Jenny got it wrong

Jenny was as bright as a lightbulb, or that's what her grandma called her. She always made good decisions. Well, that's what everyone thought. But Jenny knew she got it all wrong.

The last few weeks of high school were tough. Jenny, the popular and beautiful long-haired girl, seemed to shine gold. "Jenny, go to the dance with me.", "Jenny, walk with me to my home room. "Jenny, come to my sleepover". Invitations, invitations. She always picked the right ones, but she didn't know this would be the day she made the wrong decision.

Boys. Boys were her downfall. Who to say yes to and who to say no to. So, she said yes to pretty much all of them. Not in a romantic way, but definitely to seem even more popular or to keep up with her older sister Kate.

Kate was bland. That seemed an awful way for Jenny to describe her only sister. Kate did great in school. Very scholarly. She could dance but never seemed to stand out. One thing that Kate had that Jenny didn't have was Paul. Paul, the tall, dark-haired, dark-eyed Paul. She had heard that a boy can make you swoon, but she wasn't sure what that meant until Paul. Jenny couldn't understand what Paul saw in Kate. Sure, Jenny loved her sister, and could see Kate had some good traits, but Paul was totally out of her league.

So Jenny did something she never thought possible. The last few weeks of school were unbearable. Kate and Paul, Kate and Paul. Where one went, the other seemed to be lingering nearby. Her plan couldn't work if Kate were around all the time. She never would be able to get Paul alone and her plan absolutely wouldn't work unless she could.

Jenny decided she needed to approach this from another angle. She needed a two-step approach. One, get Paul alone. Two, get Paul to see she was the right girl for him, not Kate. She waited until she simply felt she would burst. She had to tell someone about her plan, and unfortunately, Kate was also normally that person. So instead, she chose her second bestie, Anne.

Anne was kind of Jenny's minion. She dressed like Jenny, talked like Jenny, and followed her around to be at her beck and call for one small glimpse of fame in this golden girl's circle. And they devised a plan that was sure to get Paul to see Jenny, not Kate, was the right girl for him.

So that glorious day just a few days shy of Kate's homecoming date with Paul, it happened. "Oh, Kate, I'm so sorry you can't go to homecoming You can't get out of bed with that bad cold". I know you were hoping you and Paul would be Homecoming King and Queen!" Who will he go with now? He has spent so much money to get ready, and he just has to go. I know this is weird, but I am your baby sister and all, and I could stand in for you since we are the same size and I could wear your dress, and I could go with Paul and I , I , I". The litany of reasons why this was a great idea seemed to fall from her mouth, and Kate was simply too sick to disagree.

So, her plan had worked, or at this point, she was sure that Paul would fall out of love with her older, boring sister and right into her arms. Kate's dress was pretty. It wasn't something that Jenny would have chosen. Her colors were bright pink, gold, and silver, flashy. Kate was much more subdued and had chosen a light blue, simple dress. Not even one sequin to be found. Her shoes were flats. flats, she couldn't believe it, but if Jenny changed them to heels, she would tower over Paul. She had heard that it was not a good thing to be taller than your date. She dressed in Kate's dress and off she went to the dance. Dreams of a fairytale date soon did not occur quite in the way she dreamed.

Paul did pick her up, and they did go to the dance. He dressed great, smelled great, and she couldn't wait until he could see her as the right one for him. She was as dazzling and funny as she could be, but nothing seemed like she imagined. She hadn't given up hope. Her plan was going to work. She was going to get his attention and maybe a kiss. She knew it would hurt Kate, but she'd get over it. She had dreamed of this scenario about telling Kate, "We just fell in love. I'm so sorry, but you will find someone else. You see, we are just made for each other".

"Jenny, I'm so glad you came to save my bacon, but I miss Kate. Kate is the only girl for me." I don't know what I'd do without her. She is so sweet, so funny, and so..." It went on and on. All he could talk about was Kate. Kate and cars. Ugh. Neither were her favorite subjects. That wasn't the worst of it.

The lights went low, the music was soft, and the dancing began. Paul took her by the hand as they walked to the dance floor. Her dream was coming true. She could persuade him she was the girl for him. She afterall, was the beautiful, dazzling sister that everyone adored. Then it happened. He started to sing. Lound, really really loud. From his mouth came the worst rendition of the song the band was playing, and he started to dance. She had never expected to see someone flaying about so much. His jumping midair was embarrassing. He was also sweating. He didn't smell bad but she wondered how someone could sweat so much. Her friends were in the corner laughing, actually laughing. How could she have gotten it so wrong! "Kate can have him", she thought to herself. No, she wondered, "how in the world am I going to get out of this alive?.

Jenny's Mom had always said, "to each his own," and she never really understood what that meant, but today she did.

Then and there, she decided to give Paul back to Kate. She could have him, and she realized how wrong she had been.