VIII. A Small Victory
Diana landed in town and wasted no time getting to the shop. She pushed open the door with renewed confidence. This was it, she would finally get to hold the suit in her hands. Her armor and the key to showing her true self. The shop was empty but Diana noticed the Emily and Oliva at the front counter talking in hushed tones.
Diana walked over to them and they both smiled as she approached. Diana returned their smiles.
"Well, it's not a secret why I'm here." Diana said, knowingly.
"Hahahaha. No it's not. Here it is, tailor made." said Oliva pulling a garment that was obscured by a plastic sheet like bag shielding it from view. Diana's breath hitched and it was hard to contain her joy.
"That will be 299 for the entire outfit. Cash or card?" Asked Emma.
"Sorry, card." Diana said yanking her gaze away from the suit to extend her credit card.
"Sorry, I just- I'm nervous, scared and excited all at the same moment. Is- is that strange?" Diana asked dropping her mask to be vulnerable for a split second.
Oliva handed Diana the suit.
"Not at all. I hope you love it. You're very brave for going after what you want." Oliva stated.
With the weight of the suit in her arms and Oliva's comment etched in her mind's eye, Diana looked at both women and genuinely smiled for the first time in a long time.
"Yes, You're right… I am brave." Diana turned to leave but paused. Turning back around Diana faced the two women again.
"I know it's your job but I can't help but express my gratitude. If you both hadn't been so kind I might have given up on this all together." Diana said with tears threatening to arise. Oliva plucked up.
"It's not a problem just make sure when you wear that suit, you let go of your fears. Once you do that you'll be freer than you ever thought possible." Oliva said. Afterwards, she was forced to turn away to help another customer.
Diana started to walk away with a strange feeling. It was something she hadn't experienced since she had heard of the ball. She felt ready. Ready to wear the armor that she was holding and face her demons. Daryl, Andrew and even her own deep rooted shame of herself. She walked out of the store confident in what she had to do.
Andrew was was about to go into the shop himself to retrieve his suit when he saw Diana.
"Well, isn't this a surprise. Picking up for someone else or yourself?" He said with a hint of amusement in his voice and a sly grin.
Diana didn't stop walking. She didn't even look at Andrew.
"Go fuck yourself." Said Diana in a deeper voice then her usual. By the end of tomorrow night he would be a footnote next to her. Andrew watched in shock at her comment as Diana took off for Luna Nova. For the rest of the night, Diana's thoughts were on tomorrow. Before she fell asleep, Diana thought about Akko and hoped that everything would come together like she wanted.
The next day was the big test, both Hannah and Barbara were quizzing each other up until the start of the period. Test was a blur to Diana. She went through the motions and gave all of the right answers. She looked around the silent class room for a brief moment. The scratch of pencils and erasers sounded around off of the walls.
Diana paused for a moment between potion questions and formulas she knew too well. She felt the air around her, it was full of tension, but she was more concerned about tonight. Right now was just a prequel to the real event.
Diana looked to Akko who was in the row in front of her. Akko seemed nervous and took her time with the test, her face twisted and furrowed with concentration. Diana smiled at her. She knew that tests were not Akko's strength but it was so cute how she tried. It swelled her with pride, knowing that she played a part in Akko's success in this test. Diana continued with the test and hints of butterflies haunted her stomach.
Who was she kidding, Diana knew all the answers. It felt like the anticipation of race just before the gun went off. This was just filler, her real test would begin the moment she finished. Then there would be nothing but empty time between her and the ball. Diana knocked out the last essay question. She turned in the test and left the class. On the way to her room she was grateful that Hannah and Barbara weren't here. However, it wouldn't be long before they completed their tests. She had to be ready.
Diana wasted no time entering the room and placing multiple complex lock spells on the door. She then put away her wand and went to the closet. Upon opening, the closet looked normal. Diana undid the upper level cloaking spell to reveal that a dress was really her suit still in it's plastic wrap.
From there on out, Diana took her time putting on the suit. She hadn't planned on that but she felt like this was a special event. As she shrugged in her over coat of white to compliment her pale green, she thought about the future. She could buy she more suits, all in different colors and designs. She smiled at the thought of showing Akko her collection of tailor made attire.. After a few tries, Diana final managed to tie her tie, smiling with well earned satisfaction.
Diana then heard Hannah and Barbara's voices growing closer. After she adjusted her cufflinks she heard Hannah and Barbara's reactions when they tried the door. All she had to do was a few simple commands to release the locks. She expected doubts to swarm her mind but they vanished when Diana saw the evideablity of her situation. They were going to see her in the suit anyway. Even as the doubts left her she realized that she really did care about what her friends thought of her.
Diana released the door and Hannah and Barbara tumbled in.
"See! I told you we could do it!" Hannah said proudly.
"No, that wasn't us, that was Diana-..." Barbara stood there stunned at Diana's outfit. This was not what she was expecting.
"What? I thought-..." Hannah stopped.
Both girls stared at Diana in shock. Diana stood there growing more and more anxious. What would their reaction be?
"This is the outfit I told you about." Diana said feigning confidence with sweat coating the back of her neck.
"It's - so…" Hannah started.
"Amazing!" Barbara finished. Hannah joined in.
It was Diana's turn to be stunned. Both girls circled Diana to get the full view of the suit, in all of its white and green glory.
"It's incredible! It really suits you, pun intended." Barbara giggled.
"Well, it should I had it tailor made." Diana said confidently adjusting the collar.
"What! Why didn't you just tell us? We could have gone with you! Wait. Were you really afraid to show us this? You look like a real life prince charming!" Hannah exclaimed.
Diana sighed. "This was my first time doing this. I wasn't certain how you two would take this. I was scared." Diana felt instantly better telling them.
Hannah and Barbara both realized that this was why Diana was being weird the whole time.
"You don't have to be afraid. We love you because you're you, Diana. I don't know how many times we have to tell you this but, we're your friends. When are you going to believe that?" Hannah said with frustration.
Diana looked down and felt a little ashamed. They were right. She had been pushing them away out of fear but all they wanted to do was help her.
"You're right." Diana said plainly.
Barbara hugged Diana and Hannah joined her.
This simple action made Diana let go of tears she didn't even know she had. And it felt good, just letting go of all of the fear and relaxing past it.
Diana replaced her tears with a shimmering smile.
"Well, it looks like I'm the only one ready for the ball." Diana commented. Both of her teammates springed off of her and started rushing around the room frantically.
"Shoot, she's right! We have less than 2 hours! Diana can you help me pick out the right shoes? I have to do my hair!" Barbara said digging in the closet.
"Damn it! I thought I had the right eye shadow, Diana can you help me not look like a circus clown tonight?"
Diana mirthly smiled at them. They were treating her the same as they always did. Asking for her opinions and guidance. She happily helped both get ready for the ball.