ask for extra shifts. Before her parents had left, they had set up a trust fund but Christa wasn't old enough to access that so she had to work to support herself.

Now Christa was pacing back and forth in her bedroom panicking for two reasons. Number one how much money she had just spent and two, how was she supposed to make herself popular. Vivienne seemed to know a lot about popularity and Christa was about to call her but something stopped her. Vivienne wasn't doing this, Christa was. She had to do it her way but she had no idea how to go from a no body to someone.

She continued to pace for a couple of minutes before opening up her laptop and googling 'how to be popular'. Google had a few main tips for her. First, get noticed by being confident – nobody's perfect but you have to believe in yourself...Fake it till you make it... Body language. These were all words thrown at Christa in a space of a minute. That wasn't that hard. If Christa wanted to do something then she would. She didn't want to do this but her best friend did – that was motivation enough.

Second, put yourself out there. Don't wait for people to come to you and engage people. This next step was also quite easy for Christa. Others found herself quite intriguing and was told this regular basis.

Thirdly was to find your own style. Be comfortable but not shabby, whatever you wear have confidence in it, don't try too hard. Once again, Christa didn't find this too difficult. She was comfortable in mainly jeans a basic tee and that what they mainly bought today but on a more expensive level than Christa was comfortable with.

Be friendly. Christa wasn't a social person but she didn't lack social skills. She knew manners and she knew how to be polite. So far this popularity wasn't going to be hard.

Take risks. "Great, I hate risks," Christa thought, "risks got my parents killed." This step was going to be difficult. She wouldn't need to take risks but then she had to. This whole thing was a massive risks. What if she messed up and embarrassed herself. She would surely get attention then but for the reasons she didn't want.

Christa took a deep breath and with it came a new mindset. She was doing for this for her best friend, she just had to make sure she didn't embarrass herself. Exhausted, she fell into a peaceful sleep.