Sarah had been waiting around the corner, and pulled up just a few moments later. That was a surprise to Zoe, but not nearly as much of a surprise as it was to see Sarah’s outfit: pink headband, pink bodycon dress, white blazer, and white sandals.
Their outfits were identical, just with inverted colors.
“You wore what I picked out for you!” Sarah squealed. “I love it! You look amazing! Get in!”
Zoe followed the instruction, but marveled at the figure before her. Sarah was like some ethereal being, like a force of nature.
“You really are invested in me, aren’t you?” Zoe asked.
“I guess you could say that,” Sarah gave her new friend a wink. “But like I said, this is really a gift from you to me. I appreciate you helping me, so I’m showing my appreciation.”
“Helping you,” Zoe mused, unsure of what that really meant. “Do you have something against my brother?”
For the first time since the two girls had met at lunch the day before, Zoe saw Sarah’s expression fall for just a moment. The ever-present smile faltered, the gleam in her eyes dulled, rounded cheeks hollowed just a bit.
But it was just for a moment, and then Sarah was back.
“Jon and I used to be friends when we were little," Sarah chirped. "Like, not best friends or anything, but we got along. And, well, it turns out your brother's pretty sexist." She said all of this while maintaining her smile, almost in the tone of a game show host or a news reporter. "The moment I started doing anything feminine for myself, he just stopped talking to me. And it wasn't like he was embarrassed, he just got mean. Like, this is me. This is who I want to be, and how I want to be seen, and that should be enough explanation for a friend. But Jon, well, ever since then he's treated me like something less than human."
Zoe took in those words, but didn't know how to respond.
Then they reached a stoplight, and Sarah turned to look Zoe directly in the eyes. "I'll bet he started being a bad big brother when you started developing your own sense of fashion."
Zoe's eyes went wide.
"I knew it," Sarah turned back to the road. "Listen, I'm not even angry with your brother. I got over that a long time ago. I just want to see if I can get him to understand that it's not a bad thing to be a little girly. As, like, a service to every other woman he's ever going to meet. And if I get to make a new friend and shower her with cute outfits along the way, even better!"
"Okay," Zoe replied. "Okay!" this time with more enthusiasm. "We're doing this together, for the benefit of every woman Jon is ever going to meet."
"Exactly."
Sarah's car pulled into the school parking lot and the two matching teenagers exited in unison. "Come with me," Sarah said, "I want to introduce you to some people."
"Actually, can you do that later? I know I texted her, but I feel bad for abandoning Athena yesterday."
"Oh!" the thought hadn't even occurred to Sarah, "No, that makes sense. Go be with your friend and we'll catch up later."
And with a smile and a finger-wave, the two went their separate ways.
