Nearly two and a half hours later, my nails are dry. Christina is very proud of herself and her job on my paintjob that she's posting pictures onto her FaceBook, Instagram, and whatever she can think of to brag on.

Each nail is different and fun. My pinkies are simple; white with powder blue polka-dots. My ring fingers are black with a rose, half red, half white and a blue caterpillar next to it. My middle fingers are blue, black, and white in different, random, zig-zagged patterns. My pointer fingers are a royal blue with silver shatter on top and a small red heart in the corner of my nail. My thumbs are three different kinds of blue stacked with a black bow over them. They're perfect.

Marlene and I switch places as soon as Christina is beyond-a-shadow-of-a-doubt positive that my nails were dry. I love the way they came out because in Wonderland, everything is random and spontaneous and different, so I wanted my nails to reflect that, too.

Marlene does the deep purple color on all her fingers except her ring fingers; on those she got black with the red shatter. Once Mar's done, Shauna gets Christina's nail polishes and gets ready to do her nails. Since she's going as a flapper and her dress is white, she just gets a simple French tip with black music notes in the corners.

Everyone's nails look spectacular, almost like we should be on our way to a dance. Marlene giggles. "How much do you wanna bet that the boys won't even notice our kick-ass nails?"

We all shake our heads. "No one will take that bet because it'll happen," Chris reasons.

We're all silent for a moment. "So what are we going to do for hair?" Shauna ponders.

That opens a whole new can of worms.

XxX

By 10, I'm stepping out of the shower. The other girls are sitting on their beds, giggling. Chris is putting Shauna's hair in curlers and Marlene's scrolling through her phone, looking at hair styles for fortune tellers and for flappers on her phone, occasionally showing the others a particular style, getting a yay or nay on it. I smile at my friends as I sit down on my bed.

I pull out my Chemistry homework noisily, causing Marlene to look at me. "Chem homework?" she asks. I nod, distractedly. "Who's your teacher?"

"Davidson," I say.

"Can you help me?" she asks in a little girl voice.

"With?"

She hesitates. "Everything."

I smirk at her. "C'mon, Mar. I'll help you out."

She abandons her phone on the air bed and sits next to me on mine, taking out her homework and her textbooks as we get started on stoichiometry.

XxX

It's nearing midnight, and I'm the only one whose hair isn't in curlers or have something on in it for tomorrow. I pull the "I'm tired, let's take care of it tomorrow" card and lie down. After about 20 minutes, I hear Christina snoring, Marlene breathing steadily, and Shauna mumbling.

I sit up to double check that everyone's asleep before getting my phone.

Four, you still awake?

A few minutes later: Yeah. I'm surprised you're able to text me.

They're asleep

They?

The other girls and I are having a slumber party.

Sounds sexy ;)

I groan inwardly. You're such a guy.

Lol thanks for noticing.

I shake my head. I just wanted to tell you that I love you and can't wait to see you tomorrow night

I love you too and I can't wait to see you in your costume ;b

I blush. Goodnight Tobias.

Goodnight Tris.

I smile and hide my messages and finally drift asleep.

XxX

I wake up to "Monster Mash" playing. I sit up and stretch. "C'mon, Tris! We have things to do!" the girls sing. I groan and stand up, allowing them to drag me to the bathroom, damping my hair and putting in curlers and different hair products. I bite my tongue to keep from complaining; after all, last time they put their efforts together, I ended up looking – what was the word Chris had used? – striking.

What feels to be 20 or so minutes later, I have a headful of curlers and a facial mask on with the others. Christina begs me to put in a good chick-flick, and, for the most part, I only have Nicolas Sparks movie adaptations. I keep flipping through my movie collection until I find a movie that is perfect for today. The Nightmare Before Christmas.

But we don't really watch the film. We plan makeup. I kind of zone out until I realize that Christina has been calling my name.

"Tris, are you listening to me?" she says, annoyed.

"Now I am," I grunt.

"I'm thinking something simple for you. I mean, yeah, you're Alice all grown up and whatever, but your nails and dress already suggest that you're older."

"So, just bronze eyeshadow?" I ask, hopeful.

"Oh, God, no. Not that simple. I'm thinking smoky eye with blue accents."

I roll my eyes. "I don't think that's considered 'simple', Chris," I say sarcastically.

She laughs and says, "Mar, you're up first."