Since Bryn had been only partially involved in Emma’s fabulous makeover last weekend, she was even more determined to play an important role in Cassidy’s. This was too much fun to miss out on. She’d known Cassidy for a few years now, and while she liked and respected her, she also knew that Cass could be pretty stubborn, not to mention negative sometimes. Cassidy liked to make fun of fashion and trends, acting like it was shallow for anyone to follow the fads. Maybe it was shallow, but Bryn liked it. She didn’t need Cass to lecture her on why it was stupid.
As she flipped through her latest issue of Teen Vogue magazine, Bryn reminded herself that everyone was different—and that was okay. Besides, she actually respected that Cass took her Christian beliefs seriously, even if Bryn didn’t. Oh, Bryn would go to church when her parents pressured her, but she didn’t really embrace faith. Not like Cass did. She didn’t quite get it either. What was the big deal? Even so, it was reassuring to know that Cass was like that—solid and dependable. Kind of like having an anchor. Except that an anchor dragged you down sometimes. Bryn tore out a couple pages of fashion dos and don’ts that she thought might be helpful for Cassidy. If she wouldn’t listen to Bryn, maybe she’d listen to the experts.
It really bugged Bryn that Cass didn’t seem to care about her appearance. Something was wrong with that. Even if Cassidy was just pretending not to care—although Bryn didn’t know how that was possible—it was still pretty strange. What girl didn’t want to look good? But sometimes Cassidy would come to school wearing the exact same outfit that she’d worn just a few days before. Was she that oblivious? Anyway, as far as Bryn was concerned, a makeover was long overdue. It would probably be therapeutic.
As Bryn did a quick straightening of her room, since this was to be the location of the makeover, she took a quick inventory of Cassidy in her head. It wasn’t like Cass was unattractive. To be fair, she had a wholesome sort of attractiveness. Kind of like a farm girl. Despite Cassidy’s blasé clothes, sloppy ponytails, and face always devoid of makeup, Bryn felt certain a pretty girl was lurking beneath. As she folded a pair of jeans—nicely fitting jeans, unlike the sloppy ones her frumpy friend usually wore—she imagined everything they would do to change Cassidy’s image today.
Since Abby was about the same height as Cassidy, she was bringing over some clothes, so they could probably put together some fairly cool outfits. Abby and Bryn were the fashionistas of the group, and they had the closets to prove it. But Abby’s hand-me-downs would only do so much. Cassidy would have to be willing to invest some too. Bryn had already told Cass to plan on spending a few bucks when they went shopping (beyond buying her dress for homecoming). Cass was reluctant to tap into her summer job earnings, but she had agreed. Devon had provided some hair product samples from her aunt, so that would save some money. And when it came to makeup, Bryn felt like she could handle it—at least she hoped so.
“Hey, sis.” Tara stuck her head in Bryn’s room. “What’cha got going today?”
Totally surprised to see her older sister, Bryn ran and hugged her. “Tara! What are you doing here?”
“I came home for the weekend.”
Bryn looked into Tara’s big blue eyes. They were almost the same color as Bryn’s, and sometimes the two girls had even been confused as twins. “I’m so happy to see you. How’s college?”
Tara let out a tired little groan. “It’s mostly pretty cool. But I plan to catch up on some sleep this weekend. My roommate is the worst.” She looked around the tidy room and at the bundle of clothes and hangers Bryn had dropped. “Cleaning house, are we?”
Bryn laughed. “Not really. Just picking up a little. I have some friends coming over.” She proceeded to tell about today’s makeover plans.
“You’re redoing plain Jane Cassidy Banks?” Tara asked.
Bryn nodded. She was tempted to tell Tara about the DG but remembered their vow of secrecy. “We’re all going to the homecoming dance, and we thought Cass could use a little help. After the makeover we’re going dress shopping.”
“Wow. Sounds like fun.” She sighed. “And exhausting.”
“I hope we don’t disturb you.”
“If it gets too loud, I’ll go down to the family room to sleep.” Tara peered curiously at Bryn. “Who’s taking you to homecoming? I didn’t even know you had a boyfriend. And I just talked to Mom a couple days ago.”
Bryn made a stiff smile. “He’s not exactly a boyfriend . . . yet.”
“Who?”
“Do you remember Jason Levine?”
Tara’s eyes lit up. “Oh, yeah. That guy was a hottie. Even though he was a junior last year, he caught my eye. But I thought he had a girlfriend.”
“He did. Amanda Norton. But they broke up. This year he’s even hotter.”
Tara gave Bryn a sly look. “Good going, girl. You’re making your older sister proud.”
Bryn tried to act natural, like this date with Jason was really a done deal. “It’s all still pretty new,” she said nervously. “No one really knows about it yet.”
Tara laughed. “Well, don’t worry about me. There’s no one I talk to who hangs around Northwood anyway.” She started to go, then paused. “Hey, if you need any help with your makeover, just yell.”
“Seriously?” Bryn was surprised. “I thought you were tired.”
“I am. But who can resist a good makeover? Remember the first time I started helping you?”
Bryn smiled. “Yeah. I still appreciate it.”
“If you need my expertise, just let me know.”
Bryn nodded and said she appreciated the offer, but she hoped she wouldn’t have to call on her older sister for help. This was something she really wanted to accomplish on her own. Well, with a little help from Abby too. She looked at her watch. Abby should be here by now.
To Bryn’s dismay, Cassidy arrived first. It didn’t help matters that Cassidy seemed to be digging in her heels. “I’m not sure this is such a great idea,” Cass said when they were in Bryn’s room.
“But you agreed to—”
“I know. But I’ve never been the superficial type. All this focus on looks is kinda creeping me out. I was thinking on my way over here that if I have to change my appearance just to get Lane to look my way . . . well, it seems wrong. I mean, if he’s going to like me, he’s going to like me for who I am. Right?”
Bryn nodded hopelessly. “Right, but—”
“So I really don’t see the point.”
Just then Bryn’s phone rang. It was Abby, informing her that she was going to be at least an hour late. “My mom’s car is in the shop and—”
“Yeah, yeah. Never mind,” Bryn said impatiently. “Just get here as soon as you can, okay?” She hung up feeling aggravated.
“Sounds like it’s not going to work out.” Cassidy was reaching for her bag.
“Don’t leave yet,” Bryn insisted. She remembered Tara’s offer. “Let me get my sister and—”
“Tara’s here?”
“Yeah. She just popped in. She actually offered to help with the makeover, but I didn’t think I’d need her.”
Cassidy’s eyes lit up a little, and Bryn suddenly remembered that Tara had worked as a junior counselor at church camp one year and how Cassidy had really admired her. Maybe Tara would be just the ticket. “I’ll be right back.”
She hurried down to Tara’s room, knocking lightly in case she’d already gone to sleep. When she opened the door, it looked like Tara was just sorting her laundry. “What’s up?” Tara asked.
Bryn quickly explained her dilemma. “Cassidy had been on board before,” she said finally. “But now she’s threatening to walk.”
“Hmm . . .” Tara’s brow creased.
“So if your offer was genuine . . . ?”
Tara sighed, then glanced down at her piles of clothes. “I really need to get this done before I go back.” She smiled. “But if you’re willing to work on my laundry, I’d be happy to work on Cassidy.”
Bryn wasn’t sure she liked this deal, but at the same time she didn’t want Cassidy to slip away without her makeover. If the DG was going to work and if all the girls were going to get dates to homecoming, it seemed obvious that Cass would have to clean up her act. “Okay. I’ll do it.”
“Great.” Tara went over to her dresser and picked up a bag. “Cassidy is in luck because I just got some new skin care stuff. I haven’t even tried it yet. Maybe Cass and I can both have facials.” She pointed to the mess of clothes. “You get started on this, and I’ll get started on Cassidy.”
As Bryn headed to the laundry room for baskets, she questioned her agreement. Was she a total fool to fall for this? Doing Tara’s laundry—which looked like about three weeks’ worth—was no small task. Still, if Cassidy came out looking good . . . maybe it would be worth it.
By the time Bryn got the clothes sorted and the first load in, then hurried back to her room, both Cassidy and Tara had green stuff on their faces. “Lovely,” she teased as she flopped down on the bed.
“Can you go find us some cucumber slices?” Tara asked Bryn.
“That’s okay, I’m not hungry,” Cassidy said.
“For our eyes,” Tara told her.
Bryn reluctantly agreed. Feeling a bit like Cinderella catering to the two green-faced stepsisters, she headed back downstairs and foraged through the fridge in search of a cucumber. After she found one, she cut four generous slices and took them back upstairs. Tara had taught her the cucumber trick years ago. It was supposed to reduce puffiness around the eyes. Not that Bryn had ever noticed any puffiness around her own eyes, but it always felt and smelled cool and fresh, and she almost wished she’d cut some pieces for herself.
“Here you go, ladies.” She handed them the cuke slices, watching as they placed them over their closed eyes. As they relaxed with their strange-looking masks, she decided to check Facebook. She was working on Kent for Abby now, and she suspected that when Abby arrived, she would question Bryn on her progress. Bryn just hoped to have something positive to say.
To her relief, Kent had responded to her last message, and judging by his response, he was interested in Abby for more than just friendship. He thought she was hot! Well, he hadn’t actually used the word hot, but Bryn could read between the lines. She shot back a quick playful response, trying to make it sound like he would be lucky to be with Abby. She also hinted that Abby wanted to go to the homecoming dance and if Kent just sat on his hands, he might miss out on this great opportunity. Then she crossed her fingers and hit Send.
With her portion of the work done, she would have no problem asking Abby how she was coming along with Jason now. Of course, she couldn’t have this conversation in front of Tara since Tara assumed Bryn’s date with him was a done deal—it would be humiliating. But she could get Abby alone for this info exchange. Bryn tried to appear confident amongst her friends, but she felt insecure when it came to Jason. Maybe she was a fool to go after him like this.
However, she wasn’t blind. She had been noticing that she was getting more and more attention from other guys—including all the boys the other DG girls had set their sights on, which was admittedly fun. So why was it so difficult to get Jason to glance in her direction? Was it Worthington’s speech? Or was he just not into her? Worse yet, what if Jason was still into Amanda?
Bryn knew from books and movies that when a guy was stuck on his ex, she was tough competition. What if Amanda decided to get back with Jason? Then it would be utterly hopeless. How humiliating would it be for the hottest girl in their club (as her friends kept suggesting) to be the lonely girl on the sidelines? How would it feel to be sitting at home the night of the dance? It was almost too much pressure.
That meant she needed to pressure Abby. As much as she hated to push her best friend, she realized it was time to nail this thing. She didn’t want to be left out, so if it wasn’t going to work with Jason, she would have to start working on a different guy. However, that would be tricky with Tara around. She would wonder why Bryn didn’t go with Jason. And Bryn didn’t like to lie. Not to her sister or anyone else. She hated to admit it, but maybe this Dating Games club was a big, stupid mistake.
Hearing someone downstairs, Bryn suspected that Abby had arrived and decided to run down and head her off before she said anything in front of Tara. Bryn’s mom had just let Abby in, and they were exchanging greetings.
“Sorry to be late,” Abby told Bryn. “Here are the clothes.”
“It’s okay.” Bryn took the bags, setting them down on the bench by the door. “We don’t need those yet.” She pulled Abby toward the basement stairs, explaining how Tara was helping. “I need to talk to you first anyway.” Leading Abby down to the family room where they could speak privately, Bryn said they needed to talk about Jason.
“Is something wrong?” Abby asked. “Have you decided to go with someone else?”
“No. I just need to know how it’s going.” Bryn sat down on the sectional. “I want an update. After my update, I’ll tell you how it’s going with Kent.”
Abby’s eyes lit up. “You’ve heard something new?”
“Sit down.” Bryn patted the seat. “And talk. Tell me what you’ve done.”
“Well, I contacted him on Facebook like you asked. He agreed to be friended. Then I sent him a message—just talking about sports in general, you know, so he won’t be suspicious. This morning I saw that he responded. Just polite, but I can tell he’s curious about why I friended him.” Abby frowned. “I’m not sure where to go with it now.”
“Just get to the point,” Bryn urged. “But do it in such a way that he doesn’t know you’re doing it.”
“That’s easier said than done.”
“Oh, I don’t know . . .” Bryn gave her a mysterious smile.
“Why? What?”
“Kent is coming around, Abby. If he invites you to the dance, you will owe me big-time.”
“Really?” Abby grinned. “You think he likes me?”
Bryn nodded. “I think you have a real chance with him.”
“Cool.”
“But I want you to get through to Jason too. I will be so humiliated if I’m the only one who doesn’t go—”
“That’s ridiculous. Of all the girls, you have the best chance of being asked, Bryn.”
“By Jason?”
Abby looked concerned. “I . . . I don’t know.”
“See what I mean? What if I set my sights too high? What if he still likes Amanda? I’ve got to get this figured out. ASAP.”
“Want me to work on it now?” She pulled out her iPhone.
Bryn shrugged. “I don’t know. We don’t want to look too anxious. But do it sometime today. Don’t let him slip away, Abby.”
Abby nodded grimly. “I promise I’ll do all I can.” Suddenly her serious expression melted into an excited smile. “Now tell me more about your conversations with Kent. Please.”
Bryn entertained Abby for a while by talking about Kent, then said, “Maybe you should go check on Cassidy. Take the clothes up there. In the meantime, I’ll check on Tara’s laundry.”
“Tara’s laundry?”
Bryn rolled her eyes. “My part of the agreement. I get to do a ton of laundry while Tara works on Cass.”
“Why aren’t you working on her?”
“Cass started freaking on me, acting like she wasn’t going to cooperate. When I mentioned Tara was here and willing to help, Cassidy did an about-face. She trusts Tara. Anyway, as much as I don’t enjoy doing laundry, it seemed like a good deal.”
Abby patted her on the back. “You’re truly a good friend, Bryn. Washing your sister’s dirty clothes in order to get a friend a makeover. There’ll probably be a jewel in your crown in heaven for your self-sacrifice.”
Bryn laughed. “Yeah, right.” They parted ways at the laundry room, and Bryn started meticulously sorting through Tara’s damp laundry, deciding what should go in the dryer and what should be hung up to dry. She and Tara had been doing their own laundry for ages now—ever since Mom went back to work at their dad’s real estate agency. Bryn had learned the hard way, after shrinking some of her own favorite threads, not to just dump everything into the dryer. This was as critical as the presort and selecting the proper wash cycle.
Trying not to feel too left out—or like Cinderella—Bryn was determined to do a good job with Tara’s laundry. What were sisters for if not to help each other? She just hoped that whatever Tara was doing to Cassidy would help the cause of the DG. More than that, she hoped that the DG would come through for her by snagging her a date with Jason. It would be so cool to walk into the dance with Jason by her side. As she sorted the clothes, she imagined herself with him. They would make a striking couple. She knew they would turn heads as they walked in together—that is, if they did walk in together. This deal was so not sealed yet. The DG had better not let her down!
By the time she finished in the laundry room and went back to her room, Tara was already working on Cassidy’s makeup, and Abby was combing something into her hair. Progress was being made.
“Wow,” Bryn said as she went around to look at Cass face-to-face. “You already look lots better.”
“Really?” Cassidy looked dubious. “I’ll admit that my skin felt better after the mask came off. That is, until Tara started putting that goop on.”
“That goop is an amazing combination of moisturizer and foundation that looks natural and creamy.” Tara stepped back to admire her work. “It evens out your skin tone and covers imperfections.”
“Like zits?” Cassidy said hopefully.
“We call them blemishes,” Tara primly corrected her. “Fortunately, you don’t have many.”
“Hey, that’s really working.” Bryn nodded with approval. “That spot on her chin is almost invisible now.”
“Can I see?” Cassidy asked.
“Not yet.” Tara shook her head.
“Well, how will I know how to do this myself if I don’t watch what you’re doing to me?” Cassidy complained.
“Abby has been taking notes, and I’ll make a list of what you need to get,” Tara told her as she started working on Cassidy’s eyes.
Abby pointed to a tablet on the dresser. “It’s all right there.”
“I don’t want to look overly made-up,” Cassidy warned. “I want to look natural.”
“I know. I know.” Tara sounded aggravated. “You’ve only said that like a million times.”
“Your hair needs a trim,” Bryn told Cassidy. “Your ends are really split and broken. If you want I can do it. Or maybe Tara can. We’ve both trimmed each other’s hair enough times to know what we’re doing. Right, Tara?”
“Yeah, but you’re better with the scissors than I am,” Tara said as she took tweezers to Cassidy’s eyebrows. “In fact, maybe you can give me a trim too, before I go back to school.”
“Ouch!” Cass let out a screech and jumped up. “What are you doing?”
“Thinning this unibrow.”
“I do not have a unibrow.” Cassidy rubbed her forehead.
“Okay, that’s an exaggeration, but you do have really bushy brows, girlfriend. And they are frighteningly close to each other in the middle. Trust me, Cass, they need a serious plucking. Get back in the chair.”
“I don’t want to look like a freak.” Cassidy hesitantly sat back down. “I mean, I’ve seen girls who plucked so much of their brows that they looked like aliens.”
“Don’t worry,” Bryn assured her. “Tara is an expert at brows. She even does my mom’s for her.”
Cassidy let out a loud groan each time Tara pulled a single hair. “Why does it have to be so painful?”
“The price of beauty,” Tara said without sympathy.
Once Abby had Cassidy’s hair combed and smoothed, Bryn went for the scissors and plugged in the curling iron. Judging by those frazzled ends, it would be more than just a tiny trim like she’d promised, but Bryn was determined not to take off more than two or three inches. Just enough to put some bounce back into it. As she clipped, she and Abby both gave Cass a mini-lecture about proper conditioning habits for long hair.
“I just don’t see the point,” Cassidy argued. “I mostly keep it in a ponytail anyway.”
Tara rolled her eyes at Bryn. “That is exactly the point.”
“Huh?” Cassidy looked confused, and Bryn couldn’t help but laugh. How could a girl be so totally clueless?
“Maybe the ponytail is getting a little old,” Abby said. “I mean, it’s cool for sports and around the house and stuff, but every day?”
“Seriously,” Bryn said to Cass as she trimmed. “If a girl wants to have long hair, she should accept that there’s some maintenance involved.”
“That’s right,” Abby agreed. “You should see how much time it takes to get my hair smoothed out like this. It’s an investment.”
“An investment?” Cassidy frowned. “I thought it was just hair. What’s the big deal anyway?”
“Maybe you should just shave it off then.” Tara held the tweezers in front of Cassidy’s nose. “Or I could pluck it all out for you.”
They all laughed.
“Don’t you guys think it’s pretty weird how you focus so much on appearances?” Cass asked the others. “Haven’t you heard that beauty is only skin deep? What about your minds? What about your talents? How about focusing on those things for a change?”
“We do focus on those things,” Abby said defensively. “You know that, Cassidy. Don’t get on your soapbox with us. You know good and well that we all have interests besides our looks. But some people completely neglect their appearances, and then it’s time for an intervention.”
“Not that we’re naming names, Cassidy Banks.” Bryn chuckled as she combed out the ends of Cassidy’s hair to see if they were even.
It was early afternoon when they finished Cass’s makeover. Tara had worked magic on her face before she slipped off to catch a nap. Abby and Bryn had finished with her hair and then helped to outfit her in some of Abby’s clothes.
“Time for the big reveal,” Bryn said proudly as she led Cassidy to the full-length mirror on the inside of her closet door. Made over from head to toe, Cass looked like a new person. Her brown hair looked shiny and healthy and full of body. Her skin looked fresh and natural—but pretty. And her outfit really took her overall image up quite a few notches.
“Voilà!” Bryn said as she opened the door for Cass to see.
“No way . . .” Cassidy leaned forward to peer at herself. “Is that really me?”
“A new and improved you,” Abby told her.
“Wow.” Cassidy seemed surprisingly impressed.
“Wow is right.” Bryn tugged her down the hallway. “I told Tara we’d show her how you turned out. I’ll knock quietly in case she’s sleeping.”
After they shared their success with Tara, Bryn called Devon to see where they were supposed to meet to look for dresses. “We’ll be there around 2:00,” she told her. “Wait until you see Cassidy’s new look.”
“Great,” Devon said. “We’ve already scouted some really great-looking gowns. Oh yeah, and Emma has some good news for Cassidy.” Her voice was laced with promise.
“About Lane?”
“Yep.”
“Already?” Bryn felt slightly dismayed. “But he hasn’t even seen her since the makeover.”
“I guess he liked her just the way she was.”
Bryn groaned and lowered her voice. “Well, let’s not mention that to her, okay?”
“Sure . . . whatever. See you in a bit.”
Bryn tucked her phone into her bag and shook her head. Hopefully all their work on Cassidy wasn’t for nothing. Surely a guy wouldn’t be less interested in a girl just because she’d improved her appearance . . . would he?