I'm just going to apologize in advance to all of you who read and review (which I hope you all do). This has been a bad week, and I'm worried that this isn't a very well written chapter.
Shopping, Scheming, and Lying
"Briiiing!" The alarm sounded as Connie, Jane, Evelyn, and Anneena entered the small, quaint dress shop. Connie stared around in quiet wonder at the soft, neatness of everything. Everything was bright and flashy, with row after row of fancy dresses for hundreds of different occasions. The store looked small from the outside, but was actually pretty big, with large window panes displaying more fashionable dresses. It had been a slow day, so as the party entered the store, the clerk on cash quickly scurried over, sensing an oncoming sale.
"Hello! Welcome to Madame Bonbon's, is there anything I can help you with?" She said politely, weighing and measure the girls with her eyes.
"Yes, my niece and her friends," Evelyn said, patting Connie on the shoulder, "are looking for a dress for a school dance."
"Ah okay, we have plenty of dresses for all sorts of dances and celebrations," the clerk said, now eyeing Connie silently. "What kinds of dress are you interested in sweetheart?"
Connie wasn't sure what to say, as she had never really thought about dresses before, so silently glanced at her friends, pleading them to help her out. "Um, I'm not entirely sure," she finished lamely, going red in the face.
"Well, you'll want something comfortable for dancing, something you won't trip in," Anneena piped up cheerfully. "Oh, and nothing to hot, the dance is in the gym, with no air conditioning." She finished with a frown.
"Hmmm, ok, well if you'll step this way, we have many dresses that fit that category in the back section of the store," the lady said as she led the group to the back, past the front desk. The three girls couldn't help but gape and gush over how pretty or beautiful one dress was over the other. Evelyn just sighed and shook her head, but a slight smile tugged at the corner of her mouth.
After being led through isle after isle, Connie and the group finally reached the back section of the store. Here, there were outfits that were less costly, yet fashionable in a high degree. The group slowly dispersed as each one of the girls looked for dresses they felt they would look good in. Connie slowly browsed through the first isle, picking through this and that, in search of the perfect dress.
"Why does this matter so much?" Connie asked herself suddenly. She knew she would never look beautiful; her long, black hair was still as wild as it always had been and she never wore skirts or dresses, always opting for T-shirts and jeans. It had never bothered her before that she wasn't popular or cool. She had her friends and the society, and that had always been the most important part of her life. "So what's changed?"
"It was Col." The thought came to her suddenly, stopping her in her tracks as she processed this new piece of information. She really liked him, enough that she didn't want him to be disappointed or embarrassed by her. What were these feelings she had for him? They were new, yet similar, something she had always felt, but taken a step farther.
"Connie, over here! Come look at this one!" Jane yelled to her from across the room. Distracted from her reflective thoughts, Connie hurried over and curiously peeked over Jane's shoulder. In front of them, hung the most beautiful spaghetti-strap dress she had ever seen. It was a dark black colour that had small green, glitzy sparkles sprinkling the hem, and ended at the ankle. A second, violet, layer of cloth formed at the waist of the dress, making a soft sash that tied at the back, making a cute, lush bow.
"Oh Connie, it's so beautiful! I think it would look great on you!" Jane exclaimed happily as she sized up the dress and how it would look on Connie. Connie plucked at her clothes uncomfortably as she stared at the dress laid out in front of her.
"I don't know Jane, do you really think I could pull it off? I mean, it looks a bit…mature don't you think?"
"I think it would look great on you!" Jane said reassuringly. "You have a great figure, must be all the time you spend outside."
Connie blushed, embarrassed, and brushed off the comment with a wave of her hand. "Well I guess I could try it on," Connie relented.
"But what about you? Have you picked a dress?" Connie asked worriedly. She didn't want to take any of Jane's choices, in case they were the dress she was interested in.
"Don't worry, I've got mine right here," Jane said as she showed Connie her shimmering silver and red dress.
"That's lovely! Who's the lucky guy who gets to see you in it?" Connie giggled.
Jane blushed but couldn't help smiling as well. "I'm not sure yet, I haven't been asked by anyone. If I do go, I may have to go solo." Jane confessed sadly. "If only…Never mind."
"What?" Connie asked curiously. She watched, amused, as Jane blushed again. "Is it that guy from your photography class?"
"Who?" Jane asked, confusion etched across her face.
"You know, that guy you were always hanging around with at lunch."
"Hahaha!" Jane laughed uproariously, startling the people around her.
"That's just my photography partner! We had to stay late those lunch periods so that we could develop and hand in some final assignments." Jane said as she wiped tears from the corner of her eyes.
"Oops!" Connie said. "Is it just me or has Jane changed? She seems more confident and less shy than before."
Connie was about to voice this question aloud to Jane, when the clerk hurried over to them, noticing they had dresses with them.
"So are those the dresses you would like to buy girls?" she asked pleasantly.
"Could we try them on first please?" Jane asked the lady politely.
"Of course, step this way please." The shopkeeper said as she led the girls to the changing rooms. Three out of five were empty, so Jane and Connie both took one and quickly changed. Jane was the first to get dressed, and scrutinized herself in the small mirror for a second, before she opened the door. She stepped out and stood in front of the change room door, trying to spot Anneena and Evelyn. She located them standing to the side, conversing about Anneena's new dress. Jane called them over in a hushed whisper, not wanting to draw to much attention to herself.
"It looks great Jane!" Anneena said happily, as she walked over to the change room. She had a bag hanging from her wrist, with her paid, chosen dress carefully folded inside.
"Yes, very pretty," Evelyn said approvingly as she walked over with Anneena.
"Thank you," Jane said happily with a small twirl, causing the dress to spin in a slow circle.
"So Anneena, what dress did you get?"
"Oh, I think this one looked the best on me, she said breezily, as she carefully drew her dress out of the bag. The dress was a dazzling orange colour, with small glass beads hanging from the neckline. And as a finishing touch, the dress had intricate patterns stitched into it, adding a beautiful dignity and glamour to the material.
"Oh Anneena! That's so pretty! You're going to look great!"
"Thank you! You too!" Just then, the door too the change room that Connie was in, opened with a click.
Connie finished changing in her room, but was staring in surprise at the image in the mirror. She looked like a completely different person! Connie hesitantly stepped out of the change room and stood in front of the waiting group.
"Connie, is that you? You look awesome!" Jane and Anneena exclaimed upon seeing Connie. The dress flowed naturally around her and almost felt like a second skin. Connie's untamed hair fell down her shoulders and rested against her back, almost reaching the bow.
"See Connie, I told you this was a good idea," Evelyn said smugly, as she watched her niece smile and admire her looks in the mirror.
"I'm sure you three girls will be the bells of the ball." Evelyn said, laughing at her own little joke.
"You two look great!" The cashier said, having snuck up behind them. "Can I ring these in for you?"
"Yes please," Jane said after she changed back into her normal clothes. Walking after Jane, Connie smiled and shot a glance at Anneena to see if she had noticed Jane's abrupt change. The look she got back confirmed it.
Yes, she did.
*****
"Okay girls, you all understand the plan?"
"Tomorrow at lunch we instigate the plan and Connie's little relationship is over," Courtney said with a cruel laugh.
"Alicia, you're to lure Connie to the spot."
"Monica, you're to stand near the spot and alert me when she's about to come."
"And I'll be the trigger to the whole thing! If this all goes well, we'll soon be number one once again." She said, smiling sneakily at each of her friends.
"But what if it doesn't work?" Monica questioned.
"It WILL work!" Courtney growled. "As long as you all play your parts, nothing can go wrong. Make sure to synchronize your watches, time is everything.
"Wow Courtney, you're really good at the diabolical plans!" Alicia said with a grin.
"Everyone's good at something," she replied with a sadistic smirk.
The girls left the park table they were sitting at, and headed on home, slowly working out all the potential flaws and problems that could go wrong. However, as Courtney said, as long as the timing was right, nothing could go wrong.
She smirked knowingly and softly said to herself, "Connie, you're not going to be in my way any more, not after tomorrow."
Courtney made it home shortly after that, more satisfied and happy than she had felt since Connie showed up.
*****
"Mack, can I use the phone for a bit?" Connie asked her step-uncle after dinner.
Mack was sitting at the kitchen table, one foot on the table top, talking to one of his buddies about a trip they were taking in a few weeks.
Mack had been invited to go white water kayaking, an invitation he just could not turn down. Luckily for him, Evelyn had a dentist appointment that afternoon and had no objections about him going.
"Yeah, it's going to be awesome!" Mack blared into the phone, obviously worked up.
"Mack, please, can I use the phone?" Connie repeated attentively, unsure whether to disturb him when he was in such a good mood.
"Sure thing darlin' just one second.' Mack said with one hand over the speaker.
"Sorry Steve, I have to get off," Mack spoke in a disappointed voice. "So it's at twelve on Saturday right? Okay, can't wait. Yup. Bye."
"Here you go kiddo," Mack said in a chipper voice, as he handed her the phone.
Connie thanked him and ran up the stairs to steps at a time. Once she was lying on her bed, the door firmly closed, did she call Jane's house.
"Hi Mrs. Benedict, can I speak to Jane please?"
"Sure, one moment Connie," Mrs. Benedict said warmly. After a brief pause, she heard a shuffling noise and suddenly a voice spoke into the receiver.
"Hello?" Jane said, curious as to who was calling. She hadn't been expecting anyone.
"Hi Jane, its Connie," Connie said cheerfully.
"Hi Connie! This is a surprise; you don't usually call on a school night.
"Well, I just wanted to ask you how your weekend was, you seem more relaxed," Connie replied hesitantly. She wasn't sure how to ask Jane anything without sounding nosy.
"Oh it was wonderful! I love woods and the wildlife, its so refreshing"
"That's great! Did you see any wolves? I know you said you were looking to see some." Connie asked calmly. 'Maybe it's just my imagination, she seems fine.'
"Well yes…err…no, no I didn't." Jane stuttered as she lied. She felt bad lying, but Fyria had cautioned her against saying anything.
"What?" Connie asked, knitting her eyebrows together as she frowned at the phone. 'It almost sounded as if Jane is lying.'
"No I didn't see any wolves, not a trace." Jane repeated unconvincingly.
"Really, that's strange. They're all over those woods; I would have thought you would have at least seen signs of them."
"Nope, but oh well, what can you do?" Jane said desperately, trying to steer the subject away from the current topic. "So are you ready for exams?"
"No, not really, not yet," Connie said distractedly. 'I'm sure she's lying, this doesn't sound like her at all. I wonder what she's hiding.'
"You better start soon, they are only one week away, and they start on Monday you know."
"I know," Connie said, discouraged. "But I understand most of the stuff, so I should be fine."
"Yeah, you'll be fine. Well I have to go now, and…err take out the garbage. I better go," Jane said, shutting her eyes tightly. She felt terrible lying, but it had to be done.
"Oh, ok then…goodnight." She said quietly, saddened that her friend would lie to her.
"Goodnight." Click and the line was severed.
Connie stared at the phone for a few minutes, pondering what that was all about? What could have caused Jane to lie straight out to her like that? And what had caused Jane's mysterious change?
And there is chapter nine. As I said, sorry if this isn't a very good chapter, it's been a rough week to say the least. Please review and tell me what you think.
