Read Online The Color of Silence by Liane Shaw - Free Book Online Page B

black shoes. I can almost see myself in them.
    Cali pokes me in the side and puts her index finger over her mouth. Telling me to be quiet. I shake my head at her and try to pretend to be working until the bell rings.
    â€œOK, we made it! We’re done, and now we have to get moving. You go home and get your stuff and come over to my place. We can get ready there, and Mom said you can stay for supper and then she’ll drive us to the party. I told her your dad was picking us up. Did you ask him about the time?”
    â€œYeah, but he won’t budge. He’s obsessed with curfews. He’s got this idea that whatever bad things happen to kids our age, they only happen after a certain time. Sorry. I tried.”
    â€œThat’s OK. My mom’s just as bad on that one, so there’s not much we can do. Anyway, we can’t go too early or we’ll look like rejects, but we can’t go too late or we won’t get any party time because we have to leave so early. So, what time do we go?”
    I don’t think she’s actually asking me for advice, because she’s the one who does all of our social planning. I don’t answer, and she doesn’t notice. She just answers herself.
    â€œThe sort of official start time is like, seven, I think, so we can’t go at any time with a seven in it, like seven fifteen or seven thirty, so I guess we wait until eight something. Not exactly eight o’clock, because that would look anal, but maybe like eight ten or eleven or something. Yeah, that will work. We’ll leave here at around ten to, because Cory’s house is out in the country a bit.”
    She’s talked her way to my house. She stops and looks at me.
    â€œThanks for coming along, Lexi. I know it isn’t really your thing. But you’ll have fun. I know it. I’ll see you in half an hour. ’K?”
    â€œSure.”
    She runs off down the street, probably still making plans out loud to any passing bird or bug who might be interested.
    I head inside and grab my stuff, which consists of nothing much, and head back over to Cali’s house. She already found a sweater of hers that would fit me and doesn’t look too bad with my good jeans. She also threatened to loan me some of her makeup so that I would look more “sophisticated” than usual. Her word, not mine. That left me with nothing to bring but my hair brush and my cell phone so I end up back at her place before the half hour is up.
    â€œThat was quick! If that’s all you have, you can just put them in my purse.”
    She holds up a purse big enough to carry a small child.
    â€œIf I get tired, you can just carry me in there too.”
    â€œHa ha. Stop with the bad jokes and get changed. We can do our makeup after supper so it’s fresh.”
    â€œYou mean, you can do our makeup.”
    â€œRight. I can’t believe there’s a sixteen-year-old girl in this world who doesn’t wear makeup every day.”
    â€œMy dad doesn’t like it.”
    â€œWell, we’ll wash it off before he comes to pick us up.”
    My dad always tells me my face is perfect the way it is.
He says my mother “never wore anything but her own beauty.”
    I don’t think I actually remember what my mother looked like. I think my memories of her are made out of the photographs I’ve seen and the words my father uses to describe her. I guess that means that my memories of her aren’t my own at all.
    In pictures, she is as beautiful as my father says. Her face is perfect, and nothing could possibly make it better. I don’t look like my mother at all. But I still don’t bother fighting my dad on the makeup thing. I kind of like that he thinks I’m like my mother, even if it isn’t true.
    I think about telling Cali all of this, but I don’t think it would make any difference to her plans for me, so I keep my mouth shut and follow her down to the kitchen where