Evie was standing in front of the mirror in her bedroom. She was holding the dress her mother had made up in front of body. It was done; Mom had made quick work of it. Evie was nervous to try it on. Her ballet masters had always made such a big deal out of her lack of natural grace. Just that morning someone had described her shoulders as broad like a boy's. Her hair was too dark, too curly and never laid right in a French twist the way the other girls' did. She feared that she wasn't girly enough for the beautiful dress her mother had made.

She decided not to dwell and pine on it anymore. She was going to prom with Jake Seresin. Hanging the dress back up in her closet, she gathered her bags and decided to just get to school early.

Evie cherished her morning walk to school. She always had more time than she needed and her muscles usually needed the movement after a hard barre class in the mornings. This was her only time of solitude all day. The sidewalks in her neighborhood were abysmal and the stray cats were always friendly in those days. She would have to duck under an unkempt tree branch every once in a while. Everything seemed perfectly balanced then.

Her day at school passed easily enough. She didn't have geometry that day and so there was no chance of seeing Jake. Her mom was running a little late picking her up so Evie sat on a small wall outside. A group of girls passed happily chatting about prom. It was Friday and prom was the following evening. For the first time Evie really got nervous. What if her hair didn't look as good as the other girls'? Evie had just found out this morning everyone else seemed to be going to a salon to get it done. She hadn't even considered a spray tan or getting a manicure. The beep of Agatha's minivan provided a reprieve from this anxious spiral.

The next morning rolled around and Evie got a message from Connor reminding her of the time and place they were all taking photos. Evie was bursting; it was real. It wasn't until that moment that Evie realized she had been expecting this to fall through or be a dream. She sat at her vanity and began fiddling with her hair when a knock came at the door. The posters of beautiful dancers and singers stared down on her from their affixed position on the wall. All of those women were so glamorous and Evie was starting to wonder why she had put them up when all they ever made her feel was ugly by comparison.

"Evie, sweetie, can I come in?" asked Agatha. Her mom strolled in and immediately stopped whatever her original purpose was when she saw Evie fighting with her hair in the mirror. "What are you trying to do?"

"I don't know. I guess something simple and delicate," Evie sighed heavily as she spoke and realized it probably sounded stupid out loud.

"Here. Let me." Agatha took the comb through Evie's curls and swept them up onto her head, like it was easy. "You know," Agatha began, "boys think that prom is going to end a certain way. High school boys are under the impression that the night is going to end in drinking beer and being…accompanied by a pretty girl."

"Mom, are you trying to talk to me about sex?"

"Well I like to think I'm succeeding rather than trying."

"I'm not going to have sex. I really like Jake, but I don't know him. I don't think that would be romantic," Evie confessed. She wanted her first time to be romantic and with someone she loved. She knew she could love Jake if she knew him. There was this sensation of emptiness in Evie. Not of the dark and sinking variety, but rather of this untapped capacity. It was a euphoric feeling knowing that she had so much love and care to give. Evie didn't lack for much and was otherwise content, but she wanted to love and be loved. All the other girls in her class had been kissed or more. Meanwhile, Evie was certain no one even thought she was pretty let alone pretty enough to kiss.

When Agatha was done, she stepped back. Evie looked at herself in the mirror. She was astounded to find her reflection looked poised and effortlessly chic.

"Thanks Mom," Evie was barely holding back tears. She didn't want to start crying too early in the night.

"You're welcome, my love. Now, what are we doing with your makeup? Do you want to do anything more than the usual?"

"No. I like the way I look now. I look like me, but better than I normally do." Evie added a necklace and a pair of earrings her mom had lent her. She was starting to feel giddy. This was like a first date for her. In the back of her mind, she was trying not to get her hopes up too high. Surely, this would just be a group of friends hanging out and in ten years she would be able to file this night and this memory away in a fond crevice of her mind.

Evie's mom stopped her outside the house to snap a quick photo of her in her dress before getting in the car and heading to the country club. As they drove up the gravel lane, Evie saw the group standing under a pavilion outside.

"Can you drop me off here?" Evie asked.

"Alright. I guess I'm not cool anymore," replied Agatha in a droll tone.

"Mom, you're the coolest and thank you for my dress," Evie didn't want to leave her mom feeling obsolete, "but I don't see any other parents here and I don't want to be the only one with a parent." Agatha aquiested and kissed Evie on the cheek as she got out of the car. Agatha drove away back down the lane. The van's receding silhouette made Evie feel slightly alone. Evie walked up the rest of the lane herself until she reached the group.

There was Jake, but he was wearing a red tie. He had a red flower on his lapel and was tucking a stray piece of hair behind the ear of a girl in a red dress. One of the girls, the one in pink, noticed Evie first.

"Where's your dress from? The bargain bin?" The girl didn't even try to hide the sneer in her voice. The others noticed her then. Before Evie could answer her, she felt a ripping near the bottom of her dress and turned to find another girl had stepped on the hem and it had ripped.

"Oops."

"Who invited the nerd?" It was one of the boys this time. A laugh built amongst the group before the boy turned back to Evie, "We're not going to be doing geometry homework tonight. You can go."

The urge to cry started with the tingling in her nose and the blood rushing to her ears, but she didn't want them to see her in a more vulnerable position than she already was. Evie turned and looked for Connor who met her eyes and made a mocking gesture evocative of a crying baby. Reality dawned on Evie as she realized she'd been invited for a joke and Jake had asked another girl. The girl in red stood frozen, as she seemed unsure of what to do, and it was clear to Evie that the other girl had no idea what was going on. It was some comfort that not everyone was so cruel. She looked to Jake, who also appeared unaware of what was going on.

Evie turned and walked back down the lane. Some voices and laughter still reached her ears as she got further away. She wouldn't run. She refused to run and instead walked with her back straight; She felt determined to preserve her dignity. The torn hem of her dress caught her eyes as she walked and the tears threatened an appearance once again. She let one fall. If not for herself, then for the dress, which had only been a labor of love. Evie thought she heard someone calling her name as she made it back to the sidewalk that would take her home.

The next few weeks passed quickly. Evie told her friends at school about the incident on prom night. Her friends were sympathetic, but didn't seem to understand just how deeply Evie had been hurt. She took a different route to get to her geometry class and even faked being sick for a few days to avoid going to the high school building. It wasn't that she was ashamed, they should be ashamed, but sometimes a person just needs a break from keeping all their emotions bottled up.

On the last day of school, Evie had finished cleaning out her locker the day before and she just had to walk out of the building after her last class. Her last class ever at this school. She would be relieved to never come back here and instead start fresh at the performing arts high school. Surely, all the students there would be too serious with their studies and their talents to pull hurtful pranks on each other. Evie was excited to start at a school where everyone was as devoted to their work as her.

She was close to her mom's car when she heard someone behind her call her name. When Evie turned around, there was Jake. His hair had grown out a bit and he might have been just a little bit taller. At that moment, Evie became aware of the fact that she had never heard him say her name out loud. She knew he knew it, but hearing it was different.

There was silence between the two of them for a minute. She was unsure what he was going to say and was half fearing whatever it was. He seemed to be grasping for words to put into a sentence. Her anxiety eased a bit because she could tell there was a tenderness in whatever was going to come next.

"I'm sorry. I would have said it sooner, but I didn't know how. I don't even know now if I'm going to do it right," Jake was fidgeting a bit as he spoke. He was clearly uncomfortable with what he was saying and doing his best to say it anyways. "I didn't know. I didn't know they were going to do that."

"I know. I could see it on your face and on your date's face," she said the word date with as much nonchalance as she was capable of.

"Ok… Good. I'm glad you know that," he trailed off a bit. "You look good."

"I am good."

Evie could tell there was something else he was working up to. "Maybe in the fall, when we're all in the same building, we can be friends, or something." When she didn't respond he tacked on, "I mean, you don't have to. I would understand if you didn't trust me or whatever."

"It's not that. It's just that I'm going to a different school next year." That revelation made the distance between the two widen just a smidge.

"Oh."

"Yea." Then something happened that Evie had never felt before, but she knew she would feel again. Her crush on Jake Seresin evaporated. If there had been anything left of it after prom, it had dissipated to indifference in this moment. Jake opened his mouth to say something else but Evie cut him off with, "Well, I gotta go." She turned and hurried off toward the safety of her mom's minivan. She closed the door to the van and felt relieved to leave that conversation, that school, and Jake Seresin behind.