Can someone please explain to me why everything in my life has to be so darn complicated? I'm serious. One minute things are going great and I'm on cloud nine. The next I'm being dragged back down to reality. I blame the genes, I really do. I mean, if it wasn't for some stupid shifter in my blood-line I'd have been fine. But oh no! Not Susannah Simon having it easy.
No. Instead I get stuck with a bunch of homecoming queens in a dress shop. The dress shop where I was planning to finally pick out my long awaited wedding dress. But why should something like that be so simple?
Did I mention the fact that they're dead? Yeah, I usually miss out that part don't I?
"Oh my God. This is like so totally bogus." Screeched Melanie, the tall blonde one. You could so tell she thought she looked hot. Just the way she talked dripped with confidence. I sighed, feeling bored.
"Yeah well, that's the after-life for you." I replied calmly, picking up a copy of Easy Step Bride from the small reception table. I flipped through it impatiently as the other girls vented their anger.
"But I never did anything! I'm almost a virgin and I hardly ever forget to be nice to pretty animals." Another girl –Phoebe- complained. I glanced up from: How to find your perfect Dress…….to look at her in amusement. They never learn. Not ever.
"Maybe that isn't good enough. Were you ever intentionally mean to someone you thought was below you?" I asked mildly. They all looked at each other in surprise, like the fact they'd made people's lives hell wasn't a big deal. And yeah I know that it wouldn't effect their moving on. I just figured that it'd be fun to teach them a life lesson before they got moved on. And not how to puke up as many calories as they could.
"Well………there was that dance instructor in fifth grade. All I did was told her she had fat thighs. But I guess she took it offensively because she got the………"
"Apart from that. Anyone at school? Family? Enemies?" I prompted.
"Ooh! Now that I think about it, there was this one girl. She was in my bio class. She had the most disgusting nails I'd ever seen. Her name was….um…..Olive? You know the one Mary……." Phoebe gasped hurriedly.
"Oh yeah I know. Olivia right? Like Olivia Newton-John. She SO needs to sort out her cuticles. Plus I heard that she and Daniel Curtis were getting it together behind the bike sheds the other week. Can you imagine that? And Daniel Curtis as well. I had my eye on him for ages. Then he goes and picks her." Mary replied sounding stung. I pursed my lips unhappily. I hated bullying.
"Don't worry hon. He's only making up for what he can't have. He'd drop that bit of fluff in a second." Melanie cooed reassuringly. Is this what it's like to be popular? I wondered. To have to constantly reassure each other that they look better than other girls. Girls that may actually be nice and decent human beings?
"Or maybe he loves her and doesn't care about what other people think about it." I said airily. They all glared at me.
"How can you say that? She's the reason we're stuck here! If it wasn't for her we wouldn't have got sent here as a punishment-"
"For treating her like nothing for her whole life?" I finished. They glared at me again.
"Olivia isn't the reason you're still here. You're still here because you all need to accept the fact that maybe sometimes some things are more important than you." I continued.
They looked at one another in dawning recognition. Like they were only seeing one another for the first time. I was pleased that they didn't look all that happy at what they saw.
I was about to tell them some sort of humbling piece of advice when a lady popped her head out of the cubicle beside me.
"We're ready for you Miss Simon." The petite woman said cheerfully. I nodded and dragged them towards the waiting room curtain.
"Wait out here." I hissed to them quietly. They nodded their assent as a unit.
Stepping inside the room I immediately noticed the fine white material draped over one wall elegantly. I'd had my dress custom made for me. Not that I knew what it would look like yet. I just gave them a rough idea of what I'd wanted. Today however was viewing day.
The small woman smiled at me as she saw me eyeing the folded dress nervously. Part of me still wasn't sure if it would look okay. White had never exactly been my colour, but I'd gone for it regardless. Just like I'd decided I'd wanted a church wedding. It just seemed right to do it like that. Traditionally.
"Are you ready to try it on?" she chirped happily. I nodded with a grin creeping across my face. She handed it to me gingerly.
Putting it on was the hard part. I'd chosen to have a corset, which was so much harder to wear than what I'd expected. It was like being Elizabeth out of Pirates of the Caribbean. I could so feel her pain.
"Oh it's so beautiful!" The lady said, before swinging round the mirror. And let me just say she was so right. It was possibly the most beautiful dress that I'd ever seen –let alone worn.
It had tiny baby-pink flowers decorating the pouf skirt. The two small straps had pink butterflies along them. But my favourite part was definitely the fact that it was backless. With a few baby-pink trimmed straps joining it.
It was truly amazing.
I spent a couple more minutes admiring it and adjusting the skirts when I heard commotion from outside. The girls.
I was outside again in a matter of seconds. I was amazed that my presence actually made them shut up. Their mouths dropped open as they put two and two together.
"Oh my gosh! You're getting married?" Mary cried as if she couldn't believe that I was doing it before her. She stared at me enviously. I rolled my eyes.
"Yes I am. Now please tell me what seems to be the problem out here." I asked impatiently.
"It was just this little kid. She was getting on my nerves. She kept asking for 'the mediator' whatever that is." Phoebe replied uninterestedly. I stared at her in horror.
"Where is she? What did you tell her?" I shrieked shrilly. Then noticing the people whispering about me, I dragged her into a corner.
"Well what was I supposed to do? I told her to go and find her mommy and to stop bothering us." She stuttered nervously.
"You WHAT! I'm the mediator!" I informed her indignantly. I couldn't believe it. I'd deliberately put finding Kayla to the back of my mind. I was waiting for her to find me. Now it could be too late. All because of some stupid bimbo.
"Oh right. I wondered what you were going on about earlier. It sounded like a bad fashion label. Mediator."
I barely noticed the bell on top of the shop door tinkle as someone came in. I was too focused on the idiot in front of me. How could she have turned Gina's sister away? I felt guilt fill me to the core. I should never have come here today. Not without finding Kayla first. And the stupid 'dark forces' that were stalking us.
I jumped as I heard a gasp from behind me, and spun around.
"Wow he's hot. Is he single?" I vaguely heard her ask from beside me. I was shocked to find Jesse standing in the doorway looking at me like……well I don't know. I guess shock pretty much sums it up.
"Phoebe this is my fiancé Jesse. Jesse this is the class bitch Phoebe. Didn't you know it was bad luck to see the brides dress before the wedding day?" I babbled moodily.
Jesse grinned kind of sheepishly, washing away the look of awe he'd had on his face before. He couldn't seem to stop himself looking me up and down though. When his eyes finally returned to my own I hitched up an eyebrow disapprovingly.
"I tried calling you on your phone but it was switched off." He explained, trying and failing to shift his gaze away from me.
"Jesse quit staring at the wall. You've seen me now. Bad luck is already underway thinking of yet another way to wreck everything."
Jesse grinned at me, no longer avoiding my gaze.
"Bad day?" he asked in amusement.
"You could say that." I replied bleakly. His expression grew serious as he nodded to the door.
"You should come with me. I had a visitor a while back. Seniorita Kayla. She seems to be very upset. She won't come out of the bathroom." He told me worriedly. He said it in a hushed voice to stop other people hearing. I nodded; glad that I knew where she was at least.
"Good. I'll be out in a second." I said as I walked back towards the small cubicle. But before I slipped back through the veil that separated the shop and the changing room, he caught my arm gently.
"You look beautiful." He whispered as he leant down and kissed my lightly on the forehead. I smiled, feeling the nervous knot in my stomach ease slightly. Everything was going to be okay.
Now all I had to do was convince Gina.
A/N: YAY! I got rid of my writers block!
I added a bit of everything onto the dress. So that everyone was kind of happy. Lol. Hope you liked it.
Please review!
P.S. Chocolate is the best thing ever invented! (besides The Mediator)