Chapter 9

Mortified didn't even begin to describe Allison's feelings as she ran out of the dining commons. In fact, on her way back to the dorm, she vowed not to leave her room for the rest of the weekend. Yeah it may have sounded a bit harsh, but she really needed to work on her assignment for Professor Salinger anyway.

Allison had just gotten settled at her desk when she heard Kaija's key in the door. "Hiya, roomie!" she greeted cheerfully. Apparently Kaija was unaffected by whatever happened between them last night. Allison only wished she could be as indifferent about the whole thing. "Hard at work already I see," Kaija observed as she grabbed one of her textbooks and hopped onto her bed.

"Yep," Allison sighed. "I've gotta kick some serious butt on this writing assignment for Salinger, or I'm dog meat. So where's Barc?" she asked, sticking the top of her pen in her mouth to nibble on its cap.

Kaija flipped through the pages of her book until she located the chapter she was searching for. "Oh, I sent him off on his own. I figured you weren't too keen on having company today."

"Sorry," Allison muttered. "I didn't realize I was that much of a grouch..."

"You aren't." Kaija laughed as she gave her roommate one of those you're-a-knucklehead looks. "Besides, Barc and I have plans for later tonight. But I figured I'd better get at least some school work done this weekend."

Allison admired Kaija's carefree spirit. The girl just exuded confidence and grace with seemingly little effort. She seemed to take life in stride. Knew how to roll with the punches and live life to its fullest. It was easy to see what Barclay found appealing about her, and the appeal clearly went deeper than Kaija's looks, though she was no slouch there, either.

If Kaija weren't so darn nice, Allison could easily find herself hating her. She was pretty, smart, had a wonderful personality, and on top of all that, she was sensitive toward others. This afternoon was perfect proof in point. Kaija could have easily tormented Allison about the embarrassing scene at the dining commons, but she never even brought it up. Not once. Now that was the true sign of friendship, Allison thought with a happy smile.

The girls spent the remainder of the afternoon on their homework and class assignments. Kaija managed to get just about everything done, but Allison was struggling with her story a bit.

"Girlfriend, you need a break," Kaija ordered, slapping Allison playfully on the back. She walked over to the tiny fridge and pulled out a Coke for herself, and a Diet Coke for Allison. "Come on over here," Kaija said, taking a seat on Allison's bed. "We need to talk."

Panic caused Allison's breathing to stop temporarily as a jolt of terror flew through her body. Please, oh please, let this not be about last night, Allison thought as she worried her lower lip.

"C'mon, Allison," Kaija persisted, patting the bed next to her. A huge lump formed in Allison's throat as her mind raced with all sorts of weird visions about what might happen next. "I think you'll like this idea," Kaija added, which quickly put Allison's mind at ease. She closed her notebook with a sigh and joined Kaija on her bed.

"So whatcha thinkin'?" Allison asked, popping the tab on her can of Diet Coke.

"Remember how you said you felt undesirable to men? You didn't like your hair and all that?" Allison nodded. "Well I got to thinking... what would happen if I gave you a total makeover? Change everything from your hair down to your wardrobe. And since we're almost the same size, you could start out with my clothes until you were ready to buy your own. What do you think?"

Allison thought about it a bit and then broke into a smile. "You know, that idea really has some potential!" A tinge of excitement colored her words.

"Great," Kaija returned, clapping her hands. "Let's make an evening of it. We'll get everything we need at the mall, pick up some chef salads to go at Luigi's, and then come back here and hang out. It'll be great fun, just you wait and see!"

For once, Allison actually believed it.

The mall didn't seem quite as crowded as Allison would have expected for a weekend night. Sure, the traffic was brisk, but nothing like the malls even back in Iowa. Of course there wasn't much else to do back there, she thought, grinning.

"Look at that nightgown!" Kaija gasped, grabbing Allison's hand and leading her to the window of Victoria's Secret. The window was lined with scantily clad mannequins, but Kaija had her eye on one in particular-a blue-eyed blonde wearing a flouncy knee-length sky blue gown with peach flowers and forest green stems. "Can we go inside? Please? Just for a minute?" Kaija's eyes begged her like an excited puppy looking for a treat. How could she refuse?

The girls browsed through the perfume fragranced store, imagining themselves in a number of the beautiful outfits. Then Kaija spotted him-a middle aged man looking through a rack of lingerie by himself. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what he was up to. The man was obviously on a quest to find something nice for that special someone in his life.

Being the kind-hearted girl she was, Kaija couldn't resist offering him her help. "Hello, sir, my name is Kaija. May I help you this evening?" If Allison didn't know better, she'd swear Kaija were a Victoria's Secret employee!

The gentleman smiled, looking a little self conscious. He cleared his throat nervously before speaking. "Hi, I'm Bill Thornton. I'm here to pick up a little something for my wife. It's our tenth anniversary tomorrow."

Kaija smiled. "I'd be more than happy to help you out. Can you tell me a little about your wife? What colors does she like? Give me a feel for her body shape and size..."

Bill looked at Kaija and squinted. "I know you're gonna think I'm puttin' you on, but she's about your size. Really."

Nodding, Kaija asked, "So what kind of lingerie are you looking for? Something sexy, playful, or utilitarian?" Bill gave her a strange look at the use of the last word. "You know, something comfy and functional as opposed to jaw dropping," she elaborated. Bill nodded.

By that point, a small group of Victoria's Secret staff members gathered around Kaija and Bill taking the whole thing in. Obviously they weren't too upset with what Kaija was doing as they simply watched her rather than try to shoo her out of the store.

"To be honest with you, I haven't really thought about it," Bill admitted sheepishly.

"Not to worry," Kaija soothed. "I know just the thing to do. Have a seat right here, sir," she said, leading him to a chair just outside the dressing rooms. Kaija ran around the store gathering a variety of garments. "Wait right there, Mr. Thornton," she said, opening one of the dressing room doors. "I'll be back in a sec."

And so she was. Kaija emerged from the dressing room wearing a foamy black peignoir set.

"Can you see that special lady in this?" she asked, staring Bill directly in the eye before spinning around and modeling the ensemble.

He contorted his face noncommittally. "I don't think so. It's a bit too, uh, black," he responded. It sounded like a dumb thing to say, but for the life of him he couldn't find a better word to use in expressing himself.

"Okay, we'll eliminate everything black," Kaija said simply. The store employees looked at one another, impressed by the sales pitch they were witnessing. Kaija popped into the dressing room and returned a few moments later wearing a delicate rose colored tap set. Again, she spun around, modeling the outfit for Bill who looked on appreciatively. "How about this one?" she asked, leaning over to give him a good view of her cleavage as she spoke.

"It's uh, uh, really cute," Bill stammered, "but don't you think it'd be too youthful for someone my wife's age?"

Kaija clicked her tongue. "Now Bill, you make it sound like you're ancient!" she scolded playfully. "Let me tell you," she winked, "you're far from it!"

Bill beamed at her attention, and the staff members looked at one another in awe.

"But if that's how you feel, we'll try something a little different."

Allison was totally dumbfounded by Kaija's confidence and courage. She was truly amazing with people! Allison didn't doubt in the least that Kaija would fulfill her dream of becoming a rock star one day. And maybe, just maybe, a little of that confidence and courage would rub off on her. A girl could always hope...

Kaija returned, this time sporting a ruby red teddy. Bill's eyes lit up at the sight of it, and naturally Kaija noticed instantly. "You like?" she smiled.

Bill wore a giddy college kid grin. "Oh, I like very much," he said, wide eyed and smiling.