This was really the last straw. It all fit together into a devious little
plot that
John was her latest boyfriend, and he’d suddenly broken off their
relationship last week. Now she knew why. Apparently he was seeing Barbara, her
roommate. Although she hadn’t actually seen them and they didn’t see her,
she’d ducked behind a door just in time to overhear them discussing “keeping
it a secret” and “she’d sure be surprised if she knew.” Well, she knew
and it was no real big surprise.
As Sharon
looked around the bathroom, several things came to mind. She quickly dumped
Barbara’s shampoo down the drain and replaced it with depilatory lotion,
making sure to fill the bottle only to the level where the shampoo had been. In
the medicine cabinet, she switched the diet pills and the pain pills. In the
kitchen she switched the salt and the sugar. And just for good measure, as she
headed out the door, she gave Barbara’s beloved indoor ficus tree a dose of
salt water, a treatment which would sound its death knoll.
By the time she had finished making sure Barbara’s life would be as
miserable as her own, Sharon
was running late for work. Which wasn’t unusual. In fact, it was the last
straw as far as her boss was concerned. “Pack your desk and don’t come
back!” The whole office heard her get canned.
She was definitely having a “bad hair day,” but Sharon
smiled at the thought of Barbara having a “no hair day” tomorrow. And
somehow it all seemed worthwhile.
When she arrived back at their apartment she brewed herself a cup of hot
tea and swallowed a pain pill with the first sip. But she gagged on the brackish
liquid and realized she had put salt in her teacup and just taken a diet pill.
She only hoped her evil little pranks would work as well on her unsuspecting
roommate.
After the way her day had started, Sharon
decided to go back to bed. Maybe tomorrow will be better, she thought. When she
shoved the door to her room open and walked in, a banner that said
“SURPRISE” smacked her in the face and she had to back up to read it. A
cluster of helium-filled balloons hovered over her bed. She read the attached
note:
Meet
us at four o’clock at Bernie’s.
Happy Birthday!
Barbara and Trent
How could she have been so wrong
about her best friend? Barbara had not only remembered her birthday, but she’d
planned a surprise party with Sharon’s brother, Trent. His voice was obviously the one she’d heard early in the
morning. NOT John’s! She’d made a huge mistake, and guilt seized her as she
worked frantically to make amends before Barbara found out.
She switched the salt and sugar back to the way they were supposed to be,
as well as the diet pills and the pain pills. Then she rushed out to the store
and bought another bottle of Barbara’s shampoo and a big bag of potting soil.
It was almost more than she could handle, removing the large ficus tree from its
tub, washing the soil from the roots and potting it in new soil. She hoped it
would survive the traumatic upheaval.
At almost four o’clock Sharon
was still blow drying her hair after a much-needed shower. She opened her eyes
and stared aghast. Her hair was falling out in clumps on the floor. She’d
forgotten to get rid of the shampoo bottle containing the depilatory lotion, and
it was the one she used.
Her hair somewhat thinner and arranged strategically to hide the bald
spots,
“You don’t know how much this means to me,” Sharon
told Barbara the first opportunity she had. All her other friends had left by
now after eating and drinking their fill. The party was a huge success and Sharon
knew it had been an expensive undertaking. “Thank you for being a good friend
to me.”
“I’m glad you liked it.” They hugged and after a little hesitation
Barbara ventured, “That makes it easier for me to break the news to
you—I’m seeing John.”
