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Good luck with the family. Here’s a free tip: Matt is a geek.
Tell my girl that I’ll send pictures very soon. I’m not the tech nerd that my brother is, but I’ll do my best.
-Fi
For some reason, Julie found it reassuring that Fi
Fi
KNEW you’d like the new décor! Will search faithfully for coveted kitten poster.
Thanks for the help with the monsters. Worked like a charm. No other tips needed just yet. Your family is very nice. Took Flat Fi
Yes, Matt is a bit geeky. He’s rather proud of that, huh? I should get another free tip since that one was a no-brainer. And will there be a fee for others? I’m on a student budget. I could probably do with a Celeste tip. I’m rather unclear on the Flat Fi
And I can’t resist asking: What’s up with your “Fi
-Julie
Fi
Julie-
No worries. House tips will come free of charge.
“Fi
-Fi
Fi
I’ll take a “Fi
-Julie
Chapter 9
Matthew Watkins “ Sometimes it is useful to know how large your zero is.” –Author Unknown.
Fi
Julie Seagle thinks that Twitter is like Facebook’s slutty cousin. It does everything dumb and whore-ish you’re too responsible to do
“What’s in this one?” Celeste asked.
“I have no idea. Open it up.” Julie handed Celeste the scissors and let her cut the tape off the cardboard box. Her room had quickly turned into a disaster area now that the rest of her things had arrived. She had her puffy comforter on the bed and one box of clothes put away.
Celeste opened the box flaps and peered in. “It appears that a beauty parlor has exploded in this box.”
“Ooooh, nice!” Julie clapped her hands and turned up the music. “Now, if we can just find the box with the shirt I want to wear tonight, I’ll be set.”
Dana had texted her earlier and demanded that Julie meet her at a dorm party that night. Jamie had promised he would come, too, and Dana was evidently unable to pick out an appropriate outfit without Julie’s divine fashion sense.
“Celeste, will you pull out the black bag in there for me? Pick out a nail polish color.” Julie walked across the bed and hopped to the floor, narrowly missing crashing into Flat Fi
“You have too many colors in here to choose from,” Celeste said, as she pulled out nail polish bottles and set them in a row on the rug.
Julie held up a pale blue silky top. “I’m wearing this tonight, so pick something that will look nice with it.” She wondered briefly if it would be rude not to invite Matt to come with her, but the thought of showing up at her first—or any— Whitney party with him was not at the top of her list.
Celeste stared at the row of little bottles. “I’m not equipped to make this decision, Julie. I don’t want to choose the wrong one. Let me ask Flat Fi
“No, I want you to pick it out. There is no wrong one, silly.” Julie took the deep purple and the bright red and held them up. “Seductive, vampire bad girl versus traditional, hot, all-around sexy gal. There are no losers in this color game. Unless you just buy some stupid color like metallic green. Never do that. So, let the nail polish speak to you. You try one.”
Celeste nodded seriously and then examined a light pink bottle. “Whimsical, gentle, and tasteful. A classic?”
“Brilliant! Now give me your toes.” Julie sat down in front of Celeste and began applying the polish.
Celeste sat quietly, occasionally peeking at Flat Fi
Julie turned around and glared at Flat Fi
Celeste giggled. “Oh, he didn’t like that name one bit.”
“Tough. OK, give me your fingers now. Different color or the same?”
“I have no idea.”
“Here, this one will be nice for you. It looks sort of orange in the bottle, but it’s a nice muted red when it’s on.”
Celeste gave Julie her hand. “I trust you. Although Flat Fi
Julie grabbed a shirt from the nearest box and flung it at the figure, landing the shirt perfectly on the cardboard head. “There. Now grumpy boy doesn’t have to watch. This is girl stuff anyway.” Julie opened the bottle and started on Celeste’s fingers before she could protest. “So, it’s Saturday night. What are you doing?”
“Flat Fi
“Sounds like an outrageous evening. Hey, whose piano is that off the front hall? I haven’t heard anyone playing.” Julie looked at Celeste. “I mean, besides Flat Fi
“Oh. The piano. I used to play. Not anymore.”
“Got bored?”
“Not bored so much as disenchanted. What is your party going to be like?”
Julie shrugged. “Drunk boys, crying girls, loud music.” She smiled. “But it’ll be fun anyway.”
Celeste’s eyes widened. “What are you plans for the drunk boys?”
“I’m going to sit them down and give them a long lecture on the unappealing nature of overindulging in beer and Jell-O shots. Then, I’ll ground them and send them to bed. Alone.”
“That is not what I meant. How will you protect yourself?”
“I don’t need a plan. They’ll be harmless and mildly cute in a pathetically boozy way.”
“What if one of them wants to be your boyfriend? What will you do then?”
“I wouldn’t worry about it. I’m not looking for a boyfriend, anyway.” Julie blew across Celeste’s nails. “Don’t touch anything for at least fifteen minutes.”
“Why don’t you want a boyfriend?”
“I don’t know. Maybe I do. I’d just have to meet the right guy. Someone who isn’t ordinary. Someone who gets me. Someone I fit perfectly with. I want heat, chemistry, an undeniable co
“You believe in true love,” Celeste stated.
“Maybe. I don’t know yet.”
“So you think that you’re going to find true love at this party tonight?”
“Doubtful.”
“Why are you going then?”
“For fun. To meet people and make friends. To be eighteen and silly. To escape the existential dreariness of the real world,” Julie added dramatically. She set her makeup in front of the floor-length mirror, knotted her hair on top of her head, and started putting on mascara. “Mostly to go flirt. I have to keep my skills honed because I might need them one day.”