Undone(33)

I was sure that Amber wouldn’t be a problem – as long as Sasha was cool with me, she would be too. Same deal for Bugs, probably. Nina should be OK, being such a newbie herself. King Lucas would be tricky though. And there was no point even thinking about Stu right now. That particularly nasty troll-infested bridge would be crossed when I came to it. I was in this for the long haul. As long as it takes.

People saw me differently now because of the hair and make-up. That was the first step. The new look needed time to bed in – enough time for people to start forgetting the old me. Since most of them had never even noticed the old me I didn’t think it would take long. It really was that simple – a new look and people thought you were a different person. They thought you were one of them. People really are that shallow. It made me sick.

Next stop was the clothes. It shouldn’t have surprised me that Kai mentioned that particular subject in his next letter. Somehow he was managing to facilitate a plan he’d had no idea about – a plan to do the very thing he’d expressly begged me not to do. It’s funny (not really) how things work out.

I opened the letter on 23 February. Needless to say, Valentine’s had come and gone with zero admirers, secret or otherwise. I had watched Halloween though. And it had made me feel a little better, especially when I thought about Kai pretending to hide behind a cushion every time Michael Myers popped out from behind a hedge.

Jem,

Ah, February! Like January, but mercifully shorter. You’re getting there though, inching your way towards spring. Everything seems better in springtime, don’t you think? The air is full of promise and the lambs are frolicking in the fields and what not. Everybody likes a bit of frolicking now and again.



I can’t help thinking about Mum’s birthday. I hope So I let you off last month, because that’s the kind of guy I am. But you didn’t honestly think I was going to go easy on you this month too, did you? (Cue evil laugh.) This month is all about SHOPPING! Your very favourite thing, right?! SHOPPING! Are the capital letters sufficient to ignite a tiny spark of excitement somewhere deep within you? No? Ah well, you can’t blame a chap for trying.

It’s simple. All you have to do is go into town on Saturday and go into That Shop. You know the one, so don’t even pretend you don’t. Remember that time you said you’d rather stick toothpicks in your eyeballs than go inside? Well, I’m here to tell you that I’ve been in there and it’s really not as bad as you think. Lol loves it, and so does pretty much every girl in the known universe. But you have to be different, don’t you? And that’s why I love you so much. This is just a bit of fun, OK? No need to freak out about me trying to change you or whatever it is you’re thinking right now. I’m merely attempting to open your mind. Not that I think you’re narrow-minded... but you can be just a teensy bit judgemental sometimes. And I like judgemental. Judgemental can be fun. But so is trying new things once in a while. Trust me.

Your mission is to go into That Shop and buy something. Don’t think you can get away with a bracelet or some underwear or something, because that doesn’t count. You have to buy something you would absolutely not wear in the course of your everyday life. It has to be colourful (and no, grey is not going to cut it this time). Ideally it would be a dress but that’s probably pushing my luck somewhat, so I’m thinking a top maybe. No sleeves. And if it could show a hint of cleavage, all the better. Nothing too expensive though - I don’t want to bankrupt you.

There. Simple. Buy one top/dress. You don’t have to wear it though... not yet anyway. Baby steps, yes?

Don’t hate me. I’m doing this for your own good. And maybe a little bit for my own amusement. It almost makes me wish It’s nice picturing you doing all these things. I like thinking about all the wonderful things future Jem has in store for her.

I love you, pickle. Never, ever forget that.

Kai

xxx



Kai’s missions (demands) were getting a little bit old. I was tired of playing puppet to his puppet-master. I promised myself I wouldn’t do anything else unless I wanted to – unless it fitted in with the Plan. It just so happened that most of what he’d asked me to do so far had worked out that way. But it wasn’t cute or funny any more. It was a major pain in the arse.

To fortify myself on Saturday I started off in a shop I didn’t completely despise. I bought a few T-shirts, one skirt and a pair of jeans (nothing black or grey). I wouldn’t go so far as to say it was fun, but it certainly wasn’t as bad as I’d been expecting. The things I bought were still me – as in, they weren’t bright or garish or particularly revealing – they were just things I wouldn’t necessarily have thought to wear before. I had a brief look at the shoes, but that was one step too far. It would take more than a crazy revenge plan to make me forgo my trusty old biker boots (Converse in summer, obviously).

While I was on a roll I rushed next door into The Shop That Shall Not Be Named, grabbed a top in my size off the rail closest the door and headed straight to the counter. I was in and out in five minutes. It would have been four if the hungover-looking girl with the talon-like nails hadn’t taken her sweet time folding the top oh-so-carefully, like it was made of the finest silk instead of fifty per cent acrylic.

The stupid thing went straight to the back of my wardrobe as soon as I got home.