Sophie let out an angry laugh. “You think I don’t know what it’s like to be stared at? Are you kidding me?”

“I—I—that’s not … that’s not what I meant…” Eve fumbled for what to say.

“You know, there’ve been other lists before. There have been lists written on bathroom walls. There have been surveys of which girls have the best smiles, clothes, stuff like that. I’ve always won those. I’ve been stared at plenty. The difference is that I embrace it.”

“Well”—Eve tried to be brave and push back on Sophie Kane—“I don’t. And those are special-occasion clothes, anyway. They’re too formfitting to wear to school,” Eve said. “Ever since…” Last summer when her body had changed its size.

“They’re not!” Sophie spat back.

Eve almost said “They are!” but she didn’t want to turn this into a pointless fight. Eve tried to remember that if she did what Sophie said, if she could keep Brody’s interest and get his trust, then she could go back to T-shirts. “I just don’t want to dress, like, for other people, you know?”

“You know what?” Sophie picked up one of the shirts on Eve’s bed, went toward the mirror, and held it up in front of herself. “Whether it’s to try to look like number one or not, it’s okay to just wear something that makes you feel good, you know? Like, I would feel good wearing this. Even if I wasn’t trying to be anything.” She spun around to Eve and posed. She went to grab some of the other shirts and repeated the same routine.

“But…” Eve felt herself genuinely wanting to know what Sophie thought. “What if my brother’s shirts do make me feel good? And it feels good to not be stared at?”

“Aren’t you kind of wearing them for ‘other people’ then, too?” Sophie put one of Eve’s skirts in front of her waist and swayed side to side a little. “You’re not wearing them because they make you feel good. You’re wearing them because of how you want other people to see you. Or not see you. Right? Same thing, kind of. Here, put this on.” Sophie tossed her a different skirt and a necklace she’d found in the jewelry box. “See if you feel good.”

“Okay,” Eve relented. “I’ll put it on.”

Eve went into her closet and changed. Did she wear the big shirts only because of other people’s opinions? She wasn’t sure.

When she came out, Sophie said, “Feels nice, right?” and went toward the closet to hang up all the outfits she’d created.

It felt okay. Yeah.

“Your wardrobe for the week,” Sophie declared. Then she went back to the makeup and motioned for Eve to sit down on the edge of the bed. Sophie pulled a chair in front of her to begin their makeup tutorial.

“So what did Brody say when you said yes to going to the Halloween dance with him?” Sophie asked as she picked up some sponges and concealer.