3 Wishes

Prologue II: Betrayal

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Again she was walking with no thought that anything important was about to happen. This time she walked downstairs in worn gray sweats that doubled as pajamas. She had come in search of a book because she couldn't sleep. It was Friday night and Hunter and Elise had gone to see a movie, which bothered her slightly. The movie had ended an hour ago and they still weren't home, which bothered her more. So she walked into the family room and discovered that she was wrong. They were home. They were on the couch kissing.

She let out a gasp, and then blushed furiously when they both turned and looked at her. She didn't say anything, just rushed from the room. All the way back up the stairs she chastised herself for being so stupid. Why shouldn't they be kissing? Had she really thought Hunter didn't kiss Elise because he was friends with Elaine? She didn't mean anything to him. He was just a guy, who, it turned out—disappointingly—was also environmentally conscious and patient. He hadn't been nice to her with any ulterior motives at all.

Jerk.

Elise's laughter followed Elaine up the stairs. "At least it wasn't my dad."

Elaine couldn't hear what Hunter answered. He probably laughed too. He was probably thinking what a pitiful figure Elaine made in her cheerless gray sweats. He didn't want someone who could discuss calculus as easily as she discussed life. He wanted someone who looked like she'd graduated from beauty school.

Elaine didn't go to sleep for a long time. She went into Elise's room and with shaking hands took the stack of teen magazines from her sister's closet. She retreated to her bedroom, sat on the edge of her bed, and studied every single one of them.

The next day Elaine made an appointment with the optometrist for contacts. She also went shopping with Elise, who was thrilled her sister wanted to update her appearance. Elise helped her with the zeal of someone administering life support.

As they flipped through the racks at Forever 21, Elise put together outfits and handed them to Elaine. If Elaine balked because something was too bright or too flashy, Elise quickly brought her around again with a gentle reminder. "Clothes say a lot about a person. Right now yours say you're on the fast track to becoming an eccentric cat lady." Then she would shove the outfit at Elaine and say, "Now go try this on and show everyone how beautiful you really are."

Elaine didn't feel guilty about accepting Elise's help. She wasn't trying to steal Hunter. She was trying to punish him. She wanted Hunter to notice her so she could ignore him.

After Elaine had spent enough money on outfits and accessories to ensure that she would need a scholarship to go to college, she had her mother, who'd worked as a beautician for years, cut, highlight, and shape her hair until it was the mirror image of Elise's.

Elise, who was almost as good a stylist as their mother, made the finishing touches and applied the hairspray. "Now we look like twins again."

They had often been told this growing up, back before their styles had detoured.

On Monday, Elaine drove her own jeep to school. By the time calculus rolled around she was in good spirits. She had received a lot of approving gazes from the guys. Flirting would be a problem for her, she knew. But she'd seen Elise do it enough times. You looked into the guy's eyes, smiled, and complimented him. She just need to come up with some generic compliments that would work on a variety of guys.

"You're so smart."

"You're so funny."

"You have really great biceps."