London
“I have nothing to wear.” I flop onto my bed with a groan. Then cover my mouth before my dad comes running upstairs to ‘help’ me with something. The last time he busted through that door, I couldn’t get my bra clasped, and let's just say, we were both traumatized.
I need to move out and get my own place, but every last dime in my bank account is going toward the loan on my bakery, and the other necessities. Like bras that don’t have hooks.
“Nothing? You have to have something.” Monica speaks up over the phone.
“I really don’t.” I switch the camera and face my phone at my closet like she’ll be able to tell from the limited view what options are available.
“Hmm. What about that pink thing?”
“No pockets.”
“Is that your prom dress in the corner?” she asks.
I never could get rid of it. “I’m not wearing that if that’s what you’re thinking.”
“What about the baby blue top and your white jeans?”
I put the phone down to retrieve the top.
“Maybe. Ugh, why am I doing this?”
“Because you hadfunlast night and you want to do it again,” she says.
I did have fun. That was the problem. I didn’t want to get my heart involved in this, in Sean again, but somehow it already is. So I agreed to the date, to put these feelings to rest once and for all. One date was all he asked for, all I promised. After that, I’ll be free of him.
So why does that thought make my chest ache?
“He didn’t even tell me what we are doing,” I say.
“Maybe he’s taking you to fill the principal’s office with chicks. That was a classic.”
It had been. The student body had had a field day with that little stunt. Until one got run over in the employee parking lot. Then the entire senior class skipped the last period to hold a chick funeral. Sean had officiated of course, and had everyone in tears with his ridiculous speech. By the end of it, we all felt like we knew that poor little chick.
“But I doubt he still has Principal Beatty’s keys,” she assures me.
I truly wouldn’t put anything past Sean.
“For real though, he didn’t tell you anything?”
“Nada.” I pull off my clothes and slip into the new outfit. The shirt has short sleeves, so I don’t have to worry about adjusting the left sleeve. “I don’t even have his number.” How is he supposed to pick me up? He told me five. He didn’t ask any follow-up questions and neither did I. I thought he’d forget, and now, I’m pretty sure he has because he doesn’t know where I live. This all feels very familiar.
My throat constricts. That’s it. It’s all a prank. Again. “He was probably just joking.”
Nerves flutter in my chest, and I adjust the top. I’ve been nervous, anxious, and excited, the complete rollercoaster of mixed emotions for the last day. But now it’s all winding down into a giant ball of unease in my stomach.
“I don’t believe that for a second,” Monica says.
“Why? It’s Sean, history has proved he likes to ditch me.” Maybe that’s what hurt the most back then. Before the dance he made a point to say hi to me in the halls and talk to me in the one class we shared. But after, he barely even glanced in my direction, and I swear he purposely flirted with other girls in front of me.
I couldn’t look at him either. It hurt too much. I take a deep breath; this isn’t high school. If Sean doesn’t show up, then good riddance.Right?
“Besides, Sean and I are complete opposites. It would never work out.” I place the phone on the bathroom counter while I finish my makeup.
“You know,” Monica picks up one of the books she always seems to have near and fans her face. “There’s this widely known romance trope known asopposites attract. It seems like it could be legit.”
I roll my eyes. “You know what I mean.”
