still amazed me. I watched her beautiful virgin hair (she’s a natural blonde–– the bitch) barely make it past the doorframe before getting caught.
“You’re in luck. I was going to do some Pilates and yoga tonight anyway. Just do it with me. That will help firm and tighten. Even though you know I don’t think you need it.”
“When I fit into your size two jeans, I’ll finally start listening.” Lila walked into the kitchen, opening cabinets, then the refrigerator. “We have no food! Want to order a pizza or something? Ooh, maybe some wings? I’m craving hot sauce.”
I walked into the kitchen behind her, peering into the depths of our pathetic excuse for a dorm fridge. “We have food. Here’s a bag of lettuce, some carrot sticks back here and croutons in the cabinet. I snagged some packets of ranch from the lounge yesterday. Voila–– let’s make a salad!”
Lila pulled a face, reacting like I asked her to go on Survivor and eat cockroaches. “Uh, yeah. Salad sounds great if I was trying to starve myself, Alex. I’m craving real food, not rabbit food.”
I held my hands up in surrender. “You’re the one talking about toning and firming. I’m just saying a salad will give you better odds than buffalo wings.” I wasn’t going to mention the calorie count I had just estimated in my head.
Lila dreamt of one day becoming an entertainment reporter and was itching for the chance to get out of Dodge–– or rather, Iowa. Lila and I had been best friends since we came to Kaufman College in Des Moines three years ago, and had been living together for two. We wanted to move out on our own and get a house, but neither of us had the financials to support that yet. Lila was saving every penny to put towards photography sessions, voice lessons and even acting classes. Her big goal was to head out to Los Angeles and somehow land an audition for Buzzworthy, the hottest celebrity news show at the moment. I supported her goal of being a reporter, though I had no idea how to help her achieve it.
My goals weren’t as specific as Lila’s. Mainly, I wanted to be able to stand on my own two feet and stop relying on my sister for everything. Alicia was my big sister, married to Craig Bowersworth and living with their five kids in Seattle. Craig’s job as a political campaign manager led them to many places, but Alicia fell in love with Seattle the minute she laid eyes on the rainy landscape, so they put down roots there. Alicia was a stay at home mom, and with Craig’s income that he pulled in, money was not a worry for them. Alicia helped me stay financially afloat by sending me money each month. I held down stray jobs here and there, but still hadn’t quite figured out what I wanted to do when I graduated. I was studying Business Leadership and Entrepreneurship at college and still waiting to see which direction the wind would take me.
“Fine, fine, a salad it is. Can you whip one up for me quick? I need to put my face on before Joel comes over.”
“What time is he stopping by?”
“He said around five. He has some study group thing tonight so he wanted to drop by and see me before that.” Joel Lohrbach had been Lila’s boyfriend for just over year, starting when we were sophomores in college. Lila fell hard and fast for Joel, and the attraction still baffled me. Joel was short and geeky, with spiked black hair and big glasses that did not make a fashion statement, and always had his nose in a book. Lila was tall, blonde and gorgeous, with ambitions to live in sunny LA and schmooze with celebrities. Joel was not agreeable to Lila’s future plans and I had no idea what would happen to their relationship if Lila actually made it in the entertainment biz. I wouldn’t mind seeing them break up. I thought Joel was a dick to Lila more than a sweetheart. But she loved him, and who was I to say anything if my friend seemed happy. Enough.
“Okay. Get your makeup on and we’ll eat some salad and change for the gym. And you can help me look at this job I’m thinking about applying for. Tell me if you get good vibes or not.” Lila always said she got “vibes” about certain things, such as if the