Sleeping with Beauty by Donna Kauffman

person is unique, and so are their concerns. We approach each of our guests as individuals and plan their program accordingly.”
    “Is it really all that complicated?”
    Aurora took another measured sip. “Are you saying your reasons for wanting to attend your reunion as something of a knockout are simple?”
    Lucy shrugged, feeling another twinge of discomfort.
Chatting a bit, my ass.
Aurora might have the smile of a fairy godmother, but those faded blue eyes told the real story. And they were shrewd. “If we’re going to get existential, then no, of course not. On one plane, even the simplest decision is a resolution reached after assessing complex layers of motivation and desire.” Aurora didn’t appear to be impressed by her academic bullshit. Rats. “But what I want here is pretty basic. Both the motivation and desire are, I would imagine, fairly common. I wasn’t one of the swans in high school. Far from it. I’ve long since accepted that.” So much for keeping her school issues out of the conversation, too. “But when I got the reunion notice and your magazine article in the same day, I figured, why not get a little outside help, scrape off a layer or two of ugly duckling, and go back with my head held high? Trust me, I won’t hold anyone at Glass Slipper accountable if I don’t get the reunion-queen crown. I just want to . . .”
Wow them. Blow their collective snotty minds. Make an entrance, dammit.
“Fit in,” she finished lamely.
    Aurora’s gaze grew more attentive. “When you were talking with us during our initial visit, I believe you used the word ‘bulletproof.’ What exactly did you mean by that?”
    Lucy sank back in her chair, pulled into the conversation despite the little voice in her head urging her to
flee now, flee fast!
Aurora’s twinkling gaze was like some kind of tractor beam, compelling her testimony as if she were under some kind of self-improvement oath. “It’s not about being a knockout.” Lucy adjusted her reliable, if not-so-trendy, wire-rim glasses and gestured to her pleated khakis, pinstriped blouse, and Naturalizer sandals so boring they weren’t even on the cutting edge of schoolmarm fashion. “I mean, who are we kidding here?” She sighed. “I just want—hope—to feel confident enough so that when I walk in the door, the whispers and comments won’t shake me.”
    “It’s been ten years. Perhaps your classmates have matured.”
    “With the invitation came an invite to join an e-mail reunion loop. I signed up to see what was going on, who was attending, that sort of thing.”
    Aurora made one of those hmming sounds. “And from what you’ve read, you feel like they would still find such behavior amusing?”
    Lucy’s lips quirked. “Not all of them. But you know what they say about leopards and spots. Some have used the intervening years to elevate their catty behavior to an art form.”
    “You don’t have any interest in renewing ties with any of them?”
    “God, no.” Lucy waved her hand. “I know what you’re going to say. Why go through all this for a bunch of losers who aren’t even relevant to my life?”
    Aurora didn’t respond to that. Instead, she said, “You said you want to be a knockout. And that you want to fit in. Do you think you need the former to get the latter?”
    Lucy shrugged. “It’s a start. But I don’t want to fit in the way you mean it. It’s not about acceptance into their tribe. I don’t want to actually
be
one of them.”
    Aurora’s eyes lit up a bit. “Then this is about going back and getting revenge, hm? Do you want to prove to them that you’re worthy of their acceptance, only to reject it when it’s offered?”
    Lucy opened her mouth to deny it, then stopped, reflected for a moment. “Maybe a little of both.”
    “You’re very honest with yourself.” Her smile widened. “That’s good.”
    Lucy lifted a shoulder, not quite sure how to respond to that.
    “Wanting revenge is human, if not always