Tris POV:

The last five days have been stressful. First, Al kept stalking me in the halls, and so I slapped him. A teacher was there to see it, but it was luckily Mr. Max, who gave me a thumbs-up. The next day Al kept following me, and eventually Four knocked a tooth out of him. Then Dr. Matthews found out. Luckily, it was the gossip that saved him. People had been saying that Al just injured himself while wrestling. And he is on the team. So Dr. Matthews let Four go with a warning. You should have seen his face. It was all 'Yes miss. No miss. Of course miss," and he was so relieved afterwards that he could continue with football. That's all he's been doing, especially since the team started late and has to scrimmage and play some games before Homecoming.

And on top of that, Christina is making me go dress shopping with her, Shauna, and Marlene.

We've been at Nordstrom's for about an hour, which is really a few days' worth of drama.

And I am bored out of my mind.

Then I accidently bump a lady and she spills her coffee. She growls and goes away. I look to Christina, but she just shrugs and goes back to looking for dresses.

"This? No...Nope...Ooh, I like it. But it doesn't match my tan. Hmm, this one? Hey, Marlene, come try on this one," Christina says.

I huff.

Christina and Marlene hold dresses in front of themselves in front of the mirror.

I sit down, and look at my watch. I could be using my time better.

Then I leave. Christina calls my name, but I just tell her I need to get some air.

Then I escape to Barnes and Nobles.

I look on the shelf and sigh.

Anne of Green Gables seems too boring.

So does everything else.

I flip through the latest edition of National Geographic and end up purchasing it.

Then I get a smoothie from Jamba Juice and eventually make my way back to Nordstrom, where I immediately see Shauna consulting with one of the makeup ladies.

"Tris? Tris! I found the perfect dress for you!" a voice says.

I turn around and see Christina holding a slutty short black dress. I shake my head. Christina sighs.

"Well, I'm happy to spend my life at this store, but you've got to choose."

I look at her like she's an alien and slurp my Mango-a-Go-Go exceptionally loudly.

Christina glares at me. I raise my eyebrows and spot a dress.

It's...well, not slutty, but still has shape. It's gray. Or black. It's so gray that it looks almost black. And it has a navy blue strap that ties in the back. It's a V-neck in the back and front.

I set my belongings aside and pick one in my size up, careful not to crinkle it. Christina smiles really wide and motions for me to try it on. So I go into one of the dressing rooms and do.

A minute later, Christina knocks on the door. I open it and she gasps.

She pulls my hand, and I look at myself in the mirror. The dress highlights what little curves I have and comes down just pass my knees. Then I spot Marlene looking for us. She finds us, and runs up to us.

"Tris? Wow, you look fabulous!" She says.

I smile and blush. Christina twirls her finger around and I spin, letting a smile escape from my lips. Christina and Marlene gasp in wonder.

Then I take off the dress and swipe my belongings off of the cushion. Then I go up to the counter to pay for it.

"Umm, uh uh, missy. Tris we aren't done yet..." Christina says, then drags me over to the shoe department.

"No, Christina, I told you, no heels!" I say, nearly shouting when she starts picking up stilettos and matching them up to my shoe size and dress color. I sigh and sit down on the plush stool.

Christina yanks off a boot and pulls off my Adidas sock, cringing. I smile nervously and she just rolls her eyes. Then she slips on a bright pink stiletto. I pull it off with great force and hand it back to her angrily.

Christina rolls her eyes and tells me to go find what I want.

I roll my own eyes and pull a random shoe off the shelf, anxious for this to be over.

Then I go to Christina who is talking casually about Homecoming with a makeup specialist. I sigh, and set the shoe down, then start reading about saving big black pandas in National Geographic.

"Tris, I know you're mad, but-" Christina starts.

I stare at the dashboard, slurping the rest of my Mango-a-Go-Go, "And tired. And furious. While you had that lady harm my skin with toxic products, I silently listed what I could have, and should have, been doing instead of wasting my time!" I say, never even setting eyes on Christina.

"Four will love it!"

I just sigh and look out the window. A train going past us. A man wearing a black and white suit with a briefcase hopping into a taxi. A girl wearing a bright yellow jacket laughing happily into cellphone.

"Tris, are you listening?"

I look at her innocently and she looks into my eyes, like she knows what I'm thinking, "At least you got a nice dress. And makeup. And shoes!

"And a headache! And a brain freeze!"

"Girl, that was your own fault," she says, before taking my smoothie and draining the last of it.

"Hey!"

She smirks, "Transportation fee."

I roll my eyes.

"But that's beside the point. You got some great things that Four would pay money to see you in! Plus a magazine! Caleb's rubbing off on you!"

I sigh and look at Christina crazily, "I could have very well been doing something better with my time!"

Now Christina looks at me funny, "Yeah. You said that. So, like what?"

"Umm...listening to music?"

"...A mere pastime. See, Tris, this is good for you! Your life is too bland! Jazz it up!" and with that, she turns on 91.5 FM.

I turn it down, after a few minutes of Bon Jovi.

Christina glares at me, before turning the corner.

"A mere pastime," I mimic.

She hits my arm playfully, "Shut up!" Then we crack up and she pulls in to my driveway and waves as I slam the door. I roll my eyes, laughing to myself.

I hear her crank up the volume as she heads in the direction of her house.