"Mommy. Can I go to Katie's for a sleepover? Please!" I asked in my cutest voice, hoping Zoe would get the real meaning. No way I wanted to do that, but I felt trapped into my position.
"Please Ms Donaldson" Katie asked, causing both Sarah and Tiffany to smirk slightly. Zoe remained even faced for a few seconds before she turned to me and gave a slight grin. Instantly, I knew i was done for; Zoe only grinned like that when she was up to no good, and I doubted her mom makeover had changed it. She knew exactly what I was asking, and either felt it funny or appropriate to send me to some girlish doom anyway.
"I think Anna going to a sleepover is a wonderful idea..." Zoe said,
"Thanks Ms Donaldson" Katie said, excitedly grabbing my hand.
"..But not tonight"
"Why?" both Katie and I asked. My 'friend' sounded disappointed. So was I, least externally.
Zoe turned to Katie's mom. "Tomorrow is Friday. Can the girls do it then? After dance class?"
"Sounds good. Sorry Catherine, but you'd have to wait until tomorrow" she said to her pouting daughter.. I then realized she never intended for us to have a sleepover then; she was gambling that Zoe would say another day. Katie, didn't realize, her thinking reduced from the magic that was screwing me. She continued to pout, even after her mom told her to say goodbye and left. I was horrified. Would I end up like that?
"Least your sister isn't a brat" Tiffany said as Sarah passed me a strawberry icecream.
"She has her moments. Isn't that right, Princess" Sarah laughed as she roughed my hair again.
"Hey!" I protested as Tiffany said her own goodbyes, leaving me alone with Zoe and Sarah. A Sarah that legitimacy thought she was my sister, and Zoe's daughter. She was talking as we headed back to the car.
"Thanks for picking me up, mom. Tiffany needed to talk. She thought she was.. like us" Sarah said slightly uncomfortably.
"I see" mom said, instantly getting it. So did I. In this reality, I wasn't the teen pregnancy. Sarah was, and she was also the one that kept Zoe 'old'. While I didn't really care for the cheerleader, i started to worry for her. Zoe was willing to let me become a kid again in her misguided attempt at youth. Would she do the same to Sarah? "Is she okay?"
"Tiffany is fine" Sarah said.
"Good" Zoe said, but her eyes were on me. She didn't say anything else, least until we got home. "I'm getting Anna ready for bed."
"Hey! I'm six. I can..." I protested on instinct, then realized it was a cover for Zoe to talk privately. Sarah's presence complicated things enormously. She lead me to the bath, and closed the door.
"Did you have to find a more embarrassing way to talk, mom?" I said crossly. I wasn't happy about being treated like a little kid, was very unhappy that i was going to have to see myself naked, and even more unhappy that Zoe was going to be around.
"Maybe. Be thankful you're not having your very first sleepover. Play with dolls. Dress up. Watch some princess movies. Doesn't that sound great?"
I flipped mom the bird, to compensate my inability to swear, though I was nervous about my newly formed girlish impulses. I was afraid I would do all that, and worse. "Just get me out of this stupid dress" I demanded, as i pulled off my gloves.
"Just teasing you" Zoe said.
"Yeah, right. Knock it off, mom. We have bigger problems than that. What are we going to do about Sarah?"
"I'm still thinking" Zoe said as she released me from my pink, lace and cotton prison.
