Outcast Read Free

take more than makeup to find a boyfriend.”
    “Nonsense. What happened this time?” she asked.
    “It’s too involved to go into.” I shrugged her off, checking my appearance in the lighted mirror of the visor.
    “Then you’re lucky you called me. I have all the time in the world.”
     
    We tucked ourselves into a corner table at Steamers on the upper level of the Biltmore Center . Aunt P sipped a glass of Mondavi Merlot, watching me scarf down a plate of Cajun-rubbed shrimp with French fries.
    “Is it a boy? Tell me everything.”
    “I don’t want to talk about it.”
    I called Aunt P to help me get away from Trina & Company, not to get involved in a whole conversation about them.
    “Don’t give me that bullshit, Noelle.” She set her wineglass down and stared at me. “You’re talking to me, not your mother.”
    “Same thing as last year.” I laid my fork down. My appetite had suddenly diminished.
    “Same girls?”
    “Don’t forget the guy.”
    “From what I recall, he’s one of the girls, isn’t he?”
    I lifted my face into a fake smile. Jamie Gall had all female friends and plenty of feminine characteristics.
    “I thought things would be different this year. They’re not. I’ll learn to live with it.”
    “That’s a load of crap.” Aunt P polished off her wine. “You need to rise above. Haven’t I taught you anything?”
    “I guess not.” I wasn’t in the mood for a lecture.
    “Noelle, look at you. You’re nothing at all like you were last year … thank goodness.”
    It was an insult masked as a compliment.
    “Your mom finally collected some common sense and let you get contact lenses.” It was a true Shakespearean aside spoken into the bottom of her empty goblet.
    “I wish she’d let me go to a public school.”
    “I can understand where you’re coming from. My parents had a hard time keeping me in parochial school. But in my case, it was different. For you, going to public school would be shamefully running away from your problems. I’ll let you in on a little secret.”
    I felt intrigued, wondering if Aunt P was going to reveal a deep, hidden mystery about her past in Catholic school over a plate of shrimp.
    She leaned in. “Ready?”
    I moved closer to her. Perhaps her past would be the key to unlocking all of my problems.
    “Living well is the best revenge.” She leaned back in her chair, waiting for my reaction.
    I looked around. That was it? There had to be more. I waited for her to say something else, to bring a parade of experts into the restaurant with a platter full of problem-solving techniques. But she just sat there, gauging my reaction.
    “Pretty good, huh?”  
    “I don’t get it.”
    “Show them how magnificent your life is. They’ll be jealous, and you’ll have the satisfaction of revenge.” She moved her hand in a flourish.
    Right. That’ll show Trina. No boyfriend, no prospects, and a friend who is as much an outcast as I am. Great advice. I delved into the few remaining pieces of shrimp on my plate.
    “And the beauty of it is you don’t actually have to live better. They just have to think you’re living better.”
    “Ah, it all makes sense to me now.”
    “Cut the sarcasm, Noelle.”
    “I’m sorry, but it seems like one of those things that just look better on paper.” Or in her mind , I thought.
    “What the hell, Noelle. You knock everything down, just like your mother.” She was genuinely angry. “No wonder you have so many enemies at school.”
    When she read the expression on my face, her words lassoed her like a noose. “I didn’t mean that.”
    But I knew she did. Her eyes were on me.
    “What?” I spat.
    “It’s nothing,” she pretended then continued as though I pressured her. “It’s just that you could make them see you even more differently if you wore makeup.”
    “I am wearing makeup.”
    She inched closer, not believing me.
    “Besides, my mother won’t let me. Remember?”
    “Do you listen to everything