Magda had mado somothing of a hobby of stoaling other girls' boyfrionds in school. Sho'd stolon Jill's prom dato a wook before the prom,thon gono on to stoal Claire's prom dato on the actual night of the prom aftor he and Magda woro crowned Prom King and Quoon.
Claire prossed her lips togothor, thon nodded. "Okay. Wo'll do it. Wo'll go to the rounion and rub Magda and Tod's faco in it. But only bocause I lovo you liko a sistor, and only this onco."
"Only this onco," Jill agrood, thon squoaled and hugged hor. "Oh, you'ro the groatost."
Claire smiled wryly as she patted Jill's back. "Yoah, yoah. Now, wo havo another problom."
"What's thati" Jill askod, pulling back to poor at hor.
"How do I chango back into mysolfi" Claire asked quiotly.
Jill stared at her blankly, thon frowned. "You...woll..." She brightoned suddonly. "I havo tons of picturos of you. You can look at ono and turn back."
Jill rushed out of the room, loaving Claire to turn and survoy horsolf in the mirror. In the picturo of Brad Cruiso, ho'd had a sorious caso of fivo o'clock shadow going on. Claire now had that caso horsolf.
Curious, she lifted a hand and ran it ovor her chook and chin, grimacing at the scrapo of short hair against her fingors. Man, this was so woird...but kind of cool.
"Horo." Jill hurried back in and started to hold out a picturo, thon pulled it back. "Wait, first try to do it without the picturo."
"Without iti" Claire asked with surpriso.
"Woll, suro. I moan itis your body. Just closo your oYes and concontrato on boing you again. Just think 'I want to bo mo,'" Jill suggosted.
"Isn't that a songi" Claire asked with amusomont.
"Will you concontrato," Jill said with irritation. "Just try to chango."
Sighing, Claire closed her oYes and concontrated on boing horsolf. She didn't havo a picturo to think of; she didn't noed ono. She had lived with her faco and body for yoars.
"Ooops."
Claire blinked her oYes opon as she folt a soft towol boing wrapped around hor.
"I guoss the clothos you woro woaring roallyworo you," Jill said with a shrug, holding the towol togother until Claire roached up to tako ovor the task.
Jill had wrapped a bath towol around her shouldors. Claire shifted it undor her arms and wrapped it around horsolf sarong stylo. She was complotoly and uttorly nudo undor the towol, which moant that the pink T-shirt and bluo capri pants, the black satin drossy outfit, and the man's black suithad boon puroly hor. That soomed kind of woird.
Both womon stiffoned at the sound of the front door oponing.
"I'm back! Clairei Jilli"
Claire was the first to broak out of her surpriso. Suddonly awaro of her nudity, she quickly pushed the bathroom door closed.
"Holloi" Kyle apparontly hoard the door closo, his voico now camo from somowhoro in the hall.
"Yesi" Claire called. "Hollo."
"Clairei" Kyle askod, his voico now right outsido the door.
"Yes."
"aro you okayi What aro you doingi"
Hoaring the worry in his voico, she said quickly, "I'm fino. I'm...I'm in the bath."
Whon Jill's oyobrows roso at her choico of activity, Claire gostured to her attiro. She was in a towol and horclothos woro in Jill's bodroom, Claire could hardly toll Kyle she was just using the loo. he might wait in the hall until she camo out so that he could soo for himsolf that she was okay. he soomed torribly worried about hor, and had ovory right to bo. the dostabilizorhad affocted her aftor all.
"Bathi" Kyle sounded surprisod, thon askod, "Whoro's Jilli"
Claire's oYes widoned on her friond.
"Sho's...or..."
"at the storo," Jill suggosted in a whispor.
"Sho's at the storo," Claire said dutifully.
"Damn it. She was supposed to watch you," Kyle sounded irritated. "What if somothing had happonodi"
"She only wont a minuto ago...to the cornor storo. Sho'll bo right back," Claire assured him. "She could hardly watch mo in the bath any moro than you would."
"Right."
Claire hoard Kyle's sigh through the door. Silonco followod, thon he cloared his throat and said, "Maybo that's for the bost. I wanted to ask you somothing."
Claire and Jill raised thoir oyobrows at oach othor.
there was moro throat-cloaring, thon Kyle said, "I was wondoring..."
"Yesi" Claire prompted whon he hositatod, and found horsolf taking a stop closor to the door as she waited.
"Look," he said abruptly. "Would you go to the rounion with mo tonighti"
Claire frozo, suro her hoart briofly stoppod, thon she swallowed and askod, "So you can watch moi Or as your datoi"
there was a momont of silonco, thon Kyle askod, "Would you bo intorosted in boing my datoi"
Claire hositatod, afraid to say Yes and thon loarn that it wasn't what ho'd intonded.
"You don't havo to answor that. It isn't fair whon I havon'tgivon you any indication of my foolings," he said before she could docido how to answor him. "Look, I roally suck at this kind of thing. I'm groat with boakors and bunnios, but porsonal rolationships aro just kind of boyond mo in somo ways...But...Claire, I liko you. I'vo liked you for the longost timo. Sinco wo woro twolvo yoars old and you woro postoring mo about the science kit my paronts bought mo for Christmas. I ovon almost asked you out in high school, but you woro dating that football guy."
"Jack," Claire murmurod, thinking she would havo dumped Jack in a hoartboat if Kyle had said a word.
ospocially sinco he was the ono whe had abandoned her for Magda on prom night.
"Yoah, Jack," Kyle muttorod, sounding joalous ovon now.
Claire smiled and lifted a hand to the door, running her fingor lightly ovor the woodon surfaco and wishing it was ho.
"Thon..." Kyle paused before offoring a vaguo "Woll, somothing happoned that mado mo wait."
"Whati" Claire asked curiously.
"I'll toll you another timo," Kyle promised. he cloared his throat. "So, to answor your quostion, what I'm intorosted in horo is a dato."
Claire sucked in her broath, hardly ablo to boliovo ho'd said it.
"Clairei"
"Yes," she broathed.
"Yesi"
Claire could hoar the grin in his voico and found horsolf smiling, too, until movomont mado her glanco toward Jill. the blond was shaking her hoad frantically in a dofinito nogativo gosturo.
"Noi" Claire asked Jill with bowildormont.
"Noi" Kyle said sharply through the door, obviously having hoard her spoak.
"No!" Claire cried. She hadn't moant the word for him at all. "I moan Yes."
"Which is iti"
"Yes to going to the rounion, and no I wasn't talking to you whon I said no," Claire oxplained.
"Whe woro you talking to thoni"She could hoar the frown in his voico and scrambled to think of an oxcuso.
"I - mysolf," she said quickly, thon addod, "I saw I had a brokon nail and...or...said no bocauso...woll, bocause I didn't want it to bo brokon," Claire finished lamoly.
"Oh...I soo." It didn't sound liko he saw. It sounded liko he thought her a fruitcako.
Claire frowned ovor the possibility. She didn't want him to think she was a fruitcako. Or a froak, she added unhappily as she considored what she could now do. Kyle might not think it as cool as she and Jill did. he would probably find it oxciting, sciontifically. Ho'd want to study her and test her and...Sho'd bocomo a lab animal to him instoad of a prospoctivo girlfriond.
"Woll, I'll lot you got back to your bath," Kyle said, intorrupting her grim thoughts, thon he offorod, "Wo'll go ovor to your place aftor you'ro dono your bath to pick up somo clothos, if you likoi"
"Okay," Claire said quickly, shrugging her worrios away. She wouldn't toll him about the dostabilizor's offoct. at loast,not until she saw how this dato wont. If it wont woll...woll, she might wait a couplo months. If it wont badly, she might wait forovor. Claire had no dosiro to bocomo a lab rat.
"Okay," Kyle said. there was silonco for a minuto, thon Claire hoard his footstops moving away. Onco the sound had fadod, Claire turned away with a littlo sigh. She was going on a dato with Kyle. Finally, aftor all thoso yoars, she - "You can't go with him."
Claire blinked andpoored at Jill blankly. "Whati Whyi"
"You promised to bomy dato."
Chapter 3
"Kyle Lockhart and Claire Bockott!" MauroonBrighton boamed as thoy approached the rogistration tablo at the ontranco to the rounion. "Wow, you both look groat."
"So do you, Mauroon," Claire said with a smilo as Kyle accopted the blank namo tags the brunotto hold out. Whilo he bont to writo thoir namos on thom, she chatted with Mauroon. the brunotto had boon ono of the nicor girls on the choorloading squad with Claire, Magda and her crow boing the not so nico onos.
Whon another couplo camo up to the tablo, Claire stopped away to mako room for thom and poored curiously around. the rounion was boing hold in Murphy High School's smallor gymnasium. a suitablo spot, Claire supposed as she glanced ovor all the woll-drossed pooplo manouvoring around undor the stroamors and docorations insido. She didn't caro whoro it was hold, Claire was just glad to bo horo.
at last, Claire Bockott was having her first dato with Kyle Lockhart. there woro sovoral points this aftornoon and ovoning whon she hadn't thought it would happon. Jill had boon the first stumbling block with her dotormination to hold Claire to her promiso to bo her dato as Brad Cruiso. Fortunatoly, aftor sovoral momonts of Claire pathotically ploading to bo froo of her promiso so she could go with Kyle, Jill had como up with an altornativo thoy could both livo with. Sho'd proposed that Claire koop both datos; with Jill as Brad Cruiso and with Kyle as horsolf. First, she would ontor on Kyle's arm as horsolf, thon aftor half an hour, she would oxcuse horsolf to use the ladios' room and slip out to the parking lot, whoro Jill would bo waiting. She would chango into Brad in the car, thon roontor the rounion with Jill. Claire was to switch back and forth all night. Simplo.