Chapter 1

"Hello?"

"Bonjour! guess who it is~!"

"Haha, it's Francis, isn't it?" she laughed into her phone. "Why'd ya call me dude?"

"I wanted to remind you that my graduation party is this Saturday, since you are so forgetful!"

"Oh yeah of course!" she said enthusiastically. " I can't wait! It's gonna be so fun!"

"Aha! not really..." he said. "It is just going to be you, me, and a few other friends, and then my family, boo hiss." He whined into her ear.

"Why do you even hate your family? They are so nice!" she replied. Amelia had met her flaming friend's parents once or twice and they seemed like lovely people.

"Because zey are all so stupid and annoying! All zey are good for is eating my food! duh!" he said. His french accent seemed to reveal itself whenever he got emotional.

"Alright, alright. I get it. So... what other friends are coming?" she hoped she would have someone to talk to other than him. She always got nervous about parties where she only knew one or two people, fearing she would be left to herself.

"Well lets see 'ere...Michelle is coming! And... unfortunately, Natalia is coming..."

Amelia laughed into the phone, hearing the tremble of fear as he spoke her name. Despite being terrified of her, he still kept her around. Mostly for gossip.

"And Alice! Alice Kirkland is coming." he said.

"Oh good..." she sighed with relief. At least she would have a few other girls to talk to.

"I've never hung out with Alice outside of school but I talk to her all the time!"

"Oh really! She is my best friend! You two will get along great!"

"I hope so..." if things went well at the party, the three of them might even become close friends. She just had to hope she'd have a good day...

"Amelia, Don't sound so down! You two will love each other!"

"Haha, you make it sound like we have never met before..." she talks to Alice all the time. In fact, she is in her one (and only) favorite class... Honors American History! America, Fuck yeah!

"Whatever!" he sighed. "Ill see you then okay? Don't forget to get me a present!" She could practically see him make puppy face as he said it.

"Humph! don't you worry, I won't forget. Bye!" she hung up the phone, then went over to her closet. what should I wear? Looking at her dresses, she realized she didn't have much... "Eh, I'll just wear jeans and a nice shirt..."

"Oh no you won't!" said a voice behind her.

"Oh. Hey mom." she said "why can't I just wear that?"

"Because I want you to wear a dress. You could become good friends with these people!"

Amelia sighed the sigh of a thousand sighs. Her mother harping on the fact that she didn't have many friends wasn't helpful or comforting. "Fine I'll wear one. Can we get a new one though?"

"Yes, I'll give you some money and you can go to Macy's. But before you go, can you please fix your hair?"

Fuck off... she thought to herself. She gave her mother an exasperated look, then took the money. She went downstairs and got her keys. "Road trip!" she smiled to herself. A nice car ride is just what she needed.

She climbed into her truck and pushed in the keys. Hearing her engine purr always filled her with a jolt of joy. "I love my BABY!" she exclaimed, slapping the dashboard. Blasting the country station on high, she sped off towards Macy's.

She arrived, parking in the spot furthest from the door (gotta get that exercise) and walked in. "Lets see here..." she tilted her head to the side, looking at the directory. "I guess ill start in the juniors department..."

"Urgggghhhh... I'm not sure if this is gonna work out..." she said as she tried to squeeze herself into another size 16. She sighed, then gave up trying to get the zipper up. "Maybe I'll look in women's..."

She took the brown, printed, V-neck, knee length dress off the rack. "Too matronly..." she decided, and put it right back. Depressed now, she decided to take a break from dress shopping and headed into the main part of the mall for some cinnamon pretzels. She then sat down, and after clearing her head with some good old fashioned greasy and sweet, weighed her options. Looking at the stores around her, she realized there probably wasn't a single place here that could give her a well fitted dress. (That wasn't made for someone 30)

"You know what...forget mom... Ill just buy a really dressy shirt. Ill wear it with some dark jeans."

Two days later, as she put the outfit together for wear, she began to feel a familiar queasiness in the middle of her stomach. "I guess I should wear some makeup..." she went to her dresser, and from the trinkets scattered around it was able to bring together what she needed. The foundation was a little off for her skin color, and the eyeliner wasn't waterproof. It wasn't much, but at least it made her feel better.

"Okay, okay." she said to herself in the mirror of her bathroom. "No big deal. Nice little party, maybe some video games after. No sweat. No pressure. Be yourself." Grabbing her keys, she looked back into a mirror one last time, not being completely satisfied with what she saw. Deciding trying to fix herself would make it worse, she put it out of her mind and left the house without looking back.

"Where the hell should I park...?" Amelia asked herself as she pulled up to Francis' house. There were cars everywhere, blocking the sides of the street. "I'll just go a block over..." She drove up and found a spot only a block down from the house. Checking the house number on her phone again, she walked up to the door, put together her best smile and her best emotions, and rang the bell.