CHAPTER 10

                                    

                                          
AMANDA
                          
"We should totally do this."
                          
Myra slams the magazine down in front of me.
                          
She's in London for a short vacation and is staying overnight at my apartment.
                          
I read the title of the article out loud. The Naughty List: A Wish List Every Naughty Girl Should Make Before She Goes to the Grave.
                          
I snort, pushing it back. 
                          
"You should make one," Myra says suddenly. "Both of us. Like a Christmas challenge."
                          
I stare at her.
                          
"Christmas is not for another two weeks."
                          
She grins.
                          
"Fine. A Pre-Christmas Challenge, then."
                          
"Come on." She nudges my shoulder. "You used to be the bold one in school, remember? The prankster. You shoved a rubber snake down that bully, Maggie Tilton's blouse when she was picking on Abby Ross, and you slashed Billy Ward's bicycle tyres because he laughed at Sally Moore's new braces and made her cry. You were fearless. What happened to that brave girl I knew?"
                          
Colin happened. I toned down after I married him. Became more sober, tried my hardest to become the perfect corporate wife.
                          
Look where that got me.
                          
Bitterness surges, a rancid taste in my mouth.
                          
I turn to Myra.
                          
"Let's do it. Let's make a list."
                          
"Attagirl!" Myra beams.
                          
Ten minutes later, we switch lists.
                          
"What have you got so far?" My naughty list is all of two things long.
                          
1. Eat dessert for all three meals. 
                          
2. Prank call someone. 
                          
I'm not even sure I want to prank call anyone, but it sounds like the right sort of thing to do. 
                          
"Oh, Amy." Myra shakes her head sadly at my list. "We have a lot of work to do."
                          
"Let me see yours."
                          
My mouth drops open.
                          
Myra's list is decadent. Hedonistic. An ode to bad girls everywhere.
                          
1. Have sex in a taxi.
                          
2. Have sex in a bus.
                          
3. Have sex on a train.
                          
4. Have sex in a plane.
                          
5. Have sex in the rain.
                          
6. Have sex on a rock
                          
"A rock?"
                          
She beams.
                          
"The Grand Canyon." A sigh. "It's my ultimate fantasy. With all those tourists looking on and snapping pics."
                          
Her smile flicks off like a switch.
                          
"Redo your list." 
                          
"Why?"
                          
"Because it's boring." She rolls her eyes. "Seriously, it's the kind of list my grandma would make."
                          
She tears off a fresh sheet from my notebook and sets it down in front of me.
                          
"You're twenty-five, Amy, not ninety-five." Her eyes are serious. "The world is a beautiful place, sweetie. Don't miss it." She puts the ballpoint pen in my hand, closes my fingers over it. "Go on. Write down all the things you always wanted to do, but never had the guts to. You only live life once, Amanda Barnes. Live it to the fullest."