reminded　her。　？I　wrote　about　your　ears；　but　it　kind　of　sucked。？

The　two　girls　bowed　their　heads　against　the　fierce　February　wind　and　headed　over　to　Lexington

to　take　the　bus　down　to　Bloomingdale？s　on　East　Fifty…ninth　Street。　Elise　had　enlisted　Jenny　to

help　her　to　find　the　perfect　pair　of　jeans　for　less　than　eighty　dollars；　and；　as　usual；　Jenny　needed

some　new　bras；　since　she　was　always　wearing　out　the　elastic　or　breaking　the　underwires　in　the

ones　she　had。

Bloomingdale？s　was　a　tacky　war　zone　of　tourists　sporting　the　new　tracksuits　and　sneakers　they？d

just　bought　at　Nike　Town；　along　with　gaggles　of　blue…haired　bargain　hunters；　but　it　was　the　only

place　to　go　for　oversized　bras　and　moderately　priced　jeans　other　than　Macy？s；　which　was　simply

gross。

Those　with　better　taste　and　bigger　credit　limits　went　to　Bergdorf？s；　Bendel？s；　or　Barneys；　but　for

people　like　Jenny　and　Elise；　Bloomingdale？s　would　just　have　to　do。

？I　can？t　believe　you　can　just　put　those　on　and　they？re　the　perfect　length；？　Jenny　said　enviously　as

she　watched　Elise　try　on　her　first　pair　of　Paris　Blues　jeans　in　the　dressing　room。　Jenny　was　barely

five　feet　tall　and　had　to　shorten　everything。　Elise　was　five　foot　seven；　but　she　had　other　problems；

like　her　pletely　flat　chest　and　the　podge　that　padded　her　hip　bones　and　lower　back　like　a

second　butt。

Elise　scrunched　up　her　freckled　face　and　stared　down　at　the　bulges　riding　above　the　waistband　of

the　low…rise　jeans。　？See　why　I　can？t　eat　in　public？？　she　grunted；　sucking　in　her　stomach　and

tugging　on　the　waistband。　The　jeans　were　9　percent　Lycra；　but　that　didn？t　seem　to　make　much

difference。　She　exhaled　and　let　her　stomach　out；　g