MICHAEL:
"Helen, have you seen my slacks? They aren't in our roo-"Mr. G. was saying as he came into the living room. In his boxers. "Oh, Michael. Um, Hey, uh, looking nice. Nice tux."
"Thanks, so do you," I said, not really knowing what I was saying. I focused on the tribal mask above the door.
A moment of silent awkwardness. "So how's the college search going?" he asked suddenly.
Miss Thermopolis came in with his slacks. "Frank, I think you are missing these. Leave the poor boy alone now." MIA
Paolo fastened the necklace around my neck. "Do I look okay?" I asked him
"You offend me! You think Paolo does just 'okay'? You look ravishing! You will amaze this boy you have."
I laughed nervously a little. "I don't have any boy." Why was I so nervous? I was okay with the dinner part, but seeing Michael...dressed like this....
"Princess, when Paolo met you in August you ...you unconfident girl. Now, Princess Amelia, you are truly witty and are becoming a true Princess. Paolo knows princesses. I once did Princess Diana's hair."
I smiled, "Yeah right."
"I mean it though, Princess. This is the boy that did this to you. Now, if you don't have him now, then go get him!"
With that he opened the door. I saw Michael looking at a portrait my mother did of me and Lilly. I was going to give it to Lilly for the holidays. As I entered the room he turned and his jaw dropped. No lie, it dropped. He revealed that he had a flower for me.
"Michael, that wasn't necessary," I said softly. This is the most flesh I'd exposed for him. Even that night I slept in his room. Even that night in the club. The dress was low cut. Grandmere said that since Nicole Kidman has no breasts and can pull it off, so can I. Sebastian designed it for me specifically for tonight.
He didn't say anything.
"Do I look that bad?" I asked with a slight laugh.
I knew he was staring at the space between my breasts.
"No, uh, no. Not at all."
"Shocked that I have boobs? My face is up here ya know."
He turned red.
I went to kiss him on the cheek and whispered, "My Grandmere picked out this dress, and I don't like it at all."
"I do," he said with a mischievous grin. Oddly, this knowledge gave me butterflies.
"Shall we go?" he asked carefully. But no. My mom wanted to take a zillion pictures.
We got to the limo before he actually said anything. "Mia, you look really, really great. I mean it."
"You look handsome Michael. You clean up nice kid," I said with a smile.
We got to the Plaza, where the dinner was taking place. Grandmere warned me that there would be some Geneovian photographers there that night. She wasn't telling them who I was yet, only that I was a distinguished guest. I refrained from waving to Grandmere. She said that it was not refined to wave to a person from across the room.
I knew that Michael was nervous about meeting my dad and Grandmere for the first time. I'm sure my mother told dad about Michael. "Don't worry about them," I whispered. "It'll be fine," I promised.
MICHAEL
"Wait, I want to tell you something," I said before she took me over to meet her father and grandmother.
She looked up at me with these big doe eyes.
"I got my envelope from Columbia today. I want you to be there when I open it."
"After dinner?" she asked excitedly. More excited than I was.
I nodded as she took me over to her grandmother and her father.
"Michael I presume?" the prince said to me.
"Yes sir," I said.
Mia whispered that I should bow.
"And this is my Grandmere, Clarisse Renaldo, dowager princess of Genovia," Mia introduced, whispering so that no one would hear that she was related to the dowager princess and therefore a princess.
"And this is the boy? The little musician?" she asked Mia. How the hell did she know that?
"And this is Michael Moscovitz."
"I suppose he would be an acceptable consort."
What the hell was a consort?
Mia's face reddened. "Shall we take our seats?" she asked me.
"No, I want to talk to Michael first," her father cut in. Mia shot him a death glare. Very un princess like.
"So I hear you are going to be attending Columbia in the fall?" her father asked me. He took me to a secluded area. I was totally freaked out. I should not be because it was just Mia's dad. Sure, he was a prince, but Mia was a princess and I wasn't nervous around her...most of the time at least.
"Hopefully. I haven't quite gotten the courage to open the envelope yet. I was hoping Mia would help me with that." I noticed Mia out of the corner of my eye. She was looking at us suspiciously.
"From what I hear you will have no problem getting accepted. Mia was telling me that you are a musician? That must be fun."
I shrugged. "I like it. I play with my best friends. It's relaxing."
"I bet a lot of girls?" he said with a smile. I was surprised he would ask something like that.
"Not for me. The other guys are into that kind of stuff. I just want to play music."
"Besides, you have Mia."
I turned red. What had she told him? "Well, kind of. We are friends and I spend a lot of time with her..."
"Don't hurt her, Michael. If you want to be with her you have to do a hell of a lot of impressing. And I'm not talking about her, you already have impressed her. From what her mother tells me you've done the same with her. I'm impressed with you, I like your lifestyle, you seem to know what you are doing in the future. Just worry about my mother."
"I-I don't understand. What has Mia said exactly?" I asked nervously. Did she tell him she liked me like that? Do girls even do that? Tell their dad's about their crushes I mean.
"It's not what she says young man, it's how she acts. And how you act."
How do I act? I wanted to ask. "I- Um, okay sir- er, your highness."
He laughed. "You do not have to call me that in private boy."
"Okay," I said with a nervous laugh.
"Now let's go get settled in for dinner."
It was weird, seeing her with these people. She behaved so differently; not like herself at all. I could tell she was nervous because she was biting her lip and twirling the loose hair behind her hair. After we finished the courses people began dancing. We danced three times. Her relatives seemed impressed that she, as well as I, were able to dance well. She and I had practiced a great deal and now was the big pay off. But after the three dances, Mia and I stole out to the indoor garden for privacy.
"You survived your first royal dinner, congratulations."
"I know. Thank goodness it's almost over. I told Lilly and Tina I'd meet them at your apartment."
"We can open the letter then," I replied.
Her cell phone rang. "It's Lilly," she said, looking at the caller ID. "I can't answer it. If Grandmere saw me answering it she'd flip out."
"Then don't," I replied. We sat on a stone wall. It started snowing outside.
"It's beautiful, the first snow," she said softly. Almost like if she spoke too loudly that the magic of the first snow would be over. She stared through the windows that surrounded us.
I hadn't noticed how close our bodies had grown. "Mia?" I whispered. The hairs on my arms were sticking up. Hers were too.
She looked directly at me. Our noses were touching. I leaned in to kiss her, and she leaned in toward me, and her cell phone rang again. I wanted to take that phone and throw it on the ground and smash it. Kind of like what Mia did to Lana one time. But it wouldn't be because I disliked Mia. Much to the contrary.
"It's Lilly again. One second," she said, pulling away from me. Great. Lilly would have to ruin everything wouldn't she? What the hell am I talking about? It was good we didn't kiss. Wasn't it?
"Helen, have you seen my slacks? They aren't in our roo-"Mr. G. was saying as he came into the living room. In his boxers. "Oh, Michael. Um, Hey, uh, looking nice. Nice tux."
"Thanks, so do you," I said, not really knowing what I was saying. I focused on the tribal mask above the door.
A moment of silent awkwardness. "So how's the college search going?" he asked suddenly.
Miss Thermopolis came in with his slacks. "Frank, I think you are missing these. Leave the poor boy alone now." MIA
Paolo fastened the necklace around my neck. "Do I look okay?" I asked him
"You offend me! You think Paolo does just 'okay'? You look ravishing! You will amaze this boy you have."
I laughed nervously a little. "I don't have any boy." Why was I so nervous? I was okay with the dinner part, but seeing Michael...dressed like this....
"Princess, when Paolo met you in August you ...you unconfident girl. Now, Princess Amelia, you are truly witty and are becoming a true Princess. Paolo knows princesses. I once did Princess Diana's hair."
I smiled, "Yeah right."
"I mean it though, Princess. This is the boy that did this to you. Now, if you don't have him now, then go get him!"
With that he opened the door. I saw Michael looking at a portrait my mother did of me and Lilly. I was going to give it to Lilly for the holidays. As I entered the room he turned and his jaw dropped. No lie, it dropped. He revealed that he had a flower for me.
"Michael, that wasn't necessary," I said softly. This is the most flesh I'd exposed for him. Even that night I slept in his room. Even that night in the club. The dress was low cut. Grandmere said that since Nicole Kidman has no breasts and can pull it off, so can I. Sebastian designed it for me specifically for tonight.
He didn't say anything.
"Do I look that bad?" I asked with a slight laugh.
I knew he was staring at the space between my breasts.
"No, uh, no. Not at all."
"Shocked that I have boobs? My face is up here ya know."
He turned red.
I went to kiss him on the cheek and whispered, "My Grandmere picked out this dress, and I don't like it at all."
"I do," he said with a mischievous grin. Oddly, this knowledge gave me butterflies.
"Shall we go?" he asked carefully. But no. My mom wanted to take a zillion pictures.
We got to the limo before he actually said anything. "Mia, you look really, really great. I mean it."
"You look handsome Michael. You clean up nice kid," I said with a smile.
We got to the Plaza, where the dinner was taking place. Grandmere warned me that there would be some Geneovian photographers there that night. She wasn't telling them who I was yet, only that I was a distinguished guest. I refrained from waving to Grandmere. She said that it was not refined to wave to a person from across the room.
I knew that Michael was nervous about meeting my dad and Grandmere for the first time. I'm sure my mother told dad about Michael. "Don't worry about them," I whispered. "It'll be fine," I promised.
MICHAEL
"Wait, I want to tell you something," I said before she took me over to meet her father and grandmother.
She looked up at me with these big doe eyes.
"I got my envelope from Columbia today. I want you to be there when I open it."
"After dinner?" she asked excitedly. More excited than I was.
I nodded as she took me over to her grandmother and her father.
"Michael I presume?" the prince said to me.
"Yes sir," I said.
Mia whispered that I should bow.
"And this is my Grandmere, Clarisse Renaldo, dowager princess of Genovia," Mia introduced, whispering so that no one would hear that she was related to the dowager princess and therefore a princess.
"And this is the boy? The little musician?" she asked Mia. How the hell did she know that?
"And this is Michael Moscovitz."
"I suppose he would be an acceptable consort."
What the hell was a consort?
Mia's face reddened. "Shall we take our seats?" she asked me.
"No, I want to talk to Michael first," her father cut in. Mia shot him a death glare. Very un princess like.
"So I hear you are going to be attending Columbia in the fall?" her father asked me. He took me to a secluded area. I was totally freaked out. I should not be because it was just Mia's dad. Sure, he was a prince, but Mia was a princess and I wasn't nervous around her...most of the time at least.
"Hopefully. I haven't quite gotten the courage to open the envelope yet. I was hoping Mia would help me with that." I noticed Mia out of the corner of my eye. She was looking at us suspiciously.
"From what I hear you will have no problem getting accepted. Mia was telling me that you are a musician? That must be fun."
I shrugged. "I like it. I play with my best friends. It's relaxing."
"I bet a lot of girls?" he said with a smile. I was surprised he would ask something like that.
"Not for me. The other guys are into that kind of stuff. I just want to play music."
"Besides, you have Mia."
I turned red. What had she told him? "Well, kind of. We are friends and I spend a lot of time with her..."
"Don't hurt her, Michael. If you want to be with her you have to do a hell of a lot of impressing. And I'm not talking about her, you already have impressed her. From what her mother tells me you've done the same with her. I'm impressed with you, I like your lifestyle, you seem to know what you are doing in the future. Just worry about my mother."
"I-I don't understand. What has Mia said exactly?" I asked nervously. Did she tell him she liked me like that? Do girls even do that? Tell their dad's about their crushes I mean.
"It's not what she says young man, it's how she acts. And how you act."
How do I act? I wanted to ask. "I- Um, okay sir- er, your highness."
He laughed. "You do not have to call me that in private boy."
"Okay," I said with a nervous laugh.
"Now let's go get settled in for dinner."
It was weird, seeing her with these people. She behaved so differently; not like herself at all. I could tell she was nervous because she was biting her lip and twirling the loose hair behind her hair. After we finished the courses people began dancing. We danced three times. Her relatives seemed impressed that she, as well as I, were able to dance well. She and I had practiced a great deal and now was the big pay off. But after the three dances, Mia and I stole out to the indoor garden for privacy.
"You survived your first royal dinner, congratulations."
"I know. Thank goodness it's almost over. I told Lilly and Tina I'd meet them at your apartment."
"We can open the letter then," I replied.
Her cell phone rang. "It's Lilly," she said, looking at the caller ID. "I can't answer it. If Grandmere saw me answering it she'd flip out."
"Then don't," I replied. We sat on a stone wall. It started snowing outside.
"It's beautiful, the first snow," she said softly. Almost like if she spoke too loudly that the magic of the first snow would be over. She stared through the windows that surrounded us.
I hadn't noticed how close our bodies had grown. "Mia?" I whispered. The hairs on my arms were sticking up. Hers were too.
She looked directly at me. Our noses were touching. I leaned in to kiss her, and she leaned in toward me, and her cell phone rang again. I wanted to take that phone and throw it on the ground and smash it. Kind of like what Mia did to Lana one time. But it wouldn't be because I disliked Mia. Much to the contrary.
"It's Lilly again. One second," she said, pulling away from me. Great. Lilly would have to ruin everything wouldn't she? What the hell am I talking about? It was good we didn't kiss. Wasn't it?
