Chapter 11

"How about this one?" Cheyenne came out of the dressing room wearing a grayish-blue halter gown that stopped just above her knees.

"Nah, too semi-formal" Rachel shook her head. We were dress-shopping at the local outlet mall in Magix. The Annual Alfea-Redfountain Ball was in four days and each of us wanted to look good. I scanned through the rack of gowns, looking for the right type of dress. I took out a long, plum-colored, ruffled gown and held it up in front one of the mirrors on the wall. "What do you think?" I asked Violet who was next to me.

"Very slimming" She nodded. "Though not the right color. Here"
She handed me the same gown but in cool grey. I held it up in front of the mirror.

"Ooh, girl, that looks fab!" Rachel clapped her hands and smiled. Melody, who was behind her, nodded in agreement. The dress did look great, I have to say. I had made my choice.

"I'll take this one" I told the salesclerk and handed her the gown for her to wrap. Rachel handed her a royal blue halter and Melody handed her a ruby one.

"Girls, I can't decide" Violet held two dresses. One was salmon and had long sleeves, and the other was peach with sequins. Rachel and I both agreed on the peach with sequins but Melody liked the salmon with long sleeves. When Nicole came to find us, she said she liked the salmon one, too, but Cheyenne came and said she liked the peach.

"I don't know what to do" Violet shook her head. "I really like both but I can only get one".

"I changed my mind, I like the peach" Nicole said. "Yeah, me too" Melody said. "It's a better color on you, anyway."

"The tallies are in" I took the peach dress from Violet and handed it to the salesclerk. "The peach is the winner!"

"I guess it'll look better on me, huh?" Violet said. We all nodded in agreement. As soon as our dresses were ready, we paid the clerk and headed out back to Alfea. We were each so excited with our dresses and even more excited about the dance. Rachel declared we needed to have a day of pampering. Luckily, she had a flair for hairstyling, Violet was great with makeovers, and Melody was awesome at manicures. So on the day of the dance, when class had ended, we went back to our rooms and started getting ready. Rachel went to work right away with our hair, and Violet and Melody got to work on our makeup and nails. I got my manicure first; Melody gave me a French one and made my nails gleam and shine with glory. Next Rachel wetted my hair down, dried it, and crippled it in little ringlets, then put my hair up and tucked pins with hearts on them in. Then came my makeup; Violet rinsed my face, applied moisturizer, and coated my face in a light pink blush, dark brown mascara , bright red lipstick, and soft green eye shadow. Now that I was ready I put my dress on. I looked at myself in the mirror and couldn't believe how great I looked. Maybe Rachel, Violet, and Melody could go into business and open a beauty parlor!

"Okay, is everyone ready?" Rachel called. I came out of my room and saw that we were all dressed; Rachel in her navy blue gown, Melody in her ruby dress, Violet in the peach gown, Nicole in a soft rose pink dress, and Cheyenne in an light aqua dress. All of us had our hair, makeup, and nails ready, so we headed down to the ballroom. Other girls were also on their way; they also looked great in their dresses. We walked down the steps, down the hall, and saw several Redfountain boys there. I scouted for Keith and saw him, Steven, and Joel standing by the fountain. We crossed over to them and greeted them like young ladies.

"Hey look, guys, this one look like my sister only prettier" Keith teased as he pointed at me. I playfully slapped him on the arm; my brother thinks he's so funny, ugh. Keith looks like our mom, with red hair and sapphire eyes but he doesn't act like her. He's a typical joker who loves teasing his little sister, me.

"Hey Keith, who're you talking to?" Another student from Redfoutain walked over with a glass of punch. He had dark hair, light brown skin, and big brown eyes. He was muscular, tall, and spoke with a Hispanic accent. He smiled at me and I suddenly got shy, because he was actually pretty cute.

"Tulio, this is my sister, Isabelle" Keith introduced. "Izzy, this is my new roommate, Tulio."

"H-hi" I smiled shakily as I extended my hand. He took it and shook. "So you're Keith's little sister. He's told me a lot about you".

"Mostly good stuff, I hope" I laughed nervously. He and Keith both laughed. "Mostly" He nodded. "I told you she turns into mud around good-looking guys" Keith told him.

"Oh, brother" I groaned. Leave it to Keith to tell his friends about how pathetic his little sister is around cute boys. Tulio laughed again. "Do you mind if I dance with your sister?"

My heart leapt. "Well, you'll have to ask her" Keith told him. They both looked at me. "O-okay" I nodded. Tulio held out his hand and led me to the dance floor. He faced me and took hold of my waist. I swallowed hard as my hand went onto his shoulder and he guided me along with the music. His big eyes sparkled as he smiled at me and I offered a shaky smile back. I look over his shoulder and saw Nicole dancing with Joel and Cheyenne with Steven. Violet watched from the sidelines; she saw me with Julio and smiled, giving me a thumbs-up. I looked back at Tulio and he smiled again.

"You look lovely this evening" He commented. "Thanks" I said. "So…you're Keith's new roommate?"
"I just transferred from Hale Boarding House Prep" He said. "Boring as boring can be, believe me. My dad always wanted me to train as a hero, so I decided to transfer to Redfountain."

"Well, I hope you like it here" I said. "I'm starting to really like it" He said and spun me. We danced until the end of the song and then he asked me to dance again. He was a wonderful dancer and so charming. I never wanted the night to end.