"Bernice, come in here for a minute, will you? I want to show you somthin' "

Bernice sighed and logged off of her online homework discussion session. "Coming, Mom!"

She walked down the hallway and into the bedroom that her mom shared with Justin. "What's up?"

Her mother stood there, smiling. "Seemed pretty quiet in your room. What were you doing in there? Usually you have music blaring from those headphones."
Bernice rolled her eyes. "Whatever, Mom. So what did you want to show me?"

"This will just take a minute."

Bernice sat on the king sized bed that took up most of the wall. Her mom disappeared into the closet and returned with a long black hanging bag.

"What's that?"

"This..." her mom said, unzipping the bag. "is for you."

"Wow, Mom." Bernice said, staring at the dress her mother was holding.
"I know... Isn't it beautiful?" her mom said with a sigh.

"Um... Yeah. It's great." Bernice said, even though nothing could have been further from the truth.

Her eyes moved up and down the long dress. It was the most hideous thing she'd ever seen; a shade of hot pink so bright that it hurt her eyes just to look at it. Huge, puffy sleeves and ruffles everywhere.

This had to be a joke.

"You're giving this to me?" She asked, wincing in anticipation of the answer.

"Uh huh."

"But why?"

Her mother laid the dress carefully on the bed and smiled at her daughter. "I was wearin' this dress when I won the title of "Queen of the Corn" my senior year of high school."

"Right... but..."

"Oh Bernice, you'll look so beautiful! I think this will fit perfectly."

"What?"

"Everyone will be so envious of you at that dance."

Bernice's eyes widened. "The prom?"

Surely her mother didn't expect her to wear that awful dress to the senior prom!

"No, not the prom. Unless you want to, of course."

Bernice let out a sigh of relief. Thank God...

"For the Father/Daughter dance."

Oh God, this was worse than Bernice thought. There was no way she was wearing her mother's dress to the Father/Daughter dance! She'd be the laughing stock of Smithville!

"I'm dyin' to see how it looks on you!" her mother beamed.

"Um... can I try it on tomorrow? I really need to get back to this discussion group." Bernice asked, anxious to get the dress out of her sight.

"Oh... okay." Her mom said, clearly disappointed. "Why don't you keep this in your closet?"

"Right." Bernice said walking over to hug her mom. "Thanks, Mom. Really. This means a lot to me."

"You're welcome." Her mom said.

Bernice carried the dress out of her mother's room and into her bedroom. After hanging it in the closet, she rushed to her computer and logged into her email instant message account.

BPruitt: Julia, Major emergency! Mom trying to get me to wear her Queen of Corn dress to the Father/Daughter dance!

Wondergirl; What? R U Serious?

BPruitt: As a heart attack.

Wondergirl: How bad is it?

BPruitt: Here's a picture...

Wondergirl: OMG! That's awful! I need sunglasses to look at that pink! And what's up with those puffy shoulders? Looks like a princess playin' football!

BPruitt: LOL, I know! What should I do? She got upset when I told her that I'd try it on tomorrow! Ugh, I don't even want to be seen in that thing!

Wondergirl: Gotta Go. Mom's coming. Talk 2 U in AM. Bye

With a sigh, Bernice rose from the chair and went to the closet and pulled out the black dress bag. She unzipped it and peered at the dress, cringing at the sight.

No way could she wear that dress anywhere. But she also knew that she'd never be able to buy that dream dress from Rachel's.

Suddenly she began to wonder if it was all worth it.