Lost In Purple
Chapter 17: The Fall Formal Part 1 - Getting Ready
Melanie's POV
I look at my graded midterm as Professor Knight explains all of the answers. A big red A+ is circled at the top of the page and next to where I wrote my name last week. Since this midterm was about 40% of my grade, I can certainly say I've passed the written part of the class. Now all I have to do is pass the physical portion of the class, which is the final exam, and I'll know if I'm truly meant to be a scarer. Apparently the average grade for this midterm was a B-, so many students proved that they haven't been reading the assigned material, studying, or using their common sense. This test was actually pretty easy considering the fact that all the liberal arts and philosophy midterms required more thought and effort than ours. Maybe this is why they don't focus solely on physical scaring, because you can't not use common sense when scaring.
We're eventually released from the clutches of our evil college schedules and rush out the doors towards a greater tomorrow. However, before we reach that tomorrow, Bruiser and I find all the RORs congregating near the fountain.
"So how did our favorite freshmen do on their midterms?" Chip exclaims as we walk up to them.
"Hehe, aced it!" Bruiser yells while lifting his graded test up into the air as proof.
Chip and Chet run up to Bruiser and start patting him on the back. Johnny and Javier make their happiness known by giving him a high-five.
"And how did you do princess?" Johnny asks while leaning over to peek at my midterm.
I laugh and turn it around to give him a better view. "A+, just like you expected."
He throws his arm around my hip and pulls me close. "Atta girl!"
I chuckle and wrap my arms around his chest and he returns my embrace as I bask in his praise. I'm happy he's here to make me feel special and worthy of something that many people said I wasn't.
"Now we just have to see how Señor Sullivan did," Javier mentioned while looking at some more scaring students exit the school in melancholic spirits.
"He did say he was studying so I want to assume he did fine," Johnny states.
Over the past week, Johnny and Javier have been discussing Sullivan's place within the RORs. While he's been keeping up with his daily workout routines over the semester, he hasn't been keeping up with his studies. Johnny said that Sullivan's average grade is a C-, which is quite the outlier in terms of all the RORs' grades. Almost all of them have perfect grades in their classes, and then there's Sullivan with an underwhelming achievement.
"You'd think he'd be out here celebrating with you by now," I add.
"Eh, he could be talking to someone in your class. Everyone wants to be friends with him, and to also be him," Chet chortles.
Johnny let's go of me and starts walking towards the Scaring School and directs the others to follow them. "We'll be back Mel, stay put for me," Johnny asserts.
"Sure thing!" I say saluting him and taking a seat on the fountains walls.
I watch as he confidently strolls down the pathway, his elegant sway hypnotizing me with each step. His tail remains upwards with every movement, proving that he was taught at a young age to have the posture only royalty can possess. My eyes then move up to his torso. I'm able to see his well defined muscles through his sweater and feel my face get hot.
"You two are so cute."
I nearly fall back into the fountain when I jump at the sound to my left. It's Carrie sitting next to me on the fountain and smiling with her eyes closed. She has a notebook in her hand and a tiny backpack over her shoulders. She literally looks like something out of one of those high school drama movies.
"Holy shit Carrie, your supposed to scare human children not me!" I hyperventilate.
"Sorry. Although, that only proves how scary I am compared to many other monsters," she boasts with a chuckle.
I put my hand over my head and groan. "I have a long way to go."
Carrie scoots closer to me and leans against me. "Maybe so, but you've totally got it girl. Especially when your boyfriend is the scariest man on campus."
I feel my ears lower as I blush. "W-what? We're not…you know, dating."
"Mmm, I don't know if I trust you. Seeing Johnny carrying you into the ROR house like you're a princess last week doesn't help your case," Carrie teases.
Oh god, she saw that? Did I really not think someone could see something like that considering the whole entire street consists of college students? I'm really not doing a good job at being discreet student.
"Don't be embarrassed Melody, I think it's cute!" Carrie squeals.
"Ok, ok, believe what you will. Just know that I'm saying that we're not dating," I reply.
Carrie just agrees that what I'm saying is true and starts talking about various other things, but I tune her out. I see Johnny and the rest of the RORs begin walking up the steps to the Scaring School as Sullivan exits. He points to his midterm signaling to them that he nailed it which brings me a bit of relief. I don't really want Sullivan to be kicked out since being ROR is quite the achievement, and I wouldn't want his friends or parents learning that he wasn't cut out to be with the best of the best. Johnny and Sullivan give each other a brotherly handshake that's eventually broken by Mike walking underneath them. He turns around and shows them his test which causes them to freeze up and stare at him. Javier reaches over Sullivan's shoulder and steals his test. His face only shows disappointment, suspicion, and slight anger. Oh dear, he probably lied to them when he said he was studying when he was actually goofing off somewhere. Sullivan takes back his test and walks away, leaving all the RORs with confused faces. Johnny however looks fed up and narrows his eyes as Sullivan walks away.
"Melody?" Carrie asks.
"Huh? Sorry I blanked out," I lie.
She laughs. "You're thinking about the Fall Formal tonight aren't you? Tell me, are you excited to see Mr. Worthington in a suit?"
Oh, right. I almost forgot about that. It's October 30th, which means it's the Fall Formal tonight. It's Halloween tomorrow, which is a federal holiday in Monstropolis so we have the day off. Geez, Carrie's really not letting me breathe is she?
"Um… I don't think I can say no to that," I admit.
"Aww. So cute," Carrie whispers to herself.
"Stoooop Carrie, it's embarrassing," I whine while covering my ears.
Carrie closes her notebook and takes out her phone nonchalantly. "Oh come on Melody you know I'm just teasing you. Anyways, I told my sisters about your dress and they all want to see it. Would you like to maybe get ready for the dance at the PNK house tonight. I'll be sure to tell Johnny so that he can meet you outside when you're ready," she offers.
"Oh… sure. I was just going to try my best getting dressed in my dorm room, but that might be easier," I respond.
"Yay!" Carrie cheers while throwing her hands up into the air. We both laugh together, she starts hugging me, and then stands up from the fountain wall.
"I'll see you tonight then," she says before skipping towards the Scaring School. I wave at her and notice that she passes the RORs as they group up around the fountain once again.
"I didn't think you were friends with Carrie," Johnny utters while helping me up from the fountain wall.
"Yeah, she and her sisters were the first ones to really talk to me this year," I reveal while hugging him.
Johnny throws his arm around my waist and pulls me closer. I see him turn his head towards Javier and Chip, signaling to them that I'm ready, and we begin hiking to the ROR house.
"Hey, he didn't do very well did he?" I ask noticing Johnny's conflicting look.
I hear him growl as my head rests against his chest. "Nope. Javier said he got a C-. If he gets those kinds of grades in Scaring 101, he won't make it through Scaring 201 or 202," he answers.
"Really?" I ask with interest.
"Yeah, Scaring 201 is where you're forced to enact scares they know you don't do well with in realistic simulations. If he doesn't know anything about the many techniques of scaring, or if he only knows one kind of scare, he's screwed," Johnny clarifies.
"...You're going to kick him out before you realize he's like that aren't you?" I whimper.
"If he doesn't pass his final exam then yes. He's proven that he doesn't want to keep his grades up and is only with us for the glory. If anything it might be for the better to send him to the JOX," Johnny snarled.
While it might be true that he's in the fraternity for glory, I don't think Sullivan would be necessarily happy with joining the JOX. I wouldn't wish that upon him after all he's said and done to me because I'm the type of person to forgive and forget. While he might deserve the best, he sure isn't grateful enough for it.
"Anyways, are you ok with staying at the house for a little while? All of us have classes and errands to do until around five o' clock tonight," Johnny asks.
"Yeah that's fine. If I get bored I can just scour the library for something to read," I joke.
Johnny laughs as we finally the amphitheater. "Alright, sounds like a plan."
The rest of the afternoon was pretty quiet. Johnny, Javier, and Chip all went out to their classes at around one o' clock. Chet left at around two thirty, and Bruiser went to lunch with some of his other friends. The only person aside from me at the house is Sullivan and he's just holed up in his room waiting to go to the Fall Formal with some girl he asked after we got our midterms back. I ended up taking out my sketchbook and drew the backyard when the afternoon glow started to appear. It's kind of weird seeing the pool be covered up and unused since it was such a popular place in the house during the parties earlier this semester. Although, it's really nice seeing this backyard act like an oasis. I could get used to it.
Four thirty rolls around and I remember that I told Carrie that I would be getting ready for the dance with them. I close my sketchbook and walk into the house to find my belongings. I take my backpack and handbag, and exit the house. It seems that Carrie was conveniently on her way over to the ROR house.
"Hey Melody!" She howls.
"Hey, how are you?" I ask.
"Great! I can't wait to have some fun tonight. How about you?" Carrie replies.
"Good. Um, did Johnny tell you I was here?" I inquire.
Carrie nods. "Yeah, I ran into him while going to one of my classes and told him that you were getting ready with us tonight like I said. He told me I was free to come pick you up here whenever."
"Oh are you guys taking similar classes?" I ask.
"Yep! Scaring 401, Scaring Biology, and Human Anatomy. I don't know if there are any others, but yeah," Carrie clarifies.
I think about the complexity of the classes, and it makes me feel a wave of stress. "Ugh… sounds difficult. Are they fun at least?"
"If you enjoy scaring, yes," Carries giggles.
My sudden distress disappears when she says that. "Thank god for that. Anyways, my dress is in my dorm room so I have to go fetch it. I'll be right back."
Carrie gives me a thumbs up and says, "Oh, then I'll drive you over there. It might make it easier to transport that dress anyways."
After a quick drive up to the main road, I take a refreshing walk back to my dorm. Many students are sitting within the grassy areas of campus, taking it easy after a stressful week of testing. Quite a few groups are just sitting and drinking coffee or hot cider while socializing. I wonder if this is a normal thing before a dance, but then again I never really experienced one to it's fullest so I can't say that that's abnormal.
I reach the Dormitory and open my door only to drop my backpack on my bed and go rummaging through my closet for my dress. I take it off the hangar and look over it once more. The black and borealis purple combo looks amazing, and the Victorian patterns on the torso make it look like it's straight out of 16th century France. The small bouquet of black roses on the waistline are also gorgeous and ties the whole look together. I take the dress and make sure to check that I have my phone in my pocket. I also take my handbag that I've filled with essentials and I walk out the door. I pass a couple of girls on my way down from the top floor and they all glare at it like they're speechless. While I'm sure they were just amazed by it, I pick up the pace a little and power walk back to the main road just to make sure they're not planning on stealing it. I'm a little confused as to why they didn't build a road past the bridges so that people can pull up to the dormitory, but whatever, it doesn't matter now.
I find Carrie where I left her and she helps me carefully place my dress in the back of her convertible. We hop in the car and drive back to Frat Row in a matter of 5 minutes.
"I'm so excited for the girls to see your dress Melody! They're going to freak out!" Carrie squeals when we both shut the doors to the car.
I smile uncontrollably as I take out the dress from the trunk and walk into the PNK house. The entire first floor is filled with pink and white furniture. The carpet is white, and the white wood trims line the walls edges. Everything else is literally pink. The couches are a pastel pink, the tables and chairs are made of pink ivory wood, the paintings on the walls are pink, and the flowers used as decoration are all pink.
"Oh my gosh! Melody's here!" Britney yells from the kitchen.
All the PNK girls come running from upstairs and surround me. "Show us, show us!" Taylor pleads desperately.
"Ok calm down girls, let's have Melody actually change into the dress first. Just use the bathroom upstairs and to the right, then come back down and we'll fix everything for you. After that, we'll all change into our dresses and head to the banquet hall," Carrie plans.
All the girls agree and let me walk up the stairs to the bathroom. I notice that the shower in there is partially a steam room as well, which must be awesome to use, and the sink has a waterfall faucet. This house is all sorts of extra it's almost hilarious. I undress quickly and slide into the dress while making sure not to rip it or stretch it. I thank the heavens that I don't have to throw it over my head because it would be a royal pain to maneuver it around my sharp horns. I adjust it to make it as comfortable as possible but it can only be adjusted so much when it's unzipped. I wrap my arm around my stomach to make sure it doesn't fall off as I exit the bathroom and gobble down the stairs.
"OH MY GOSH YOU'RE GORGEOUS!" Britney screams.
All the PNK girls start doing that thing that fangirls do when their favorite boy band member comes out on stage. They start squealing at ear piercing pitches and fanning themselves with their hands.
"It really can't be that pretty?" I ask with embarrassment.
"Oh, it is!" Carrie laughs while zipping up the dress.
"It's not overly flashy or anything? I saw some girls staring at me when I was leaving the dorm with it so... it makes me assume it's too much," I explain.
"Ugh! Who were they! We're going to rip them to pieces for making you feel that way!" Heather shrieks in anger.
"Please don't do that. I just don't want to feel like the odd one out at the dance," I reply.
"Trust us when we say you're not. I think you're going to make all the other girls jealous honestly, and not because you're going with Johnny," Britney encourages.
I find my black rose hair clip and put it next to my right ear like at the dress store. They luckily have a large mirror set up on the first floor, so I use that to see how I look. I still love how elegant I look in the dress so I guess Carrie and Rhonda were right when they said I look like a princess.
"Oh! Melody, before we do anything else…" Britney spouts.
The PNK girls and I see her walk up the stairs and disappear for a few seconds. She comes back down holding a couple things in her hands. "I have this old moonstone jewelry set that I'd like to give you."
There's a large moonstone pendant and horn jewelry pieces that are supposed to wrap around them. The stones are white and emit a bright purple when the light hits them at certain angles which perfectly matches the purple of my dress.
"Oh, no, I can't possibly take those," I contest.
"It's ok, my parents got it for me a couple years ago and I've never wore them. Trust me, it's better that their in your hands. Plus, the pearly luster suits you better than it would for me," Britney replies.
As much as I don't want to take something so sentimentally valuable from her, I accept them and begin putting them on. Britney helps me wrap the horn pieces around my horns and tighten them so that they don't clank against them all night. I take the pendant and put it over my head until it rests on my chest. They're beautiful, and the PNKs make sure to tell me that hundreds of times.
The PNK girls all take their turns changing into their dresses and showing them off to everyone. They all have their own unique dresses in many different shades of pink which isn't shocking at all. Once everyone's all spruced up, Britney goes into he kitchen and brings everyone out skewered fruits. There's all sorts of fruits on the 50 or so sticks and I'll admit I had around 10 of them which made me feel nice and full for the amount of partying that will ensue.
"Ok it's almost six o' clock Melanie. Johnny said he would come pick you up at 6:30 but I think he'd like it more if you went to surprise him," Carrie bubbles.
"Ok, good idea," I respond.
"Here, Johnny or Javier will put your stuff in a safe place," Carrie says while passing my handbag and a bag with my clothes over to me.
"Thank you," I smile.
Britney waves from inside the kitchen and yells, "Bye Melody! I'll make sure to check up on you later tonight!"
I wave back to her and the rest of the PNKs before I gently shut the heavy front door. I look out at the street to see a few couples leaving for the banquet hall. They all look so happy and excited to be a part of a school event. Usually people aren't, so that's a good change. While I walk towards the ROR house, I take my phone of the bag with my clothes and open my handbag. I'm able to shimmy it into the crammed handbag and try to force it shut. It doesn't close fully until I hear a click, so I have to pull the flap down a little bit for it to make that click. Right as I finish that grand achievement, I look up and almost run into a dark pink monster with a white dress on and a bow on her head.
"Oh, sorry, excuse me," I apologize.
Even though I meant the best, a voice to my left that's coming from the JOX house speaks up, and it unfortunately sounds fairly aggressive. "Don't talk to us."
To Be Continued...