Pretty & Perfect

Chapter Nine

Rory and I were sitting on the sofa in our dorm common room. I was painting my toenails a pale purple and Rory was reading a newspaper. Paris was nervously pacing the length of the room. Suddenly, Paris stopped pacing and leaned over Rory's shoulder to look at the newspaper.

"Paris, please don't compare our reading speeds again. You're fast, I'm slow. Enjoy your trophy." Rory snapped at the annoying blonde.

"I need the exact time of today's sunset." Paris told her as if it were an everyday occurrence.

"I'm in the middle of an article."

"Well, if you read faster, you wouldn't be." Paris snapped at my twin and Rory finally had enough of her complaining and turned the paper to check.

"Okay, the time of today's sunset is 4:31."

"Okay. Then I just have to keep my mind occupied until 4:31."

"Is that when you can go outside again? You know, so the sunlight doesn't burn you?" I asked her in an innocent voice and she glared at me. I grinned at her as I continued painting my toes.

"Tell me again why you're fasting for Ramadan." Rory asked for an explanation as to why Paris putting herself and us through this. Paris started her pacing again and it was starting to make me dizzy.

"Look, Rory, if you want to crib your articles from the A.P. Wire, that's your business. I, on the other hand, actually give a rat's ass about journalistic integrity. When I write about Ramadan, I experience Ramadan. Are you chewing gum?" she snapped at me and I looked at her weirdly.

"What? Yes. Why?" I asked her as I leaned away from her sharp gaze.

"I'd really prefer it if you didn't chew it at me."

"Paris, did you know that not eating can make people kind of snippy?"

"Ramadan is about a lot more than just not eating. It calls for a total abstinence from food particles passing through the mouth or nose. Your bazooka is passing through my nose." Paris said to me and I was about to reply to her when there was a knock at the door and I just glared at her instead.

"It's unlocked." Rory called from the couch and Marty walked in with a paper sack and I immediately sat up at the prospect of food. "Hey, Marty."

"Is that food?" I asked in way of greeting.

"Yeah. So, I just bartended this crazy brunch with chocolate fountains and floating ice sculptures, and I snagged us all kinds of hors d'oeuvres." He said, indicating the two bags he was carrying.

"Oh, nice going, bucko." Paris said sarcastically. Marty looked at Paris timidly and came to sit next to me on the couch.

"Okay, so, she didn't really mean "nice going," right? 'Cause there's sort of a devil-eye thing going on." He asked me softly and I chuckled at his naivety.

"She's fasting." I explained to him.

"People came to America to escape religious persecution." Paris declared and I rolled my eyes at her. My cell phone rang and I stood to go answer it. I retrieved my phone and went into my room for quiet.

"Hello." I said as I answered the phone. I threw myself down on my bed and got comfortable.

"Hi. Guess where I am?" I heard my Mom say on the other end of the phone.

"Mom." I said with a smile.

"Go on, guess."

"Oh, I don't know, Luke's?"

"But not just at Luke's - on the phone at Luke's, and it's all perfectly legal because I'm on the diner's phone." Mom announced happily and laughed at her enthusiasm.