it was too plain. “Not enough pizzazz,” she’d said.
“ Just a sec, Lola, honey.” She holds her hand up to me and turns back to the girl. “So, where are those stores? Are they on this level?”
“ I want the black one,” I protest, but my words fall on deaf ears.
Mom whips out her cellphone and snaps a picture of me in the awful dress. I look like a hooker from 1982.
“ What are you doing?” I screech and jump into the change room.
“ I just want Eva to see the dress before I make up my mind. I need one more opinion. I’m sending it to her.”
“ No ! I’m not getting this one. This is the kind of dress you and Eva would love, it’s not for me.” I slam the door shut and struggle to free myself from the hideous thing. I put my jeans and T-shirt back on, and step out, determined to get my way.
“ Lola?” Mom asks, sounding all weird. “Where’d you go?”
She’s looking right at me. “I’m here,” I answer.
“ Oh, my God, where’s my girl. Where did she go?” Mom turns to the salesgirl who simply throws her hands in the air and shrugs.
Mom jumps toward the change room and I instinctively leap out of the way. Anger and frustration must have brought on an episode of invisibility. I realize I didn’t have to move. She would have passed right through me anyway, like my hand did that day at the camp when I tried to grab Justine.
A deep satisfaction settles over me as I watch my mother and the salesgirl in their frantic search. I stroll over to a comfy looking chair and sit. It’s interesting that I can manage to sit or even bump into things and hurt myself while invisible, but when I try to grab something or someone, my hand passes right through.
I watch for a while longer, as Mom and the salesgirl, whose name I’ve since discovered is Anna, run around searching for me in the most ridiculous of places. They peer in every change room and even check behind the sales counter and storage room in the back of the store. How on earth would I have gotten from the change room to the storage room without anyone seeing? That is, if I weren’t invisible.
The store manager, a tall lanky blonde with a superior attitude picks up the phone and I hear her talking to mall security.
Oh no! I stand, wave my arms and scream at the top of my lungs. It was fun watching Mom get all panicky while looking for me, but I don’t need the added drama of a security guard. Then maybe even the cops. “Hey, I’m here. I’m right here.”
What if I never come back? There’s no doubt I’ve been gone longer than my past record of a little over two minutes. But exactly how long, I don’t know; five, six minutes? My heart bangs against my ribs and I begin to hyperventilate.
“ Oh, God, Lola! Where have you been?” Mom cries and wraps her arms around me. I’m met with a face full of hair. With her heels and piled up hair, Mom’s almost my height. I squeeze back and let out a long breath of relief. My heart slows, and my breathing becomes regular, but my legs are still a little rubbery.
I’ve drawn a crowd. Anna and the manager hang back with the shoppers. A low applause erupts from the on-lookers and suddenly I feel a little guilty, not to mention like a five-year-old reunited with her mother after being lost in Wal-Mart.
“ Where were you?”
“ I was sitting right there the whole time. You haven’t been listening to a thing I’ve said and I suppose you didn’t see me because you didn’t want to.” I feign indignation.
“ How in the world could I do that? It wasn’t just me looking for you,” she replies, confusion settling on her face.
“ Well, I was right there.” I point to the chair.
“ But… but… how in the world…?”
“ It doesn’t matter, Mom. I’m fine and I’m right here, so can we go back and get the black dress?”
The manager and Anna the salesgirl have gone back to work and the crowd has dissipated. Mom pulls a compact from her purse and applies another coat of
“ Just a sec, Lola, honey.” She holds her hand up to me and turns back to the girl. “So, where are those stores? Are they on this level?”
“ I want the black one,” I protest, but my words fall on deaf ears.
Mom whips out her cellphone and snaps a picture of me in the awful dress. I look like a hooker from 1982.
“ What are you doing?” I screech and jump into the change room.
“ I just want Eva to see the dress before I make up my mind. I need one more opinion. I’m sending it to her.”
“ No ! I’m not getting this one. This is the kind of dress you and Eva would love, it’s not for me.” I slam the door shut and struggle to free myself from the hideous thing. I put my jeans and T-shirt back on, and step out, determined to get my way.
“ Lola?” Mom asks, sounding all weird. “Where’d you go?”
She’s looking right at me. “I’m here,” I answer.
“ Oh, my God, where’s my girl. Where did she go?” Mom turns to the salesgirl who simply throws her hands in the air and shrugs.
Mom jumps toward the change room and I instinctively leap out of the way. Anger and frustration must have brought on an episode of invisibility. I realize I didn’t have to move. She would have passed right through me anyway, like my hand did that day at the camp when I tried to grab Justine.
A deep satisfaction settles over me as I watch my mother and the salesgirl in their frantic search. I stroll over to a comfy looking chair and sit. It’s interesting that I can manage to sit or even bump into things and hurt myself while invisible, but when I try to grab something or someone, my hand passes right through.
I watch for a while longer, as Mom and the salesgirl, whose name I’ve since discovered is Anna, run around searching for me in the most ridiculous of places. They peer in every change room and even check behind the sales counter and storage room in the back of the store. How on earth would I have gotten from the change room to the storage room without anyone seeing? That is, if I weren’t invisible.
The store manager, a tall lanky blonde with a superior attitude picks up the phone and I hear her talking to mall security.
Oh no! I stand, wave my arms and scream at the top of my lungs. It was fun watching Mom get all panicky while looking for me, but I don’t need the added drama of a security guard. Then maybe even the cops. “Hey, I’m here. I’m right here.”
What if I never come back? There’s no doubt I’ve been gone longer than my past record of a little over two minutes. But exactly how long, I don’t know; five, six minutes? My heart bangs against my ribs and I begin to hyperventilate.
“ Oh, God, Lola! Where have you been?” Mom cries and wraps her arms around me. I’m met with a face full of hair. With her heels and piled up hair, Mom’s almost my height. I squeeze back and let out a long breath of relief. My heart slows, and my breathing becomes regular, but my legs are still a little rubbery.
I’ve drawn a crowd. Anna and the manager hang back with the shoppers. A low applause erupts from the on-lookers and suddenly I feel a little guilty, not to mention like a five-year-old reunited with her mother after being lost in Wal-Mart.
“ Where were you?”
“ I was sitting right there the whole time. You haven’t been listening to a thing I’ve said and I suppose you didn’t see me because you didn’t want to.” I feign indignation.
“ How in the world could I do that? It wasn’t just me looking for you,” she replies, confusion settling on her face.
“ Well, I was right there.” I point to the chair.
“ But… but… how in the world…?”
“ It doesn’t matter, Mom. I’m fine and I’m right here, so can we go back and get the black dress?”
The manager and Anna the salesgirl have gone back to work and the crowd has dissipated. Mom pulls a compact from her purse and applies another coat of
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