Zoe had never done something like this before. It was exciting, it was bold. Sure, she'd texted her mom to get permission, and she'd texted Athena to apologize, but jumping into Sarah's car still felt like jumping into some wild unknown.
"So I like the scarf thing," Sarah started as she pressed the ignition button, "but we can take this much further. Do you know what scares your brother the most in all the world?"
"Bees," Zoe intoned solemnly.
Sarah cocked her eye at Zoe as she pulled out of the parking space. "No. Attractive women. Jon is deathly afraid of any girl who knows how to put herself together. That's why he always hangs out with that dumpy Karyn girl."
"Hey," Zoe felt slightly offended on Karyn's behalf, "Karyn is actually pretty cool."
Sarah rolled her eyes. "Agree to disagree. But that's not the point. The point is-- look at how she dresses! That sweat shirt she was wearing today looked like it came out of her brother's closet. Jon is friends with her because she doesn't challenge him. He's not friends with me because I challenge everyone."
"So I have to challenge him?" The car pulled up to a red light.
Sarah smiled, slipping a solid-black credit card out of her purse and displaying it between two fingers. "You have to update your closet."
Zoe was shocked. "I can't let you just buy me a whole new wardrobe, that's going to be hundreds of dollars!"
"You don't understand," Sarah replied as the light turned green, "this card has no spending limits. The money is nothing. You're the one who is giving a gift to me here. But I have one rule."
"Yeah?"
"I'm going to be pulling you out of your comfort zone. Like, far out of your comfort zone. I'll pay for everything, but you have to trust me completely. You do not get a say in what we're buying today. Not if you want to really get under Jon's skin."
In that moment, Zoe realized how deep she was about to go. She was standing on a precipice, about to put her whole life into Sarah's hands, all in order to turn the tables on her brother. Was it worth it?
Zoe nodded, and the two continued on their way to the mall.
