Chapter 7 - "Whatta Man" -Tweedle-Tay's Story
October 8, 1999 - Beverly Hills, California

"TJ," Gwen said, looking at me with wide eyes. "Will you draw me?"
I nearly spat out my Doctor Pepper in shock. "What did you say?" I asked.
"Draw me...." she said, fluttering her eyelashes and rolling over.
"Have you got something in your eye?" I asked, concerned.
Gwen frowned. "No."
"Do you wear contacts?" I asked.
"No."
Gwen was over at my house helping me work on my art assignment, which was really nice of her, considering that she didn't do art. We had camped ourselves in the middle of my loungeroom floor and I was painting the portrait I was working on. Actually, to be honest, Gwen was more of a hindrance than a help. "Gwen, why do you want me to draw you?"
Gwen picked up one of my old sketch books and flicked through it. "Look at all these pictures of you sister...... you've filled up an entire sketch book of pictures of her. Smiling, sleeping, reading..... How long did you spend watching her?"
I took the book from her and looked through it. The drawings were ones I'd done in the attic. "Well, you know, there wasn't much else to draw."
"But you've even drawn her for your art assignment. There are plenty of things for you to draw now, TJ, no matter what the past was like," Gwen urged.
"Well, Michaela's always around," I explained.
"You could draw me! I know a way you could make your portrait heaps different to anyone else's portraits...."
"Gwen, you're supposed to draw someone you love," I went on.
Gwen frowned and made a little squealing sound. "God TJ, if ever there was an insensitive guy, it was you!" She stood up and walked out of the room.
Gwen was weird, but I kept finding myself somehow drawn to her. I'd found myself a group (of guys), and they all hated Gwen. They said she was a slut but that wasn't true. If Gwen was a slut she'd be trying to pick me up all the time and she wasn't doing that. Gwen was just....... very highly strung. She had a tendency to get upset and excited over very little things. In that way she was kind of like Michaela, but Gwen got upset with me when I hadn't said a thing. "Gwen!" I called, "I need you to mix some paint! Would you hurry up?"
Gwen walked back into the room with a diet soda. "Sorry TJ. What colour do you want?" she asked, sitting down next to me.
"Mix the colours so that they're the same colour of my hair," I said, taking some blue paint to do Michaela's eyes.
"Right," Gwen said, rolling her eyes. "You know TJ, if you ever have to do a life painting, I'd be happy to pose for you. I'm very comfortable with my body."
"Gwen, what are you talking about?"
"Never mind. Is this okay?" she said, holding up a Chinese container filled with a yellowy sort of paint.
"Close enough," I said. "Thanks."
"You know -"
"Twee-TJ!" Michaela's voice entered the room from upstairs. A few seconds later Michaela joined it. "TJ, does this dress look okay? Hi Gwen."
"Hi Michaela," Gwen said, looking slightly irritated.
"Yeah, that's nice," I said, looking at Michaela's white mini-dress and matching high heels. "Are you going out?"
Michaela looked pissed off. "God TJ, don't you ever listen to me? I told you last week that I had a date with Rod tonight."
I looked at her dress again. "Kay, I think it's a little short. You don't want to give Rod the wrong message.... You know how guys are."
Michaela burst out laughing. "Well, I know how YOU are!" She turned to Gwen. "My brother just looks at a girl and thinks she wants to have sex with him..... but I guess you'd know all about that."
Couldn't Michaela ever forget the attic? Gwen glared at me. "Actually, TJ hasn't tried to crack onto me once," she said.
"Gwen and I are just friends," I explained.
There was a silence. Gwen's face lit up. "Michaela, are you going out with Rod Rilkens?" she asked excitedly.
Michaela nodded. "Mmmmhum."
"As in Rod Rilkens, star basketball player and hottest guy in school?"

"Apparently," Michaela said.
"Oh my god!" Gwen stood up.
"Or Rod Rilkens, star girl pick-her-upper and guy who can't string a sentence together," I said under my breath.
"He asked me out and Cordelia said I should go," Michaela explained.
"Cordelia????" Gwen screeched. "Oh my god! I feel like I'm on 'Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous'!" Gwen paused, looking Michaela up and down. "And you're going with your hair like that?"
"Um, yeah. What's wrong with my hair?" Michaela asked, touching it.
"Nothing's wrong with your hair Michaela," I said helpfully.
"You haven't done anything with it!" Gwen fumbled around in her bag, searching for elastics. Finally she found two white ones and began to do my sister's hair.
When she'd finished, Michaela made a face that indicated distaste. "Pigtails?" she said.
"Yuh-huh," Gwen said proudly.
"But I look like Baby Spice....."
"That's the idea," Gwen said, frustrated. "Guys like Baby Spice. TJ, who's your favourite Spice Girl?"
"Baby Spice, I guess. But that doesn't mean I find her -" I began.
"My point exactly," Gwen said. "Don't stress Michaela, you look way cute!"
Michaela smiled. "You think?"
"Of course!" Gwen said. "Help me out here TJ."
"You look nice Michaela," I contributed. The doorbell rang. "Bye Kay," I said.
"Oh my god - Rod's here! At our house too!!!!" Gwen was jumping up and down with excitement.
"Uh, Gwen, you don't live here," Michaela said. "Um, I'm going back up stairs. You guys talk to Rod for a few minutes." Michaela ran out of the room.
"Why?" I called after her.
"She has to make him wait, silly," Gwen said.
I walked to the door and turned the key. Rod Rilkens was leaning against our door. He was about six foot three and he was wearing these aqua coloured pants and yellow and blue checked shirt. Now I know I'm from Tulsa, which is way more country than LA, but Rod looked like Mr. C. Bumpkin himself. All the same, I could feel Gwen swooning next to me. What right did she have to go for my sister's date? On, the other hand, I didn't like Rod, and would prefer him to be dating Gwen than my sister. "Hi," I said, gesturing for Rod to come in. "She's just upstairs." I shut the door and we all walked into the loungeroom.
"Hi Rod," Gwen said, extending her hand.
Rod turned to me. "I didn't know you guys had a little sister."
"They don't. I'm Gwen, you know, from your drama class," Gwen went on.
"Oh.... you're the girl without a partner," Rod said, shaking his head. Gwen frowned.
"You act?" I said in disbelief. "Don't drama students understand Shakespeare?"
"Dude, I don't know what you're talking about," Rod said, checking his watch.
"Shakespeare's optional," Gwen whispered.
"I swear, it is so good to not have to go through all the parental stuff. You know, don't you touch my daughter, drive safely, and all that crap. It's like they don't want you to have any fun," Rod said. This was his attempt at conversation? And to think I thought my sister was smart. Evidently straight A's don't always make common sense.
"TJ, did I hear the doorbell?" my sister's voice floated down the stairs. Michaela had taken her hair down. "Rod - you're here already!" There was something strangely familiar about Michaela's tone. It was the same tone she'd used on the day she'd threatened me with the gun! The same saccharine sweet, butter-wouldn't-melt-in-my-mouth tone. Maybe Michaela was going to get Rod. Cool.
"Hey babe," Rod said, turning around to face Michaela. "You look great."
"Her name's Michaela," I said helpfully.
"Thanks," Michaela said - to Rod. "TJ, we'll be going now. Bye!" she said, kissing me quickly on the cheek. "Bye Gwen!"
As Michaela and Rod walked out the door, I saw Rod put his hand on my sister's butt. "Hey, don't you touch my sister!" I called. As Gwen and I watched them drive away, I felt something on my butt. Probably a bug. I slapped it away. I closed the door. "What a dickhead," I said.
But Gwen, who was holding her right hand in her left and rubbing it, was all starry eyes. "Whatta babe," she said, smiling at me. "I like a man who's not afraid to go for what he wants."
"Good for you. Now come on, my art assignment is due in on Monday!"