Lynnia (19 page)

“
Perfectly Imperfect
by Harper Sloan? You got me a book. Thank you. I’m going to be honest. I’m not the reader of the family. That’s Wynter, Zoie sometimes and Nyema, for sure. Momma even reads more than I do. I haven’t done much reading since college.”

Sue tapped the book she had next to her and looked up at Lynnia. The colors of the book matched her friend’s dress. It was a perfect complement. When her friend looked at her again, Lynnia could see her trying her best to keep her composure.

“I think we should both read this. I didn’t know why I felt the urge to buy it when I was in the store. Looking at it now and seeing what just happened, I’m glad I did. I’m not a big reader either, but … read the back cover.”

Mirror, mirror ... who's the fairest of them all?

I still cringe when I hear that line. A fairy tale that had girls pretending they were the fairest, the most beautiful, and the most entitled. A fairy tale most couldn't grow out of turned my haunted childhood memories into a living nightmare. Girls who grew up believing that pile of garbage became the meanest of all 'mean girls.'

And those mean girls were right - it was a line meant for all the beautiful people in the world - and I knew the answer would never be me.

There was more to the cover, but she was barely able to focus having read the first portion of the cover. She knew her friend was right. They both needed this book in their lives. They’d both dealt with their own versions of “mean girls” during their high school years. They both came out on the other side of those years stronger teens and better women, in spite of it.

“You’re right. I probably need to read this book. Thank you for thinking of me. I’m so hungry I could eat my own arm. Let’s get to ordering, shall we?”

They spent the next hour or so laughing, talking, and making plans for the evening. No matter what she did, she couldn’t keep her mind from wandering back to the man that she left in Tempa. Her perfectly timed plan to get away and keep herself busy didn’t seem to be working out as well as she thought it would. All thoughts led back to him. What was it going to take for her to get over him? What was it going to take in order for her to get over it all?

Chapter 10