Doreen Read Online Free PDF Page A

airbrush over Doreen’s arms and torso.
    â€œThere. That’s perfect. Now I’ll just upload it to your GryphPage so you can see it in situ .”
    â€œNo!” Doreen blurted, springing to her feet. “I mean, can I see it first? Before it goes, like, public?”
    â€œOh. Sure. Of course. Here, let me print it.” Under her desk, Biz’s professional-grade printer whirred to life, a gift from her father. “I think you’re going to like how it came out.”
    â€œDon’t be nervous.” Heidi patted Doreen on her knee. “You looked amazing in that dress.”
    â€œI’m not nervous,” Doreen insisted as she cracked every single knuckle in succession.
    â€œYeah, right.”
    â€œHere we go.” Biz removed the page from the printer and gave it a satisfied nod. She laid the photo on the coffee table in front of Doreen and Heidi.
    In the picture, a stunning girl sat on a chair in the middle of a field, wearing a red strapless dress that fit her perfectly, as if she was sewn into it. The girl’s skin was flawlessly smooth and white, and her violet eyes met the camera directly, with an audacity befitting her incredible beauty. Her thin arms rested comfortably at her side while ringlets of black hair cascaded dramatically down her back. In the porcelain white of the face, Doreen identified some recognizable features. That must have been her nose, after all, and though the lips were so perfectly shaped in their light-pink stain, it was her mouth in the photo, the same mouth that gaped openly at the picture she beheld, naked and dried out from nervous chewing.
    â€œWhy, Bizzy Bear, you’ve quite outdone yourself! Our little Doreen looks so—”
    â€œUnrecognizable! Oh, what have you done? No. No!” The picture shook in Doreen’s hand. “You’re making fun of me. I should have known!” Doreen buried her head in her hands.
    â€œHuh? Making fun of you? What would make you think that?” Biz looked mortified. “I thought you would like it. I just touched it up a tiny bit.”
    â€œHa!”
    â€œI’m sorry, I didn’t mean to—I thought, I don’t know. I was trying to give you what you wanted.”
    â€œTo look like an idiot? How can I possibly claim that this is a picture of me? It looks nothing like me! If people see it . . . It’s cruel what you’ve done. Both of you! Oh, I should have known.”
    â€œDoreen, calm down. Nobody is making fun of you,” said Heidi, but the girl continued to sob. “You don’t like the picture? Fine! Biz, delete the file from your computer. Give me the photo.” Heidi held a hand out to Doreen. “Really, you needn’t make such a fuss. Poor Biz was simply trying to help you.” Heidi was disappointed with the scene Doreen was making. She hadn’t thought the girl would be so gushy and unreasonable. “Give me the photograph, Doreen.”
    â€œWhy?” Doreen asked. She pressed the picture to her chest. “What are you going to do with it?”
    â€œI was going to destroy it. Isn’t that what you want?” Heidi stood up and paced around the room, her hands in fists. “I cannot tolerate this inconstancy. Resolve yourself. If you don’t like the photograph, I will rip it to shreds. Otherwise get a hold of yourself so that we may discuss the issue like adults. Your cousin was trying to be kind to you. She does not deserve to be spoken to with such ugliness!”
    â€œYou’re right. I’m sorry. Please don’t be mad at me. I’m sorry, Bizzy. I just—don’t you understand?” Doreen looked down at the photograph with a new tenderness. “Oh, I wish this was me in the picture.” She wiped tears from her eyes. Crying had brought out the splotchy redness of her complexion, making her look even more unlike the photo. “I would give anything to be this girl!”
    â€œBut