Chapter 13

Hannah

When I walked to the lot after school, I saw who I could only assume was Katya sitting in her car, top down, waiting. One of the popular guys, Mark Cassidy, leaned on the side of the red Mercedes convertible, and was apparently trying to flirt with her, but she kept pointedly looking at her fingernails and messing around with the radio. I didn’t blame him for hitting on her, though. Her face, currently the picture of boredom, was very attractive. She had long, red-gold hair, porcelain skin and lush, full lips that gave her face an exotic look. Scanning her black, off-the-shoulder top with a black camisole underneath and a long silver, chunky necklace, I could see why Nikolai asked her to help us out. Katya looked effortlessly stylish.
I trudged up to the car, dreading being within the orbit of this very attractive female while feeling like some hobo asking for spare change at a busy intersection. I was almost to the car when she popped up and sat on the top of the driver’s seat.
"Hannah?" she asked, her red-gold eyebrows rising above her sunglasses. Nikolai must have described me. There was no way she simply assumed I was his new girlfriend.
I gulped. "Yes, hello."
Her bored expression morphed into a pleased smile, exposing perfect, white teeth. She waved me over. "Come on, let's get out of here."
I opened the door and slid into the passenger seat, taking note of the softness of the leather and a dashboard filled with more lights, buttons, and screens than a Best Buy. I think this was the nicest car I'd ever been in. Katya slid down her seat and turned to me, smile still firmly intact, and held out her right hand to me. I took it, and as we shook, she said, "I'm so happy to meet you, Hannah. Nikolai is one of my best friends, so when he told me he wanted to take his *girlfriend* shopping, I obviously jumped at the chance."
I couldn’t tell whether she stressed girlfriend because she knew this whole thing was fake, or she didn’t know and was simply shocked that he had a girlfriend at all, let alone me. Either way, she seemed friendly, and that was a huge relief. I briefly looked at Mark's face as she put the car in gear and noted his frown of puzzlement. I'm not sure if it was because we were together, or that she had blown him off. Probably both.
"So, Hannah, Nikolai hasn't really given me any details about what we're doing, but I know we're going to bring some style to your life," she said as she pulled out of the parking lot onto the street. At the next light, she slid her glasses on top of her head and glanced over at my clothes, hair, and makeup-free face. “I'm very pleased he has given me so much to work with." She winked after she said this, her newly revealed hazel green eyes twinkling. I still wasn’t sure what Katya knew, but I liked her—her lightness and energy. I needed some of that in my life. I felt myself relax and return her smile with one of my own.
"Yes, Nikolai seems to believe that I am fashion backward,” I deadpanned. Katya laughed and patted me on the knee, as if to soften the sting of Nikolai’s opinions. “I have to admit, most of my fashion choices are mostly based on the twin desires of comfort and invisibility."
Katya smiled and nodded her head. "Well, mission accomplished. You look both comfortable, and mostly, invisible. But I see how pretty you are, Hannah. My guess is that Nikolai has noticed, too."
I almost laughed out loud at that comment. Oh, optimistic, and apparently romantic, Katya. She definitely didn't know our deal if that's what she was thinking. I didn't laugh though, because she was looking at me with such dedicated sincerity I almost wanted to reach over and hug her for it. I found myself kind of in love with Katya right then. She was doing wonders for my self-esteem.
"Well, I'm really only friends with Nikolai. He's just doing this to be nice."
I didn’t know what prompted this sudden burst of honesty, but I didn’t want to lie to Katya. I wanted to portray our relationship as realistically as possible to her, since we didn't have to fool Katya—she didn't go to our school. She shot me a hilarious what-the-fuck face when I described Nikolai as being nice.
Katya’s expression then morphed into one that was equal parts concern and indulgence. "Uh, no he isn't. Not at all. And he definitely doesn't do things out of the goodness of his heart. If he's hanging out with you it's because he wants to, or—” She paused, gazing forward thoughtfully for a minute, as if she were omitting some other, less idealistic reasons he would be spending time with me.
After a moment of consideration, she apparently came to the conclusion I would have nothing of consequence to offer Nikolai. She was right, because I couldn’t even get him to take my seven hundred dollars. Katya glanced at me again with a coy smile. “Because he likes you." She winked at me again after she said that.
Like I said, there was a lot to like about Katya.