Doreen Read Online Free Page A

my desk! I’m not going to—”
    â€œMOVE!” Heidi commanded. Reluctantly, Biz complied.
    â€œYou’re so bossy,” said Biz with a defeated sigh, but Heidi didn’t look up from the screen. “Lie carefully!”
    At last the bedroom door opened. “You guys?” said Doreen in a small voice. “Heidi? Can I take this off now?”
    â€œOh, dear,” said Heidi. “Oh no, that’s not going to work at all.” The dress hugged Doreen’s flesh in a uniquely unflattering way, emphasizing the lumpiness of her hips and tummy while flattening her chest. Heidi wondered if this project was beyond even her considerable powers.
    â€œI told you,” Doreen sulked.
    â€œDon’t feel bad, Doreen. That dress looks indecent on everyone. Even Heidi.”
    â€œHey! Yes, Doreen, you were right. Please take it off. We’ll think of something.” As Doreen disappeared to change, Heidi paced around the common room. “Sexy isn’t going to do it. We’re going to have to go for drama.” She spotted the Vogue magazine she’d purchased for the bus back to campus. “Hold on a second. I saw something in here.”
    Heidi flipped through the pages. “Ah, yes! Here it is. This is perfect. Doreen?” she called through the door. “Honey, can I come in?”
    â€œI really wish you wouldn’t.”
    â€œShe’s upset,” said Biz. “This is exactly what I was trying to avoid.”
    Heidi waved Biz off. “That’s okay,” she told Doreen through the door in her sweetest voice. “But do me a favor? Go into Biz’s closet there, the one on the right. Toward the back you’ll find a red strapless dress. Do you see it?”
    â€œI really don’t want to do this anymore, Heidi.”
    â€œThis is the last one, okay? I promise. It’s red and strapless and the label says Carolina Herrera.” She grinned at Biz. This was going to work, she was sure of it.
    Biz plucked the open magazine from Heidi’s hand and regarded the picture. “Is this a joke?” she deadpanned.
    â€œShh! No negativity,” Heidi whispered. “Find the place where you keep your can-do attitude, Miss Gibbons-Brown. You’re going to need it.”
    â€œOr what?”
    â€œYou know better than to cross me, Elizabeth. Or don’t you want your cousin to like you?” Heidi snatched the magazine back from Biz.
    â€œIs that another threat? They’re really coming fast and loose today.”
    â€œJust get your tripod, okay? And dispense with the histrionics.” Heidi rolled her eyes. It was tiresome, doing everything oneself. Finally the door opened again. Biz and Heidi stood up to behold their project.
    â€œWell? What do you think?” Doreen asked.
    â€œPerfection!” Heidi managed. “Yes, that’ll do just fine.” She spun Doreen around. The dress did not fit altogether perfectly—it tucked right under the fat part of Doreen’s armpit, and an inch or two of zipper remained open at the top because her back was too wide for the fabric. But it was a lovely dress. She did not look beautiful, but Heidi was sure she could work with it. “Next up? Makeup.”

The moon shining through the window gave Doreen’s skin a soft effervescence, as if she was a ghost or an angel. She’d scrubbed her face of the makeup Heidi had slathered upon it for the photo shoot, pulled the hair that Heidi had so painstakingly curled back into a messy bun, and reclothed herself in the green knit dress. So it was Doreen Gray as her natural, pimply, frizzy-haired self upon whom Heidi gazed so admiringly.
    Perhaps it was the excitement of the day’s activities, or the comfort of a friendly welcome—or it may simply have been the night, coming through the window thick and velvety in the late summer, but Heidi saw majesty in Doreen. “You looked great, Doreen. I think