Read Online Second Skin by Jessica Wollman - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Jessica Wollman
Tags: Fiction
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was there, in the back. I pulled it down and stepped inside: first one leg, then the other, and finally my arms. I thought I'd have to tug a little-like an actual pair of nylons-but I didn't have to do any work at all. In a matter of seconds, the Skin spilled over me with a gentle swoosh, covering my body from neck to toe.
I was inside popularity. And it felt...great.
I edged the zipper up to my neck and looked down. I could still feel the Skin but I couldn't see it anymore. Anywhere. Including my feet (this struck me as particularly odd since, off the body, the Skin's feet weren't divided into toe compartments...but now my toes were totally free and completely wiggleable). As soon as I'd put it on, it had disappeared, melting over me, sleek and luxurious, like a really expensive body lotion.
And there was something else too. Maybe it was because the Skin felt so good. Or it could've been the magic working. Or maybe it had nothing to do with the Skin and was all in my head.
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To this day, I still don't know, and at that particular moment I really didn't care. At all. Because the thing is, I felt amazing. Inside and out. Wearing the Skin, I was sure I stood taller. And my skin looked just a little creamier-smoother and slightly tanned.
I was definitely more leggy blond than Whopper woman.
Kylie's going to kill me, I thought, suddenly and with absolute certitude. No way was she going to let something like this slip out of her grasp without a fight. Nobody would.
I was safe for now, but I was definitely in for some ugliness-sooner rather than later.
Relax, said a voice inside my head-obviously not the same one that had just called me a thief. Enjoy the moment.
Great advice, I decided. Pulling on my pajamas, I strutted around the bedroom like a Victoria's Secret model decked out in this season's newest nightie (if this season's nightie happened to be a flannel gown from L.L. Bean...but whatever). I was bold. I was confident. I was completely un-me.
I glanced at my window and froze mid-sashay. The blinds were down but even so, I could easily guess what was going on next door. It wasn't hard to picture Kylie Frank, fresh from the shower, her towel-clad form bending over the
94
empty bottom drawer. She'd check once, twice-maybe even a third and fourth time before diving into a panicked, desperate search for the Skin that would start in her bedroom and spread to other parts of the house. I was pretty sure she'd be up all night.
A twinge of anxiety worked its way down my spine.
So much for relaxing, I thought.
I couldn't help it. I was scared.
Plus, I felt guilty. I hated what I'd done, that my actions had cost someone else. It was collateral damage, sure, but it was awful. And it was all my fault.
On the other hand, my life was on the verge of a major rewrite. I was sure of it.
Popularity loved me. I couldn't just turn it away.
The phone rang in the hallway and my new, semiflattened stomach dropped somewhere below my knees.
Had Kylie Frank figured it out already? I was so dead.
"Sam, Alex!" my mother called from downstairs.
Relieved, I opened my door and cat-walked into the hall. "Hey," I said, scooping up the phone. There was the trace of a giggle in my voice.
"What's so funny?" Alex asked, amused.
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"Nothing," I said. I carried the receiver back to my room and got into bed. The butterflies in my stomach swooped into my throat, making my voice jumpy and excited. "What's up?"
"Your cell was off, but I just thought I'd check in. You know, in case you had any questions."
"Tons," I said, smiling into the phone. "For starters, why do people always grab a million more napkins than they'll ever use from those dispensers in the cafeteria?"
Alex laughed. "I meant about geometry. The napkin thing is way out of my league."
"Don't sell yourself short," I told him. I yawned. "Listen, if you're really nice to me tomorrow, I'll let you check my work. Deal?"
"Wow, you're the best," Alex said gravely.
"I know.
I was inside popularity. And it felt...great.
I edged the zipper up to my neck and looked down. I could still feel the Skin but I couldn't see it anymore. Anywhere. Including my feet (this struck me as particularly odd since, off the body, the Skin's feet weren't divided into toe compartments...but now my toes were totally free and completely wiggleable). As soon as I'd put it on, it had disappeared, melting over me, sleek and luxurious, like a really expensive body lotion.
And there was something else too. Maybe it was because the Skin felt so good. Or it could've been the magic working. Or maybe it had nothing to do with the Skin and was all in my head.
93
To this day, I still don't know, and at that particular moment I really didn't care. At all. Because the thing is, I felt amazing. Inside and out. Wearing the Skin, I was sure I stood taller. And my skin looked just a little creamier-smoother and slightly tanned.
I was definitely more leggy blond than Whopper woman.
Kylie's going to kill me, I thought, suddenly and with absolute certitude. No way was she going to let something like this slip out of her grasp without a fight. Nobody would.
I was safe for now, but I was definitely in for some ugliness-sooner rather than later.
Relax, said a voice inside my head-obviously not the same one that had just called me a thief. Enjoy the moment.
Great advice, I decided. Pulling on my pajamas, I strutted around the bedroom like a Victoria's Secret model decked out in this season's newest nightie (if this season's nightie happened to be a flannel gown from L.L. Bean...but whatever). I was bold. I was confident. I was completely un-me.
I glanced at my window and froze mid-sashay. The blinds were down but even so, I could easily guess what was going on next door. It wasn't hard to picture Kylie Frank, fresh from the shower, her towel-clad form bending over the
94
empty bottom drawer. She'd check once, twice-maybe even a third and fourth time before diving into a panicked, desperate search for the Skin that would start in her bedroom and spread to other parts of the house. I was pretty sure she'd be up all night.
A twinge of anxiety worked its way down my spine.
So much for relaxing, I thought.
I couldn't help it. I was scared.
Plus, I felt guilty. I hated what I'd done, that my actions had cost someone else. It was collateral damage, sure, but it was awful. And it was all my fault.
On the other hand, my life was on the verge of a major rewrite. I was sure of it.
Popularity loved me. I couldn't just turn it away.
The phone rang in the hallway and my new, semiflattened stomach dropped somewhere below my knees.
Had Kylie Frank figured it out already? I was so dead.
"Sam, Alex!" my mother called from downstairs.
Relieved, I opened my door and cat-walked into the hall. "Hey," I said, scooping up the phone. There was the trace of a giggle in my voice.
"What's so funny?" Alex asked, amused.
95
"Nothing," I said. I carried the receiver back to my room and got into bed. The butterflies in my stomach swooped into my throat, making my voice jumpy and excited. "What's up?"
"Your cell was off, but I just thought I'd check in. You know, in case you had any questions."
"Tons," I said, smiling into the phone. "For starters, why do people always grab a million more napkins than they'll ever use from those dispensers in the cafeteria?"
Alex laughed. "I meant about geometry. The napkin thing is way out of my league."
"Don't sell yourself short," I told him. I yawned. "Listen, if you're really nice to me tomorrow, I'll let you check my work. Deal?"
"Wow, you're the best," Alex said gravely.
"I know.
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