Page 48 of TJ Powar Has Something to Prove
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The next morning, the weather forecast declares an unseasonably warm day, so TJ flings open her closet with a mission.
She checks herself out in the mirror after finishing her makeup. A floral-print sleeveless dress just barely brushes her knees. No tights underneath, either. Her arms and legs are on full display. And her hair is swept up into a bun, calling attention to the amount of fur she’s accumulated on her face.
She grins savagely at her reflection.
TJ’s mom is in the kitchen drinking coffee when TJ comes down the stairs. She spills some of it down her front. “TJ! What are youwearing?”
“What do you mean?” TJ asks innocently. “I’ve worn this dress a hundred times.”
Her mother opens her mouth, glances at TJ’s father, who’s eating at the kitchen table (he’s just returned from a night shift), and hesitates. Then: “It’s March. Shouldn’t you save the dresses for warmer days?”
“Itisa warmer day. Have you seen the forecast?” TJ pulls it up on her phone.
Her mother again glances at her father, like she’s holding back because of him. It pisses TJ off, but before she can call her out, her dad says, “Leave her alone, sweetheart.” He gives TJ a thumbs-up. “I think you look great.”
TJ beams. Finally, support fromsomewhere. Even if it’s from the man wearing his shirt inside out.
When she gets to school, she turns heads, all right. Whispers follow her as she strides down the hall with her head held high. She spots Piper at her locker and waves at her, careless of the fact that her hairy underarms are now exposed. Piper waves back, and TJ approaches. She, too, is in apparel suited for the weather, a sleeveless blouse and jean shorts.
Piper takes a binder out of her locker. “How’d the tournament go?”
TJ waves this away dismissively. “Who cares? Tell me your thoughts on my outfit.” She gestures down to herself, and Piper looks her over for the first time. Her eyes bug out.
“Oh my god.” A pause. “I didn’t realize you werethathairy.”
What might have once pinched TJ now just makes her smile maniacally. “Appreciate my impressive armpit hair, too, please.”
Piper does. “I didn’t know you could grow that much hair.”
Her tone has slipped into uncertainty, and she looks at TJ with new eyes. TJ’s smile wavers before it comes back, hardened.
“Well,now you know.”
“I’m sorry,” Piper says quickly. “It’s just—hard to get used to. I mean, you used to have the nicest legs of any of us. I was so jealous.”
“I still have the same legs. They’re just not hairless anymore.” TJ leans against a locker, forcing eye contact with a boy blatantly staring from across the hall. He instantly looks away.
Piper nods rapidly. “I—I guess so.” She seems a little shell-shocked still, but then her gaze shifts behind TJ.
TJ turns to see Chandani standing behind them at her own locker.
Clearly she was eavesdropping. TJ gives her the most scornful look she can manage. Chandani’s lip curls, looking TJ up and down, before she spins on her heel—her skirt twirls around her, smooth brown thighs gleaming—and heads down the hall.
A lump grows in TJ’s throat. That never stops hurting.
Piper sighs. “You twoneedto make up.”
“That’s like saying weneedworld peace,” TJ replies tightly. “A nice thought, but just not gonna happen, as long as people are assholes.”
“That sounds like something Chandani would say.” TJ turns her glare on Piper, and she puts her hands up. “Just saying. You two are way too similar.”
“We arenot.”
“Yes, you are. Most of the timeI’mthe odd one out.” TJ opens her mouth to argue, but Piper holds up a hand. “Come on, TJ. You and Chandani have known each other forever.”
TJ hesitates. It’s true. Their moms are friends, and they grew up together. People always assumed they were sisters—probably half-based on the fact that they were two Indian girls with long hair, but still. They only befriended Piper when she became a starting midfielder on their soccer team in grade nine. Since then, they’ve been a trio on and off the field, but TJ has always been closest with Chandani. She hadn’t realized Piper saw that so clearly, though.