"You and Nigel are so close! What's going on?" Rita asked the next day at lunch.

"Nothing. We're just friends", I said.

"Uh huh. And you expect me to believe that?" Rita asked.

"Rita, if there's anything going on, I would tell you. You're my best friend."

"It's obvious you're in love with him."

"I'm that obvious?"

"Not to him, but to everyone else."

"What's this?" Rita said and took a Bible out of my bag. Uh oh. Her eyes were very sharp and she could notice tiny details. She was good at those spot the difference games.

"A Bible?"

"Kayla, what's going on?"

"Okay. Nigel's a Christian and I lied to him that I was one too so I'm pretending to be one."

"Why?"

"Because I don't want to lose them."

"If a guy doesn't accept you for who you truly are, then he's not worth it."

"He's so worth it, Rita. I made a mistake with all the other guys I've dated in the past."

"Uh....what mistake?"

"I didn't give them what they wanted."

"And you think this is what Nigel wants?"

"I know this is what he wants."

"I don't want to burst your bubble or anything, but you aren't you wasting your time? What if it doesn't work out?"

"It will. It has to."

"Okay, I'm supporting you in this. I'm not saying it is right but best friends support each other so I'm going to give you 100% support."

"Thanks so much, Rita! You're the best!"

"Speaking of best friends, I've found this great place Nikki will love. We could go there sometime and...."

"Nikki and I aren't friends anymore."

"What happened?"

"We had a fight."

"Let me guess. Over Nigel?"

I could only nod.

"Aww, Kayla...you always make up after your arguments. Just give it some time."

"I don't think that's going to happen. I actually forgot his birthday! What kind of best friend am I? We've not spoken to each other for three weeks, it's almost a month now."

"I'm sure it will all work out. Cheer up. Isn't there anything you want to do?"

"Well, I want a total makeover!"

"A makeover? But you look just fine!"

"Not exactly! I mean I need to buy new clothes, change my whole look, probably my hair and...."

"Okay, I get what you mean! Let's go shopping when we close from work."

"Today?"

"Yeah, today."

"Okay, that's great!"

It seemed that the time was slower than usual but before I knew it, I was hitting the road, on the way to the mall.

"Okay. I've found these clothes you could try on", Rita told me.

Rita was so helpful and in a few minutes, we both selected the best clothes and I went to the beauty spa to change my hair and make-up. Our next stop was a small Christian store which sold t-shirts, books, music, you name it.

I looked at the t-shirts with the catchiest writings. A particular t-shirt attracted me. It was purple with the words "Show Jesus" in black. I picked other t-shirts with other writings like "God Girl", "Unashamed", "116", "Jesus Freak". I had no idea what any of those stood for but if they made Nigel happy, I'm fine with that.

"Listen to this", Rita said and before I could answer, she plugged the earphones in my ear.

"It's "Christian Girl" by V.Rose. You totally need to change your ringtone and I love the beat of this song!" Rita told me.

"Aww..." I said, holding on to my phone.

"I didn't say you're going to delete all the music on your phone. Of course not! You're just going to make new additions", Rita said.

"How did you find new music so fast?" I said in surprise.

"I'm a researcher. That's what I do for a living."

"Oh, yeah. I forgot that."

We exited the mall and went home. We sorted out the clothes and all that I had bought.

"Phase one is complete. Phase two is changing the way I speak and stuff. You know, my attitude and all that", I told Rita.

"Don't worry. We'll practise that later", Rita assured me.

"Oh! And I have to go to church! Bummer!" I shouted in frustration.

"You called for it", Rita said.

"Twice or thrice a month would be okay, I guess."

"You have to go every week, Kayla. No slacking off."

"Oh...fine, I guess."

"There are mid-week services too!" Rita reminded me.

"Shut up!" I said and threw a pillow at her. She dodged it and it hit the wall.

She picked another pillow and threw it at me. It hit me right in the face. It turned into a pillow fight and Rita won, of course. I totally suck at pillow fights. Sometimes, she lets me win deliberately. We looked at each other and held hands, just enjoying each other's presence.

"You're the greatest friend, you know, supporting me in this crazy venture", I told Rita.

"That's what friends do", Rita told me and pulled me in a warm hug.

We spent the rest of the time just chatting and making further plans to make my pretend seem real. I was excited at the possibilities ahead of me and scared at the probability of a big, big failure. Well, I guess I just have to wait and see.