I went downstairs to find him.
“Dad?” I asked. He was watching TV.
“What’s up?” he asked.
“Can you help me with my homework?”
“Sure, what do you need?”
“I need your phone,” I said. He looked confused. “Let me explain.”
I looked through hundreds of pictures that night. “Back in the olden days, pictures were expensive,” my dad said as he helped me download all his pictures of food. “Now taking pictures is easy. When I was a kid, this idea of yours would have cost a small fortune.”
Why did adults always tell you how rough they had it? Was I supposed to feel sorry for him? Was I supposed to feel lucky that I wasn’t alive thirty years ago? Adults are funny. They have this nostalgia for the “old days” when they walked up a hill five miles to go to school, and think that today all young people are spoiled. Who do you think spoiled us? As if it’s easy for us today. It’s not! It’s not better or worse for kids today, it’s just different.
I rummaged around my desk for some photo paper to print everything. I was carefully deciding what to print and what to say when Tori came into my room.
“What are you doing? Isn’t it your bedtime?” she asked.
“I’m working on my project. It’s due soon.”
She looked at the document I had on my computer screen and read it quickly. “So are you printing off each photo and then gluing it onto paper?” she asked.
“Yes,” I said cautiously.
She sighed. “Really? Come on. There is a better way to do this.” She shoved me out of my desk chair and starting working on the computer. “Just embed the photo you want in the document you want. Why print it out and glue it? You are such a dinosaur. See?” She showed me how to do it.
Okay, she was right. My way was dumb and slow. Her way was faster and looked better. “Thanks, Tori. My project is going to look great.”
She grunted. “It’s not only how it looks, you know. It’s also got to say something meaningful. It’s like people, you know? There’s no point looking really good, if you are like empty inside.” She got up to leave. “School work is the same.”
“But you always want to look good,” I replied.
“I always do look good,” she said. “But that’s just looks. There is a whole lot more to me than just my clothes.” I couldn’t tell if she was joking or not.
“You are a really talented designer,” I offered.
She stared at me for a few seconds, and then replied, “Thanks. Stop making so much noise, I want to go to sleep soon.”
“Tori,” I said. I held my breath. “Can I ask you one more thing?” It was a conversation I had been dreading.
She sighed. “What is it?”
“Do you think you’d be into making Madison a dress?” Since we had just established that my sister was a talented designer, it seemed like this might be the best time to ask.
She stood up straight. “What?!”
“She said she would pay you!” I added.
“Krista,” she said, “this is the girl you’ve been friends with for like, two minutes right?”
I nodded.
“Listen, I don’t know her that well, so I will give her the benefit of the doubt, because I am just a super big-hearted person, but that is a bold request. I don’t know her. You hardly know her. I made you a dress because you’re my sister. For family, you do stuff, no questions asked. They do the same for you. To me, Madison is a random stranger,” Tori said. “Why would I do that for her?”
“Well, she said she loved the dress you made me so much, that she wanted something similar, but with Chinese fabric,” I said. I was wishing I hadn’t said anything. “It’s kind of a compliment, isn’t it?”
“No, no, no,” she said, looking exasperated. “That is not how I work. Your dress was like, inspired. If I do the same thing again, it will be like, copycat. I don’t work that way. Tell your little friend that I’m too busy.” Then she sat down on my bed.
“I’m going to tell you something else, Krista, because, I know I shouldn’t be, but I am totally shocked at how naïve you are. But did the thought ever occur to you that she might be using you?”
Tori had said what I didn’t want to acknowledge.
“Well, it did feel really uncomfortable when she asked,” I admitted.
“It was uncomfortable, because you know that you two are not true friends, not yet anyway. You haven’t known each other long enough. It takes time. I’m not saying you never will be, but clearly she has no respect for appropriate friend boundaries, or maybe she’s just totally spoiled and used to getting her way, so maybe she thinks it’s not a big deal to ask people for outrageous favors. Who knows?” Tori said. Even though I didn’t like what Tori was saying, I felt foolish for not realizing it myself.
Tori continued, “Real friends don’t ask you for huge, uncomfortable favors. Real friends don’t ask you to do things you don’t want to do. Real friends make you feel good about yourself and they just get you. If a person is a real friend, you want to help them with no hang-ups. There’s a difference between a real friend and somebody you just happen to know. You may want to reconsider your new friends.”
CHAPTER 17
I asked Mrs. June if I could change my clothes just before the presentation. Tuesday had come way too quickly. Most of the girls had already seen my dress, but the boys hadn’t. They were so immature. I tried to ignore their comments, but I’m sure my face was bright red. I hated people staring at me.
Marcus, of course, couldn’t help but be annoying. “Look at this! Krista wearing a dress. Mark this day on your calendar, everyone!” Arden laughed—a little too much, if you ask me.
Mrs. June walked up to him and
