Diary of an Ugly Duckling by Langhorne, Karyn (general ebook reader .txt) 📕

I definitely think we can make the Top Three, if

you keep working it. Now,” she said, resuming her

normal voice, “I’ve got a car waiting. Let’s grab the

rest of your stuff ”—she grabbed the black duffel out

of Audra’s fingers and slung it over her shoulder by

its strap—“and I’ll take you where you’ll be living for

the next three months, and then—”

“Girl, we can go to the car now. There’s no more

luggage,” Audra interrupted. “There’s nothing of

my old life I need with me that didn’t fit in this little

bag—underwear, toothbrush, deodorant and work-

out clothes—that’s it. When the surgery is over and

we have the Reveal, the first thing I want to do is go

on a shopping trip. Already set aside a budget.”

Shamiyah draped her slender brown arm around

Audra’s shoulder. “If we play the marketing right,

someone will be giving you that wardrobe when

we’re finished. Promise me you won’t spend a dime

without talking it over with me, okay?”

Audra nodded.

“Good girl.” Shamiyah gave her another girl-

friendly grin, then reached into the little red satchel

slung casually over her other shoulder. “And

170

Karyn Langhorne

speaking of gifts . . .” she pulled a little black case

out of it. “Here you go.”

Audra accepted the package, her mouth open in

surprise. “What is it?” she asked the box, inspecting

it from all angles.

“Open it, silly,” Shamiyah laughed. “That’s the

best way to find out.”

Audra pried open the case. Nestled inside were a

pair of sunglasses identical to the ones Shamiyah

wore.

“Wow—”

“They’re really hot right now. Everyone’s wearing

them.”

“Shamiyah.” Audra shook her head. “I don’t

know how to thank you.”

“Don’t thank me.” She leaned close. “The com-

pany is one of the show’s sponsors, so I got them for

free.” She flipped her own pair down over her eyes

and nodded for Audra to do the same.

Audra settled the glasses on her nose and pulled

her baseball cap down low, then shrugged back into

her long-sleeved jacket. It was so loose now, the

sleeves easily covered her fingertips, blocking their

exposure to the sun. Shamiyah studied these prepa-

rations, shaking her head. “You’re gonna burn up

out here, dressed like that!”

“Dr. Jamison said no sun—”

“But he didn’t say no style. We’ll work on it.” The

arm dropped around Audra’s shoulder again. “Wel-

come to L.A., girl!”

“This is it.” Shamiyah swung wide the double

doors of a building in the same neighborhood as

DIARY OF AN UGLY DUCKLING

171

the offices where Audra had met the Ugly Duckling

show’s experts a few weeks before. “Home, sweet

home. You’re on the third floor. Letter J.”

The letter J belonged to an apartment near the

back of the building. Shamiyah opened the door

and then handed her a set of keys, nodding her into

the room.

The place was small but adequate. The horseshoe

of the kitchen opened out into a living room, whose

sofa, Shamiyah explained, converted to a sleeping

area. “For the nurse,” she explained. “The first few

days after the surgery.” Down a short hallway were

a small bedroom, a small bathroom and a little

closet. Completing the space was a ledge of a bal-

cony reached by a sliding glass door that was cov-

ered with fake bamboo shades.

“And we’ve made sure you have the Classic Movie

Channel, so you’ll be well entertained.” Shamiyah

turned the TV on and off as Audra yanked on the

cord to lift the bamboo. She had expected the room

to flood with sunlight, but instead, the shady leaves

of nearby palms clustered around the window like a

jungle, allowing barely any additional light inside

the apartment. The little place seemed like a cave.

Audra was about to comment on it when Shamiyah

hustled her into the kitchen.

“Your refrigerator is fully stocked with foods al-

lowed on your plan,” she said, showing Audra the

contents with a quick jerk of the handle. “And there

are some basic implements in the drawers if you

want to cook.”

“Where’s the light switch?” Audra joked. “It’s aw-

fully dark in here, isn’t it?”

172

Karyn Langhorne

“That’s what the doctors wanted,” Shamiyah ex-

plained with a shrug. “But the lamps should be

working . . .” She crossed the room quickly and

snapped a switch on the base of a lamp on the sofa-

side table. “Yep. We double-checked everything yes-

terday when they brought in the food and took out

the mirrors.”

“Took out the mirrors?” Audra stared at her.

Shamiyah grinned. “You bet. Look in the bath-

room,” she offered, jerking her springy head to-

ward that alcove. “You’ll see.”

Sure enough, where the mirror should have been

there was nothing but a smooth brown patch of dry-

wall.

“It really wasn’t necessary,” Audra called, wan-

dering from the dark mirrorless bathroom to the

dark mirrorless bedroom. “I hardly ever look in the

mirror anyway.”

Shamiyah’s laughter floated back to her. “Liar! I

saw you checking out how those sunglasses looked

in every gleaming surface from the baggage claim to

the front door of this building!”

“Yeah, but that’s different,” Audra murmured, re-

turning to the living area, where she found the

woman on her knees on the floor, rifling through

Audra’s bag like an addict looking for a fix. When

she saw Audra, she flashed her quick smile, then

pulled out a multicolored stack of undies and set

them on the coffee table, to make it easier for her to

peer inside.

“What are you doing?” Audra demanded, and for

the first time Shamiyah got a taste of her corrections-

officer voice. Her little body jumped, and for the

DIARY OF AN UGLY DUCKLING

173

fleeting second that her eyes met Audra’s, she

looked intimidated and afraid.

“Looking for contraband!” she said as though

that should have been perfectly evident. “You read

the stuff I sent you, right? About how you’re not sup-

posed to bring any mirrors?”

Audra relaxed. Of course, mirrors had been

on the list of “no-nos”; she remembered that now.

No mirrors, no makeup, no jewelry, no beauty

products—

“There’s no mirrors—or anything else that

shouldn’t be here—in there,” she told the other

woman. “Trust me. I don’t even own much of that

kind of stuff to begin with.”

“I have to search, Audra,” Shamiyah said in a

voice that had suddenly gone flat and professional.

“There will be no mirrors anywhere for you for the

next