Truth Be Told

thirteen

"WHAT'S THIS ONE for?"

"It's concealer," Sadie replies. "It's a lifesaver."

Drew sets it back down and picks up a different tube. "And it's different from this stuff?"

"A little."

Colin watches from a distance, but Drew and Perry sit close to Sadie. She's doing her makeup, and both of them watch in unmasked curiosity. Colin had been the last to get ready, so his hair, a little overgrown now, is still a little damp.

"Why do you have two of these?" Perry picks up two small, circular containers that, from where Colin is seated, look exactly the same.

"They're different shades."

"You need different shades?"

"Of course. Look." Sadie takes one of them from Perry. She pops it open then turns it to her enthusiastic audience. "This one's slightly more red, while that one"--Perry opens it obediently--"is slightly orange."

Perry blinks. "But why can't you just... stick to one?"

Sadie, who was working on her eye makeup, momentarily stops to look at Perry. "Per, how many pairs of shoes do you have?"

Perry's eyes narrow, and then he gives her a curt nod. "Okay. Point taken."

"You're really good at that," Drew says. He tilts his head, completely engrossed. "Your lashes really did get longer."

"As they should. I spent twenty-five bucks on this mascara."

This goes on longer than Colin expected it would. He tunes them out, for the most part, but every now and then his friends ask a question that gets his attention and he'd catch himself listening in on the conversation.

When they finish, Colin has learned more than he'd care to know about makeup.

Her avid fans shower her with compliments and, unable to ignore his curiosity, Colin gives in and risks a glance at Sadie. He tries to look inconspicuous, bending down to tie his shoelaces.

He can't quite pinpoint what, exactly, changed. Just that something has changed.

"You look very pretty, Sadie," Drew tells her.

Sadie beams at Drew. Then, almost, as though she can sense Colin's gaze, she suddenly turns.

His mouth dries up. He averts his eyes, hastily looking back down at his shoelaces. She's not that pretty.

But he finds himself sneaking another glance anyway.

◇

They grab some tacos before heading to campus, knowing full well that they'll need substantial food to sustain them for the night. Sadie complains about her lipstick getting smudged, but the smell eventually makes her give in.

She still doesn't eat as much as she used to in high school. Not that she eats, like, a lot. Her portions now are just smaller than before. Still, at least she's eating. He knows how much she loves tacos. There was no way she could have resisted.

They wolf down their food in a matter of minutes, though Sadie takes hers to-go and continues to nibble on it as they walk to campus. Greek Row is all the way over to the other side of the campus, near the dorms, but they're all used to walking, so nobody complains.

The night air is cool enough, but the walk gets them sweaty in no time. Sadie stops for a moment to put her hair up, then she removes her jean jacket. She's wearing a tight, white top with very thin straps and suddenly there's just so much skin that Colin is forced to keep his eyes dutifully trained on the ground.