Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants

Lena smiled and went into the kitchen to praise and
investigate.
She and Effie were already putting on their turtleand-hare
show. Everyone paid lots of attention to Lena at
first, because she was striking to look at, but within a few
hours or days, they always fully committed their attentions
to exuberant, affectionate Effie. Lena felt Effie
deserved it. Lena was an introvert. She knew she had
trouble connecting with people. She always felt like her
looks were fake bait, seeming to offer a bridge to people,
which she couldn’t easily cross.
Grandma cast a look at her outfit. “You are wearing
that to our party?”
“I was thinking so. Should I wear something fancier?”
Lena asked.
“Well . . .” Grandma did not look particularly stern or
judgmental. She looked more mischievous, like she had a
secret she wanted you to ask her about. “It isn’t a fancy
party, but . . .”
“Should I change too?” Effie asked. Her shirt was
dusty with breadcrumbs.
Grandma was about as good at keeping her secrets as
Effie was. She looked at Lena conspiratorially. “You see,
there is a boy, he’s like a grandson to Bapi and me. He’s a
nice boy. . . .” She winked.
Lena tried to freeze the pleasant look on her face. Was
her grandmother seriously trying to set her up with a guy
less than six hours after she’d arrived? Lena hated being
set up.
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