We Wear The Mask (PASH)-Chap. 11
by Chrissyn
 

We Wear The Mask--part 11
 
 
 

It was morning, and Simone was in her bedroom, in front of the vanity, adding the finishing touches to her makeup, readying herself for school.
There was a tap on the door. "Come in," Simone called.
The door knob twisted; Simone turned and saw Whitney standing in the doorway, looking unsure and holding a bag. "Hi," Whitney said.
"Hi, Whitney," Simone greeted and returned her gaze to the looking glass.
"Can I come in?" Whitney inquired.
Simone shrugged. "Sure."
Whitney entered the room. She stood at Simone's side. "There's something different about you. I can't put my finger on it."
Nothing irritated Simone more than a person trying to make peace by acting like nothing ever happened. "Lipstick," she said, holding up a tube of Fashion Fair. "A few weeks ago, I bought a new shade. I thought I'd try it this morning."
"Well, it looks great," Whitney complimented.
"Thanks."
"And it goes well with your sweater." There was an awkward pause. "I have a little gift for you," Whitney said.
Simone frowned. "A gift?"
Whitney extended the bag from Barnes and Nobles.
"Books," Simone chimed. She removed the bag from Whitney's outstretched hands, opened the package, and extracted two paperbacks by Eric Jerome Dickey. "He's my favorite pop fiction writer."
"I know," Whitney said. "I didn't see those titles on your book shelf." She nodded in the direction of Simone's two tier bookcase. "So I thought I'd pick them up for you."
Tears filled Simone's eyes. She made a little gasp, and sighed. Embarrassed for getting weepy in front of Whitney, she averted her face.
Whitney laughed sheepishly. "Simone, what's wrong? I bought you a couple of books. No reason to cry."
Simone huffed. And held her breath for a moment. She exhaled. "I'm trying to keep the tears from falling." Her tone was tremulous. "I don't want to streak my makeup." But the will to cry won the battle. Tears slid down Simone's cheeks.
"Oh, Simone," Whitney ahed, her heart going out to her sister. She snatched a few tissues from the box on the vanity, and handed them to Simone.
Wiping her cheeks and eyes, Simone sniffed. "I know why you gave me these books...It's sort of a peace offering about Chad." She laughed sheepishly.
"I don't want Chad to become between us," Whitney said. She shrugged. "I don't know what's going to happen between Chad and me...If one day, he'll be my boyfriend...We're at that getting to know you stage, and who knows, maybe we won't get to know each other...But you and I have been close."
Simone chuckled. "We've had our disagreements."
"Sure we have. What sisters haven't? But for the most part, we've always gotten along fairly well."
"I know," Simone said. "When you came in here, I fought the urge not to bite your head off, and then you gave me those--" She nodded to the books which she had placed on the vanity--" showing you want us to get along. It just tore me up."
"Well, I didn't mean to upset you. But I do want us to get along, Simone," Whitney said.
Simone nodded. "It isn't easy, Whitney. I like Chad a lot. I've had fantasies about him being my boyfriend...But he doesn't like me."
"That isn't true. Chad does like you."
"Not how I want him too. He only has eyes for you. And I have to accept that. And it's not going to be easy being polite and civil to a girl who won the boy I admire." She took a deep breath. "If you weren't my sister, I wonder if I'd just give in to the anger and petty desire to make catty and snide remarks." She paused. And shook her head. "I don't want to be that kind of girl. And I definitely don't want to act that way towards you."
Whitney's eyes filled with tears. She sniffed and chuckled stupidly. Pointing to Simone, she laughed, "Now, my makeup's getting messed up." She took a deep breath and wiped her eyes. "Simone, I'm glad you're trying to be understanding about Chad. I love you."
"I love you too, Whitney."
Whitney opened her arms, and Simone stood and entered her embrace.
_______________________________________________________

Later that night, Chad was in the garage apartment, sitting on the sofa, by lamp light, reading the book Whitney had purchased for him yesterday. He laughed and said to the book. "You tell her, my brotha. Don't let nobody walk over you."
Suddenly, he encountered a word he couldn't define. Frowning, he grabbed the paperback dictionary and muttered, "Xcerbate."
He leafed through the pages and found the definition, and reread the sentence.
There was a knock on the door. He put the book face down on the coffee table and went to the door, and smiled at the sight of Whitney.
"Hi," she said.
"Hey, come in." He stepped aside so she could enter.
"I hope I'm not interrupting anything."
"Nah, I was just reading," he said.
"The book I bought you?" she asked.
"Yeah, it's pretty inter-restin'. Even learned a few new words." Going to the sofa, he said, "One of them is Xcerbate. I'm not sure if that's the right way to pronounce it." He sat on the couch.
She smiled sheepishly. "Well, it's pronounced exacerbate. It means to make a bad situation worse."
"Yeah, I looked it up." His expression indicated he was a bit distressed.
"Chad, I hope I didn't offend you or hurt your pride for correcting you," she retorted. "If so, I'm--"
Frowning, he shooed off her oncoming apology. "Don't even trip about it...It's just that I don't know a lot, and I want to learn." He rubbed his forehead. "But man. I don't know. There's so much to learn."
"No one knows everything. But reading is about learning." She changed the subject. "Thursday is Thanksgiving."
Chad nodded.
"Well, I was wondering if you'd like to have dinner with me and my family?"
"Whitney, it's real nice of you to invite me and all, but I don't know."
"What do you mean, you don't know," she joked. "Do you have other plans?"
"Not really. I was going to hit the buffet at the hotel. All you can eat for twelve ninety five."
"Chad, save your money, and eat with us. Our food will be much better. Fresh vegetables instead of canned. Homemade pies instead of store boought. C'mon."
He was flattered that she was pushing for him to spend the holiday with her. "What about your moms? he asked. "And Simone...Wouldn't my presence create a problem?"
"Simone, and I talked, and she's going to accept things. And I told my mother whether she likes it or not, you and I are going to see each other."
"I'll bet that went over really well."
"She didn't like it. But there's nothing she can do about it, and daddy's in your corner. You know how much he likes you."
Chad smiled warmly. "Coach Russell is cool. And it would be nice to spend turkey day in a family setting, something I've never done before."
"Then accept my cordial invitation," Whitney said.
He shrugged. Okay, you're on."