5

Fast-forward five days to Friday. As soon as I step onto the bus, I can feel the tension and excitement of everyone. Everybody is chatting with their partner, the girls talking about boys and boys talking about… I don't know. Cars, maybe.

Even Karen is overthinking everything. "It's a beautiful knee-length black dress, which I love. The only problem is that it shows a little cleavage, and I don't want to seem like a slut. The other dress is a short dark grey dress. It shows no cleavage at all, but… I don't know." she sighs. "Emma, what do you think?"

"I'm not really into fashion, but I think if you bring them both at Sarah's house this afternoon, she'll be happy to help," I say.

"You think so?" Karen asks.

"Are you kidding? Sarah would help an ant that's about to be squished two miles away."

Karen laughs. "That's accurate enough."

When we get to school, I have the same feeling from the bus: everyone is thrilled about the party, but Karen and I don't care. We walk towards our Social Studies class and sit down calmly. I try to listen to the lesson, but I find out it's nearly impossible. Most of our classmates are too excited and don't bother to listen, but that means that who wants to listen (cough, me, cough), can't.

Well, even though the lessons won't go on, I'm relieved when the last bell rings to signal the end of the day. Karen packs up her things in a hurry, says, "I'll meet you outside." and leaves. I find her behavior a little strange, but I don't push her. She's already left, but I take my time. Finally, I walk out of the classroom.

I'm about to push open the door when a strong hand grabs me. I turn around to see who it is, but it's kind of obvious. Yes. Tom Polson.

"Hey, Emma," he says, flashing me a stupid smirk.

"What do you want?" I say, remembering I have to be "reluctant enough", as Karen had said.

"Hey, is that the way to greet me?" he asks, still that grin on his face.

"Yes," I answer.

He ignores my comment and looks me in the eyes, full of curiosity. "I just wanted to know if you'll be at the party tonight."

I hesitate. "Yes. Yes, I'll be there."

His smile comes back. "Great. I'll see you then." Then he reaches for my hand and brings it to his soft lips. I stand there, stunned, as he kisses the back of my hand. When he pulls back and sees my probably tomato-red face, he smirks.

"See you later, Emma," he says, then walks out.

I stand there, frozen for a few more seconds, then finally snap out of it. I have to be strong. I have to be reluctant enough, and I am, I swear. But I can't help but feel a wave of awe and admiration for Tom.

Stop! That's him messing with your head! I think to myself.

Yes, right. I have to think straight.

I walk out of the doors and see Karen typing on her phone. She looks up and scowls. "What took you so long?"

I told her.

"Oh," she says. "Wow."

"But, this is normal right?" I ask. "You told me he does this with every new girl."

"Yeah, but never like this. Like, with me he flirted a bit, but he never kissed my hand or anything."

"Well, that's just great," I mutter sarcastically.

"I'm sorry for you, but it could be worse," Karen says.

I look at her. "What do you mean?"

"Tom Polson, one of the most popular guys in school, has a crush on you. That's a good sign. Would you prefer it would be Weird Mickey?"

"Oh, god no," I say.

Weird Mickey is a guy we always see on the bus. He has big eyes and he's really skinny, almost bony. He has a condition for which he doesn't have any hair, but he tries to hide it with a ridiculous wig. We call him weird because he's always trying to charm girls, but he always goes a little too far and it becomes creepy.

Once, when Karen was sick, Mickey sat right next to me. It didn't bother me at first, but he really slowly pushed his leg against mine. I tried to be cool about it and tried to move my leg away from his a little, but he just pushed farther. It was weird.

Anyways, Karen and I got on the bus and went home.

Something I didn't know about Sarah: she's obsessed with fashion.

As soon as she saw the dress I had planned to wear, she cringed and said. "Ew, no!"

We all arrive at the same time, and Sarah immediately gets to work. She starts working on Suzy, then Karen, then herself, and finally me. By the time Sarah is done with the others, I'm in awe.

Suzy is wearing a skinny knee-length brown dress that compliments her dark skin. Her hair is tied up in a perfect bun and she puts on a pair of brown high-heels. To complete the look, she wears some silver earrings and a touch of mascara.

Sarah tells Karen to throw out both of her dresses and hooks her up with a long green dress that reaches her shins. Around her waist is a thin leather belt, and she has on a pair of black heels. She lets her blonde hair fall down on her shoulders and put on some black earrings.

Sarah has decided to wear all pink: her skinny short dress, her high heels, and her earrings. Apparently, she doesn't think it's enough because she decides to put on some pink eye shadow. The only non-pink thing she has on are a couple of silver bracelets.

Oh, boy. It's my turn.

Sarah takes a quick look at me, then disappears in her closet. When she walks out again, she's holding a beautiful dark red dress. She hands it to me, and I walk to the bathroom to change. I'm pleased to find out that the material feels wonderful against my skin. I observe myself in the mirror. Wow, that actually looks good. It's a little shorter than what I prefer, but the dress makes my curves flawless and I notice it also makes me look skinnier. I love that about my dress.

I walk out of the bathroom. When I come into view, I hear a gasp coming from Suzy. All my friends are gaping at me. I smile, but I'm actually a little embarrassed.

"Emma, you look… wow." Karen comments.

"Thanks. But this is getting weird. Stop staring at me like that." I say.

They laugh, but they still keep their eyes on me. After a few seconds, Sarah approaches me and gives me a pair of red heels. I put them on and try to walk. It may sound weird, but I've never worn heels. I normally wear sneakers or, if I have to, flats. Nevertheless, I can walk pretty well in heels, so I decided to go for it. Sarah hands me a pair of stunning sea green earrings that make my blue eyes pop. She then tells me that I should tie my dark hair in a ponytail so that they don't hide my face. Sarah's the expert, so I do. Finally, she puts a thin layer of mascara on my eyelashes.

"Voilà!" she exclaims after she's done.

Shortly after, we're in the car driving to the party. During the trip, we talk about the cutest boys in school, and I'm not surprised to hear the name "Tom" multiple times.

After parking the car, we walk out and go up the stairs. I have to admit, Sarah did a great job. We turn quite a few heads on our way in.

We open the doors and step in.