Evil Red by Nikki Jefford

 
ACT I
     
    The trouble with sharing a double-wide trailer with
four sisters and a drunk mother was everyone always got into
Valerie’s things.
    Last weekend,
she ’d found a scuff mark on her black heels. Tonight, her
favorite tube of red lipstick disappeared from her oversized makeup
bag.
    If those skanks wanted to wear nice stuff, they
should steal their own shit.
    Valerie decided to blame Laura even though her
younger sister had never shown interest in boys, fashion, or
makeup. Obviously the girl had been switched at birth or her father
was an even bigger loser than Valerie’s. Still, Laura was seen with
red lips the shade of Catfight at the beginning of the week. At the
time, Valerie assumed she’d finished sucking a lollypop.
    Valerie set her makeup bag on top of the toilet and
leaned into the mirror with her angry face. Damn, she looked
fierce. She practiced a variety of expressions every day for when
her time came to audition for the silver screen. First she had to graduate from high school. Next stop,
Hollywood.
    Now to make better use of her death glare by
directing it at Laura. Valerie had to take deliberate steps down
the cramped hallway in her micro-mini skirt. If it had been any
tighter, she would be hopping down the hall rather than
walking.
    Valerie threw open the door of their shared bedroom.
Laura gave a start from her corner, where she sat on top of her
quilted bedspread with a magazine and pen. Probably taking a
quiz.
    Am I a
loser? A. Most definitely yes.
    “Where is my lipstick?” Valerie demanded.
    Laura scowled. “What lipstick?”
    “Catfight from Urban Decay. I saw you wearing it
earlier in the week.”
    “No I didn’t.”
    Their eyes locked.
    Laura waved a hand in the air. “ Look, I don ’t know where your stupid
lipstick is. You have like a gazillion. Why don’t you wear
something else?”
    “Because, I want Catfight,” Valerie said, advancing
on her sister with each word. She made it to the edge of Laura’s
bed and snatched her sister’s magazine from her lap.
    “Hey!” Laura cried, reaching for her latest issue of
Seventeen.
    Valerie held it up high. Even without heels, she was
three inches taller than Laura. She took a step back and lowered
the magazine to see what her sister had been reading. A quiz. How
predictable.
    “Does your crush know you exist?” Valerie read aloud.
“So that’s why you stole my lipstick.”
    “I didn’t steal it, I borrowed it, and put it right
back. Ask Janice. She’s the one always getting into your things.
How come you never harass her?”
    There was no fighting with Janice. Because she’d been
born first, she had it in her head that she knew better than
anyone. Janice didn’t even bother lying. She’d end up telling
Valerie that she’d buy her a new one… then never do it.
    Chances were much better with Laura.
    “You owe me a tube of lipstick.”
    Laura’s lip folded over. “I only used it once.”
    “You used it, you owe me. I better see twenty-four
dollars on my nightstand by the end of the weekend.”
    “You’re such a bitch,” Laura grumbled. “I want my
magazine back.”
    Valerie glanced at the open page before shooting her
sister a wicked grin. “Don’t bother with the quiz. I already have
the answer for you and it’s ‘no’. Whatever guy you’re all hot for
doesn’t know you exist and never will.”
    Laura’s face contorted in rage right before she
screamed. “Get out!”
    “Twenty-four dollars by Sunday,” Valerie said before
tossing the magazine at her.
    Valerie inched her way back to the bathroom and dug
around her makeup bag until she found an acceptable substitute. As
she puckered her lips, she caught her youngest sister, Ali,
watching from the hallway.
    “ You look
beautiful, Val. ”
    Okay, so that one was sweet.
    Valerie fluffed out her thick ginger locks and
smiled. “Thank you, Ali Bear. Come here, I have something for
you.”
    Ali stepped into the bathroom as Valerie dug around
her bag until