"Wow, it's so beautiful,," Nellie said as she looked at the emerald green Versace dress. "It looks so expensive, though." She fingered the satin fabric. "I really can't accept something so grand."
Taylor shrugged it off. "It's vintage, so it really didn't cost a cent. Consider it a gift for being such a good friend these few days."
Nellie smiled at Taylor. For Taylor, she thought that it was quite amazing how a girl like that came from almost no money at all but lived life to the fullest every day. "Thank you, Taylor."
"So, do you want to go out and get pizza at like Luigi's or something?" Taylor asked as she checked her messages on her phone.
"Uhm...thanks, but I actually have to go. So I'll see you tomorrow afternoon?" Nellie asked, picking up the wooden hanger.
"Definately," Taylor said. "Oh, Courtney and Fawn are coming, too. Is that okay?"
"It's fine," Nellie said. "See you next week."
She walked out and and when she got outside, she saw Anne-Marie by herself, the only girl of the quartet that she didn't know quite so well.
"Oh, hello, Anne-Marie," she said. "You probably don't remember me, but I'm Nellie."
Anne-Marie smiled and her hand flew to her necklace. "I know. I was just going to have lunch with my little sister. Would you like to join us?"
"Sure," Nellie said. She realized that she wasn't really dressed for lunch with Anne-Marie, though. "Oh, but I'm not dressed."
Anne-Marie bit her lip and looked up and down at Nellie. "You're about my little sister's size. She's fourteen. How old are you?"
"I'm fourteen," Nellie said.
"Perfect. You two should be friends. You can drop that off at my house, too." Anne-Marie pointed to the emerald green dress. "She'll be so delighted to meet you!"
"Okay," Nellie said. She followed Anne-Marie up to her home.
"Morgan?" Anne-Marie yelled once they were inside.
A girl that was about Nellie's age who was visibly related to Anne-Marie appeared. "Hello, Anne-Marie."
"Morgan, this is Nellie. Nellie, this is Morgan," Anne-Marie introduced.
"Hello," Morgan said, smiling. "It's nice to meet you."
"Would it be okay if Nellie had lunch with us and borrowed some of your clothes, Morgan?" Anne-Marie asked, talking to Morgan as if she was five.
"Surely," Morgan said as she lead Nellie upstairs.
Stormy, Alexis, and Anne-Marie were all at Stormy's house getting ready for the gala. It felt awkward for Kiersten not to be there, being busy. The single chair was free with nobody sitting there. Each of them were just about to try on their dresses, Alexis still deciding on hers.
"Try them on," Stormy offered to Alexis as she played with her eye palette. She was growing bored of waiting for her dress to arrive from the shop.
Alexis agreed and tried on both of the dresses. First was the red dress. "Oh my God! Look!" Stormy and Anne-Marie both brought their attention to Alexis and laughed. "It's way too big!" She couldn't stop laughing. Then she put on the gold dress, which might as well have been custom-made for her. "Yes, this is it."
"It's very pretty, Alexis," Anne-Marie said, admiring herself in the long mirror. She was wearing a mulberry-colored chiffon gown that was strapless. She loved the sheer overlay of the dress. "The red one looks more like Stormy's size."
Stormy laughed at the thought. "My dress is at Valentino. Speaking of, Raphael should be dropping it off any time now." She searched through the room for her phone and called Raphael. The news that she had gotten was shocking.
"What's the matter, Stormy?" Anne-Marie asked.
"They said that some girl already came and got the dress!" said Stormy. "So now, I have no dress. This is perfect. I might as well just call my parents and say that I can't come."
"Did Raphael say who came?" asked Alexis. "I mean, was it under your name?"
"Of course not. Audrey Tiffany," Stormy scoffed. She barely ever used her real name when doing things. Usually, she used a made up name of some sort, such as the name of a star of her favorite movie or book. This time, she had decided to use Audrey Hepburn's first name and Tiffany, as in Breakfast at Tiffany's or Tiffany & Co. "But they said that some girl came and got it with straight blonde hair and blue eyes. But who is it? How many people do we know with blonde hair and blue eyes?" She sat back at her seat.
"Well, you have to go to the gala, Storms. You can use the red dress for now and you can probably find something to wear with it, like a pair of shoes or something. You have diamonds already," Alexis said. "Please come."
Stormy looked into her friend's eyes and finally agreed to the plan. "Let me try on the dress." Alexis handed it to her. Stormy laid it onto the floor and stepped into the middle before pulling it up. She looked at herself in the mirror. "It looks adequate. Annie, could you help me do my hair? I want it curled up."
"Sure," Anne-Marie said. She took the finally ready curler. "I just have to finish my hair first, so Alexis, you can do her makeup first."
Stormy sat down in front of her vanity and the grooming began.
