Reality Lies by D.F. Downey (books recommended by bts txt) 📖

She smiled both hands clutching her textbook at an angle under her chest. She turned and walked down the hall.

 

‘Amy Gangemi. Well, if I don’t find the other Amy… well, maybe even if I do.’

 

He checked back with Ms. O’Riordan and she gave him the remaining two names. They were both upperclassmen. He felt awkward even approaching them. He was sure Amy was younger.

 

Instead, he hunted up a yearbook in the library. It didn’t take him long to find the other Amy’s. There was no need to check further. They weren’t her. Either Amy lied to him and she didn’t go to school here or Amy Murphy was a flower that had just opened.

 

Jay reflected on his disappointment, ‘You know what, to hell with her. She’s the one who ran away anyway.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 18

 

“I can’t go to school like this ma.”

 

“What do you mean? There’s nothing wrong with you. I never heard of a girl staying home from school because she got pretty.”

 

“You don’t understand! If I go to school, I might become ugly again.”

 

“You weren’t ugly. You were going through an awkward stage.”

 

“Mom!” she said in exasperation. But she could tell by the look in her eyes that she meant what she said. Her daughter had become beautiful as she should be, as she always was.

 

“Amy!” her sister whispered from the bedroom. Her face said she’d take care of it.

 

“Oh, okay mom, I’ve just got to get ready.”

 

“You’ve missed the bus.”

 

“I’ll take her mom.” Patti called out.

“Isn’t that out of your way?”

 

“No, I have to go that way today anyway.”

 

“Why?”

 

“I’ve got to. . . Hey, I’m doing Amy a favor, okay?”

 

“Okay! Okay! You girls!”

 

Patti pushed Amy through the door and closed it behind them. “We’ve got to ugly you up, don’t we?” Amy smiled. “It isn’t going to be easy. Let’s see, glasses, no makeup, and hair falling over your face. Let’s grease it up. Okay, maybe I should paint on some zits. Baggy pants, poorly fitting blouse, fake tattoos? No that would be too much.” She stepped back to admire her handiwork.

 

“Damn, what did he do to you?”

 

“What?”

 

“You still look good! Frigging adorable. Maybe if I just blacked out a tooth. We might need sunglasses; your eyes are too pretty, a hat, the Cousin It look, ah there.”

 

Amy looked in the mirror. She looked ridiculous. But still she could use this as a base to get to her true look, over time, hopefully, not over too much time.

 

“Are you ready sis?”

 

“As I’ll ever be.” Amy answered.

 

“Here’s to the first day of the rest of your life.”

 

“It isn’t too late to stay home a couple of weeks and claim I had plastic surgery, is it?” she asked hopefully.

 

“Good idea, but mom already left for work. The geek route is the only way.”

 

She hopped out of the car and started walking. “Remember scrunch yourself up, bad posture is part of the effect.”

 

She was positively Quasimodo. All she needed was a cloven foot and she’d approach hideous.

 

She made it to homeroom a few seconds late but close enough. But for the first time everyone noticed her. Fortunately, no one seemed to remember her name.

 

“Isn’t that, that Amy chick?” Robbie mumbled to Jay. “The one you’ve been asking about.”

 

“I’m looking for an Amy, not that Amy.” Jay answered.

 

“Man, she’s nasty. I would have given you major shit if she were it.”

 

“Class, calm down, Ms. Murphy, so nice of you to join us, may I ask what’s the occasion?”

 

“Excuse me ma’am?” she said softly.

 

Ms. Carter caught herself. Amy was a good student, if a little shy. This was atypical. “Never mind, I hope you’re feeling better.”

 

“Yes, I am thank you.”

 

“I hope she’s not contagious. I don’t want what made her look like that.” Bakim shouted out.

 

“Bakim be quiet or I’ll send you downstairs. Okay class, we were discussing nineteenth century romanticism.”

 

Jay found himself staring at Amy despite her outrageous appearance. ‘Something says she’s the one. Nyah! That’s impossible, look at her. She looks like she eats her boogers for crying out loud.’ No way, someone as beautiful as the Amy he met at the mall could look like the Amy he saw right now.

 

Every once in awhile he caught Amy looking at him, each time she quickly dropped her head. ‘It’s almost as if she’s hiding something.’ He heard Bakim’s voice inside his head say, “Yeah, her face.”

 

The bell sounded and they were in the hallway. He found himself letting her go ahead.

 

“Thank you.” she whispered. It was Amy’s voice but before he could say anything she was lost in the crowd. There was something going on but damned if he could figure it out.

 

Amy spent the rest of the day being ridiculed and giggled at.

At lunch, she had been the prey of the day for a bunch of particularly annoying adolescents.

 

“Hey, Cousin It, what’s with the hair? C’mon show us your face. How bad could it be?”

 

Amy struggled on against the insults. Some of them began flicking food at her. “Yeah, we want to see your face!”

 

It was building. Finally, one jumped up and grabbed her hat. She attempted to get it back but quickly decided it would be better to just wait it out. They would get tired of her if she didn’t react.

 

But they weren’t finished. One of them threw an empty tray at her feet. She slipped and the contents of her tray sprayed all over her face. She landed face down on all fours.

 

“Knock it off you guys. What the hell did she do to you?” Jay intervened.

 

“Oh, Jay’s going to help the poor pathetic girl.”

 

He shot them a look and then he went to help their victim. “Are you all right? Let me give you a hand.” He bent down to help.

 

“Amy? It was you! I thought it was but you. . .”

 

She brushed his hand away. “Thank you. I’m fine. I gotta go. Thank you.” She ran off.

 

“You forgot your. . .” She had left her history text. He opened it, name, address, even her phone number neatly printed on the inside leaf.

 

“I’ll get it to you later.” He smiled after her. He knew she couldn’t hear him.

 

“Dude, what are you doing?”

 

“I found her!”

 

“Who?” Brian had been sitting with Jay when he jumped up to help.

 

“Amy!”

 

“That skank you were talking to?”

 

“You didn’t see her!” Jay said adamantly.

 

“Dude, she was hideous. What are you on?”

 

Jay looked hurt but he was heading to anger.

 

Brian cut that off. “Whatever, so I’ll meet you after school?”

 

“Why?”

 

“To help you find her.”

 

Jay smiled as they knocked fists. “Okay!”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 19

 

Amy hadn’t expected to be “unveiled” so soon. She had hoped to transform herself slowly over the next few weeks until she thought it was acceptable to reveal her new self. Now thanks to the goons in the cafeteria, she would have to accelerate the process. Still, the main obstacle had been passed. Jay had seen her and she was happy. ‘To him this is who I really am. I guess that means this is who I am, that certainly makes it a bit easier.’

 

She was at her locker putting her books away. “Oh damn, where’s my history book?” She thought back. ‘I must have dropped it in the cafeteria.’

 

She ran back to look. It was pretty empty by this point. Only the janitors were left. She could see where she had fallen but didn’t readily catch sight of her book.

 

“You can’t come in here young lady.” the large black janitor named Sarge said firmly.

 

“Did you find a book here?”

 

“We find books all the time. They’re all over my office in the basement. What is it fiction, non-fiction, biography. . . ?”

“Textbook, a history text book, did you find it?”

 

“Can’t say that I did, you’re welcome to look in the pile near the door.” He shook his head. “You kids don’t take care of anything.”

 

“Thank you.” She looked around the room. “By the door?” she said pointing.

 

“No, the back door to the basement steps.” She started walking. “Not that way! The floor’s still wet. Go round the back.” He said gesturing fiercely. “You kids have no idea about work but don’t worry you will soon enough. You will soon enough.” He repeated as he went back to mopping, all the time shaking his head and sweating profusely. Amy paid little attention to him. She was focused on the book. It had all her notes in it and she took copious notes.

 

The books were mixed with a collection of jackets, sweaters and other juvenile miscellany. Carefully, she went through the pile. No luck, it wasn’t there.

 

“Is this all you have?” She had returned upstairs to the cafeteria.

 

“Huh?”

 

“Is this everything for the day?”

 

“I’m afraid so.”

 

She started to walk toward him, as he was mouthing the word no. She stopped on tippy-toe. “Sorry.”

 

“That’s all right, it’s probably dry anyway.”

 

She skipped past him, “Thank you.”

 

“Any time.”

 

He paused and leaned on his mop to watch her leave “What a nice girl.” A slight smile touched his otherwise stony face.

 

The rest of the day was rather uneventful. Occasional catcalls but nothing untoward. She lost the glasses and the hat. The transition was already beginning. She was bouncing down the front stairs when a familiar voice startled her, “How’d it go?”

 

She was happy to see her sister. “Pretty much as I expected.”

 

“That bad huh?”

 

“I even lost my history book. But Jay noticed me!” she breathed.

 

“The world didn’t end then?”

 

“No. I was what he expected. He met me this way. . . I guess.”

 

“That’s great! So you can start to lose the look.” Patti encouraged.

 

“As you can see, already underway, by next week I’ll be the new me.”

 

“Are you ready?”

 

“What’s so hard?” Amy questioned.

 

“You’ve never been beautiful before. It comes with a lot of baggage.”

 

“That’s what I’m hoping.”

 

“It’s not all good.” Patti attempted sage advice.

 

“You don’t seem to have any problems.”

 

“I wish. No really, there’s a downside.”

 

“Like what? Guys noticing you? Girls being jealous of you? What outfit to wear? What hairstyle? Who to ignore? Who to pay attention to?”

 

“No, the biggest thing is you’re never sure who’s dealing with you as a person and who’s treating you as an object.”

 

“B-i-i-i-g problem.” Amy