Chapter 10

Operation: Get Answers

"So what do you guys think about Derrick?" Galleria asked eager to get her friends advice. 'You want the truth?' Chanel thought to herself. 'The clean version?' she ventured.

"Girl you should totally get with that!" Aqua exclaimed excited for her lucky friend. "He's even finer than he was before!" she finished. "Well I think it depends on how you feel about him." Dorinda cut in. "Do you think he's changed? Is it even worth a second try?" she questioned.

Galleria thought about her and Derricks conversation. "He seems to have changed as far as I can tell, but I guess it could be an act." Galleria admitted. 'Yeah! One that ya'll are all falling for!'Chanel thought in aggravation.

"What about you Chanel? What do you think?" Galleria questioned the suddenly quiet Latina. "Heck no!" Chanel exclaimed earning surprised looks from the other girls. 'Oops! Didn't mean to say that aloud!' Chanel thought internally kicking herself. "I mean I don't think you should date him." Chanel stated more calmly trying to gain back what sanity she had with the others.

"Why not?" Galleria questioned. "Well Galleria….."Chanel started. "I'm going to try to put this as nice as possible," she continued delicately. "I think he's a complete jerk." she let out. "I can't stand the guy. I wish a piano would fall out of the sky and land on top of him." Chanel finished with a calm and seriousness that was almost funny.

Three pairs of eyes looked at her completely astonished. Aqua was the first to speak up. "Wow. That was really NICE" she said sarcastically to the other girl. "Chanel I think he really has changed." Galleria attempted trying to convince her friend. "He seems more nice,"

'Stupid!'

"Considerate,"

'Home wrecker!'

"He really seems different." Galleria concluded.

"Well maybe he is different," Chanel started. "But I still don't think you're the girl for him." She stated. "See Derrick needs a girl who is stuck up on herself,…….who has no life,……..who owns a really big mirror." She explained. "That way they can talk about themselves all day and then stare at themselves and criticize each other. It'll be like making love for them." She concluded earning a chuckle from Dorinda.

"C'mon Chanel." Galleria pleaded. "I really want to give him another chance and it would be nice if I had your support." Galleria half whined wondering why Chanel's approval meant to much to her. "Well I don't know if I can give it to you." Chanel said causing an automatic overcoming of awkward silence.

"Look," Chanel sighed finally interrupting the silence. "Let's just drop the subject for now." She suggested. "Alright. Fine by me! Already forgotten!" the other girls echoed as they all continued to walk down the mall.

One of the girls though had yet to forget what had just happened. Dorinda thought about Chanel's extreme dislike for Derrick and Galleria's need for the other girl's approval. The wheels in her head began to turn. 'Why does she not like him so much? I mean you would swear she was jealous or something………jealous! It makes perfect since! Her and Galleria have been best friends forever; it's very possible she might feel something more for her.' Dorinda realized.

'And why does Galleria need her approval so badly?' 'Galleria's always been there for Chanel and I've always thought they're relationship was border line platonic………yeah there's definitely the possibility that she'd have feelings for Chanel.' Dorinda mused.

A devious smile began to work it's way across her face as she thought of a plan to clarify the gut feeling she was having about her friends and their feelings for each other. Chanel was already seemingly on pins and needles; so Dorinda decided to pull her plan on Galleria.

She looked around for the kind of store. 'Bingo!' she thought as she spotted the perfect store two doors stores down from where they were. "You guys let's go to Vickies!" Dorinda suddenly exclaimed in excitement. "My foster mom's birthday is next week." She quickly covered. "I want to get her some good smelling lotion……..she has a boyfriend you know!" she half lied. Mrs. Bosco did have a boyfriend, but it was nowhere near her birthday.

"Okay" the others shrugged following behind her. 'Operation: Get Answers is a go!' Dorinda thought to herself as they headed for the store. Once inside they all went their separate ways in look of all things Victoria's Secrets had to offer. 'Perfect.' She smiled as she found Galleria and quickly grabbed her asking her to help her pick out the lotion for her foster mom.

Galleria was more than happy to help her friend and walked her to a rack of nice lotion that smelt like different fruit and different fruit blends. "Let's try some of these." Galleria requested. Dorinda walked up to the shelf and quickly picked one. "I want this one!" she exclaimed turning around seemingly in a hurry and heading towards the front of the store. "Let's see what Chanel is up to!" she rushed having seen that the girl was in the perfect spot for "Operation: Get Answers".

Galleria frowned with a puzzled look on her face as Dorinda practically dragged her away. "But that's tangerine!" she finally exclaimed causing Dorinda to stop in her tracks and look at her questioning. "The lotion, it smells like tangerine." Galleria informed her. 'Wait ago Doe! Galleria knows you hate tangerine! And you grab the lotion?! Now she'll never believe my story!' Dorinda thought.

"But……..that's okay!" Dorinda attempted to cover. "I've tried it before………It's actually one of my favorites!" she said. Galleria looked at her seemingly unconvinced. "See?" Dorinda asked opening the bottle and putting a little of the lotion on her palms. She rubbed it in. "It smells………" Dorinda made a face as the nasty smell drifted into her nostrils. "Good" she said with a faux smile.

"Now C'mon!" she said re-grabbing Galleria's hand and heading for Chanel who was looking at some black lingerie. 'Yes! She's still there!' Dorinda praised internally as they quickly joined the oblivious Chanel at her rack.

"Oh Wow! That's gorgeous!" Dorinda commented on the black, lace lingerie Chanel was looking at. "That would look great on you!" 'Here comes the line, sink and kill!' "Don't you think so Galleria?!" Dorinda rattled off. "Hmm I don't know you guys." Chanel said but Galleria nor Dorinda were listening to her. Dorinda was watching Galleria closely to see the way she responded to the question while Galleria was letting her mind wonder to not so good of places.

The other girl visibly shifted at the utter of the question. She put her head down and gulped in some air obviously bothered by what would've been a simple question between "friends". It was the worst possible reaction she could've possibly had.

"Yeah" Galleria finally eeked out turning beet red. Dorinda smiled triumphantly. Her assumptions were now confirmed. 'Galleria likes Chanel! And boy does she have it bad!' Dorinda thought excitedly. She was not the one to judge anyone and supported all types of relationships.

'That would be so cute! I wonder if anything's goin on.' She mused. "Okay. I'll go try it on." Chanel said going into a dressing room that was off to their left. 'Oh if only I could be in that dressing room!' Galleria thought letting her mind wander to the way the stuff would look on the other girl. She quickly blushed another shade of red at her naughty thoughts. 'What am I gonna do?!' she thought going and sitting down on a nearby bench.

'If these two aren't together yet, they will be by the time I'm threw with them!' Dorinda declared to herself. Joaquin had taught her many things and one of them was that if two people loved each other, no matter what the circumstances, they should be together. 'Dorinda's matchmaking service is officially open!' the blonde thought as she began making plans on what she was going to do.