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The next thing I kneas jerking awake to the sound of soft knocking My door cracked open, light spilling inside as Crank stuck her head in "You asleep?"

"No," I answered, sitting up and scooting back toward the headboard "You can coht could come in from the hallway, then cas under her A few seconds passed as she bit her lip, staring down at the blanket, seeirl and everythingDuh Stating the obvious, Crank I know you’re a girl" She pulled her cabbie hat off and toyed with it "What I mean is that you look like one"

"Okaaay" I had no idea what she was getting at

"You’re still tough, but you look like a girl You look pretty" She glanced at ave a painful squeeze "Crank"

"I don’t, okay? I’rease and dirt all over" She flipped one of her braids "I can never do anything else with my hair I don’t want to look prissy, but I want to look like a girl, you know?"

Violet cae of beads that hung over her cheeks and brushed the tops of her lips The beads swung against her skin as she cliainst the headboard and her legs straight out "Continue," she said with a regal wave

Pink stained Crank’s cheeks Her sliers fiddled with her hat "So anywayI want you to fix me"

"Fix you?" I blurted "CrankYou don’t need fixing There is nothing wrong with you"

"Justcan you do it?" She waved a hand at herself "Make all this better?"

Violet tilted her head to stare atfor h?"

I knew enough to know that this request hadn’t co had happened to ood about what she saw If so mean to her, I swore I’d make them hurt Bad

"No," she answered

"It’s ’cause Dub likes this girl frony," Violet said

"It is not!"

"She’s thirteen, lives on French boobs"

Crank gaped, her face turning beet red "That is not true, Violet Iher," she saidyou know"

I wanted to hug her Soet that under all that self-confidence and grit was a young girl named Jenna who’d lost her mother and father when she was little, and her brother a few years ago in the ruins She had no one to look up to, to learn fro sister to follow around, to steal her makeup and play in her closet Crank elve, and I knew she ondering why her body hadn’t begun to change like this girl fro you?" I had to ask "Is this really about Dub?"

She gnawed on her bottolare "No And yes, but I swear to God if either of you say anything or act differently, I’ll putaround here for a month"

Violet placed her hand over her chest "Promise"

"Me too," I said "Motor oil tastes like crap"

They laughed

"It’s my birthday," Crank adave ed her, set her back, and said, "Well then, let the birthdayin delight that she’d be back with accessories, and then flew off the bed and out the door Crank and I exchanged sot started "The most important part of a makeover is to stayyou You’re a fixer, a driver, a hell of a e your look a little If you end up liking it, great, but if you’re more comfortable the way you were, then don’t sweat it So about a person is that they’re comfortable in their own skin They oho they are, you know?"

Crank looked down at her stained overalls "These are couys like a girl who can take care of herself I bet whenever a guy sees you with a wrench in your hand, he’s instantly intrigued Like, who is that girl?

"So, some days maybe you lose the hat or do your hair different Maybe add a little o that route--just don’t overdo it Soure out what you did differently That can be ly obvious, you know?"

"I havean arowns on the bed "I have a whole bunch of owns "So not wearing those"

"They’re not for you, silly," Violet said "They’re fordown the hall

"It would look cool to try soested "A nice contrast to the overalls Soh, but feminine, too"