Marianne by Elizabeth Hammer (best books to read in life TXT) 📕

just an empty corner of the room. All her makeup and hair products were organized into bins on the floor, and there was a square mirror mounted on the wall about eighteen inches up. Marianne knelt down and started dumping out eyeliners and pulling off caps to check the colors. “You do your makeup on the floor?”

“You wanna buy me a vanity?” said Sally, leaning back and looking at the ceiling.

“Of course. The question is... Do I have the money to buy you a vanity?”

“Vanity, vanity! All is vanity!” shouted Sally. She untied the strings on her black skirt and yanked it off. She tossed it toward Marianne. “Put that away for me, dollface.”

Marianne smiled and obeyed. She didn’t like undressing in front of other girls, but she thought it was fun when they did. It made her feel like a valid teenage girl. She’d seen movies about slumber parties—girls were supposed to hang around together in their underwear, right? Marianne turned toward her. “So, I guess you want a full makeover? And am I crazy, or do you have teddy bears on your pink underwear?”

“I do, indeed,” said Sally. “And you haven’t even seen the back, yet.” She rolled over onto her stomach and wagged the huge teddy bear face on her tush.

Marianne went over to the bed and knelt down by Sally. “Are you okay?”

“No,” said Sally, brightly.

“Victor’s a man-whore?” asked Marianne. As if she didn’t know that already. Sally’s boyfriend Victor was an accomplished jackass. Always had been.

Sally smiled and raised her eyebrows. “He is, indeed.” Her demeanor was a little disturbing. Besides the cheeriness, her eyes were too wide, and she wasn’t focusing just right.

Marianne hoped that it was just stress. Other than cigarettes, Sally didn’t use any kind of drugs... but you never know. Marianne was still going to watch for signs that Sally had taken something. “I’ll let you make me over as Gothy as you want tonight,” said Marianne. She’d offered it at the same time as she’d thought it. Compassion run wild.

Sally laughed once. “Sounds good. Do you want to do me normal?”

That was even crazier than wanting to go Goth herself. She frowned. “Yeah, let’s do it.”

Sally noticed her frown. “What?”

“Nothing. It’s just...” Marianne looked at her hard. “Are you having some sort of breakdown?”

“I think that’s a given, Marianne!” she sighed. “But, for me it’s understandable. You’re the one we should be wondering about. What’s going on with you? Since when are you cool with looking undead?”

“Since—”

“Oh, and undead is your term, not mine,” said Sally, interrupting her.

“Since I heard that you got your heart broken…” said Marianne. She said the words carefully and non-emotionally so she wouldn’t offend Sally by bringing up the subject. “I’ll make a fool of myself for you if it makes you forget for a while.”

“Lies,” said Sally.

Marianne just stared at her. What was that supposed to mean? Did Sally really think that Marianne was incapable of being nice? Rude. Now Marianne would be really nice tonight just to get at her. Marianne stood up and went back over to the makeup. “Get your pink butt over here. Let’s do this thing.”

Sally stuck her legs straight up toward the ceiling and then swung them down and lurched off the bed. She sat down cross-legged by Marianne and started brushing out her snarly hair. Marianne popped open the bottle of makeup remover and put some on a little cotton pad. She started gently removing all the makeup from Sally’s face. “Do you want to tell me about it?” asked Marianne. “Did Victor confess?”

“Changing the subject, are we?” said Sally with her eyes closed.

“Should I take that as a no, then?” Marianne tried very hard to keep the sarcasm out of her voice. “You don’t want to tell me about it?”

Sally tilted her face up so Marianne could wipe under her chin. “I said nothing of the sort. I just noticed that you dodged my question.”

“What question was that?”

Sally didn’t respond, just opened her eyes, and raised her eyebrows at Marianne in annoyance.

“What?” said Marianne. “I’m not being cagey. I just don’t know what you’re asking.”

She shrugged. “I’m asking about your true motives. I don’t know, I guess I’m just as bad as the tabloid publishers. I want to know all the details of this crazy love affair you’re living.”

Marianne shifted to lean on her other leg. “I have a boyfriend. I’d hardly call it a love affair. I mean, I like him and everything—”

“You don’t love him?”

“No.” Lies, lies, lies. But really, what could she say? That she’d found a new reason to breathe in and out? That she’d found an additional thing to worship? It was true, but she couldn’t say it without sounding sappy or pagan.

“You seem like you love him.” Sally had to pause to cough when the alcohol from the pad hit her nose. “And that’s not a bad thing. Honestly, it makes me want to kiss him.”

Oh, neat. What a neat, neat image. Marianne would keep that one around, pull it out whenever she needed to kick her insecurities up a notch. If she ever felt a bit too comfortable, she’d just imagine Patrick lifting Sally up in his arms and holding her like there was no one else in the world he wanted to be with more than her. She’d imagine Patrick kissing Sally with all the sweetness and intensity he had. Beautiful Sally cradled in beautiful Patrick’s lap. Those were the kind of thoughts that made Marianne wish that she’d develop cancer, or get shot during a bank robbery. Then Patrick would have to visit her in the hospital and feel so sorry for her that he would feel too guilty to leave her. Marianne got her thoughts under control and tried to answer Sally, though she couldn’t quite remember her exact question. “I hardly know him. I just met him a few weeks ago.”

“So?”

“So?”

“So, you don’t know him well enough to marry him or anything,” said Sally. “But