The Top
My whole life changed when I went off to college.
Sure, I suppose lots of other people can say that, too. But, for me, I went from a shy good girl to a money-making slut. And I’m still loving every minute of it!
It all started during the third week of my freshman year at Florida Everglades College. I was on my computer, browsing for clothes that I knew I could not afford, and it was depressing the hell out of me.
“Knock, knock, girl,” shouted a familiar voice.
“Hey Zamora, come in,” I replied.
“Why do you look so sad, Lucy?” said Zamora. “That top right there looks very cute. I am sure it would be perfect for you!”
“Zamora, aside from my student meal card, I got about forty bucks left to my name. And I just got a letter about my student loans. I barely just started school, and I’m already thousands of dollars in debt!”
“Bosh!” said Zamora. “These monies, you do not have to pay them for a long time. You are only young and fabulous one time, Lucy! Use your credit card to buy something nice for yourself. You’ll feel a lot better!”
“My parents will kill me if I use that card to buy clothes. My mom said it’s only for emergencies,” I said.
“Their beautiful, gorgeous daughter is too depressed to learn. And if she cannot learn, this is an emergency!” said Zamora, flashing me another one of her irrepressibly wicked smiles.
“Well, it is kind of a cute top,” I said, cautiously.
“Yes, Lucy! You will see, I am right. This is the correct decision,” said Zamora with a laugh before turning and leaving my room.
Well, I did buy that top. I also bought two skirts and a pair of shoes to go along with them.
What else could I do, really?
Zamora had been right, of course, which is why she and I were best friends throughout college and all the insanity that followed that fateful decision to use my parents’ credit card to buy clothes.
Two days after I sweatily pressed the “confirm” button on the website, a large, brown box arrived for me at the front desk of my residence hall.
I dashed it upstairs as quickly as I could, my heart racing from both guilt and eager anticipation. Using a pair of scissors, I slashed open the top and quickly pulled out all of the wadding and packing materials.
The top was gorgeous as it lay there, shimmering in the box. I rapidly tossed off my old T-shirt and carefully slipped into the top.
Standing up, I shucked off my yoga pants and stepped into one of my new skirts, happy to see that it rested perfectly on my hips. Was that skirt quite a bit shorter than anything I had ever worn before? Yes, it certainly was. But somehow, that was exactly what I wanted at that moment.
A moment later, I stepped into the shoes, and I rushed over to get a glimpse of myself in the mirror.
Wow!
I truly looked like a brand-new person. Even better, I started to feel like a brand-new person, too.
No longer was I boring old Lucy S., a completely forgettable girl from a forgettable mid-sized city. Now, I was the chic and fabulous-looking college girl, Lucy.
After running my brush through my hair a few times and applying some light make-up, I decided to go see what the world thought of my new look.
Stepping into the hallway, I immediately saw a few girls give me That Look. All hot girls know what I mean when I say “That Look,” the one that is a combination of envy and lust.
Trying not to trip in my new shoes, I daintily made my way downstairs to the lobby and out into the west quad.
I decided to do a small loop from the library to the school store and then back to my dorm hall.
Fortunately, the weather was still quite warm, and so there were plenty of people about. And sure enough, it wasn’t too long before I saw a guy in a plaid shirt snap his head and look to watch me walk past.
After that, my confidence just soared in leaps and bounds. I had been so nervous about going off to college, but now I was realizing that finding out who I could be was really quite exciting.
Even the way I was walking had changed. Instead of shuffling along, my head down, I had discovered the effortless rolling glide that all confident women have. The swiveling of my hips made the edge of my new skirt shimmer and bounce, and I absolutely loved how it felt.
By the time I got back to my dorm hall, I knew that owning and wearing good clothes would be my life’s mission from then on.
The only problem was that there was no way I was going to be buying any --more-- cute clothes. Using my parents’ credit card was a one-time thing.
Indeed, knowing this got me even more depressed than I had been before I bought them, and I began losing all interest in my studies.
“Lucy, are you depressed again?” said Zamora one day.
“Zamora, it’s just not fair! I’ve got a perfect eye for buying clothes, and yet I don’t have any money to buy more,” I told her.
“Hmm,” said Zamora. “I will find a solution. Because you are right, Lucy. A sexy girl like you needs to look her best.”
“Oh, thank you, Zamora!” I replied.
And indeed, Zamora did find a solution, one that led me to do some pretty wild and crazy things.
