Before the Shooting: five portraits: #3. Tina Smith
#3. Tina Smith
Tina took one more look in the mirror on her long violet vanity. She adjusted the silk scarf that hid the scar from last summer’s operation. She didn’t care about the scar any more, not after Saturday night. Not after going to prom with Matt Houseman. Now everything was perfect.
The school dress code mandated that girls wear a white cotton blouse, khaki skirt or slacks, and shoes or sandals, not flip-flops. For four years she’d followed that ridiculous code, but not today. She didn’t care what they said on the television about staying home. It was her birthday. She was eighteen and Matt Houseman loved her. Just for him she was going to wear her special present—a Ralph Lauren Black Label Silk Floral Blouse.
The blouse was obscenely sheer with a woven floral design, but she’d placated her father by wearing a white silk Victoria’s Secret camisole underneath. Her mother lied about the price. “It was on sale for $125,” she said. “Half price.” Actually her mother paid five times that amount, hiding the cost with her other charges.
Tina feared that Mr. Baader would make her change, but she had a spare blouse in her locker. After school, at Matt’s house, she could model it for him. If he was nice, she might model it without the camisole.
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