“Could be fun,” Alicia said, as if she could read my mind. “I mean… I was going to be a cat, but I really don’t mind changing my plans.”
Ace smirked and shook his head. We all watched him intently as he pondered the possibility. Finally, after a long beat, he pressed a hand under his chin, cocked his heart shaped face and smiled. “I reckon I’d make a gorgeous tin man.”
“You would,” Alicia and Kendra both cheered in unison. I gagged inside. But yes, I had to agree… he would.
Kendra grabbed a Dorothy costume off the rack. “I’ll probably need a wig. Never seen a dark-haired Dorothy before.” It was a little presumptuous of her, but I was cool with it. I had no desire to be Dorothy.
Ace pressed a gentle hand on her arm. “Hold up,” he said, his soft spoken voice sweeter than usual. “Don’t you think that Anna might make a lovely Dorothy, she has the coloring for it… and the freckles.”
No way. No way was I going to wear the smutty little Dorothy dress. I’d already decided who I wanted to be. I would be quite happy in that bulky cowardly lion costume, thank you very much.
His gaze melted into hers and he was doing that thing again, that brainwashing thing he does. No matter how much Kendra had longed to be Dorothy, she was under his spell now. “Yes… yes I think she would make a lovely Dorothy,” she said softly in a voice that wasn’t quite her own.
Alicia and I were slack-jawed.
Ace turned to me. “You can finally fulfill your lifelong dream of being Dorothy,” he teased with playful eyes. “I can’t wait to see you in that little blue dress, love.”
Damn.
No, there was no way… I got caught in his mesmerizing eyes again. I was like a careless child who didn’t look where she was stepping.
And I fell...
25
Suddenly I really wanted to be Dorothy, skipping and hopping down the yellow brick road, holding hands with the tin man, dancing munchkins at our feet.
I shook my head. What in the Oz was happening to me? “Uh… sure,” I mumbled, my heart beating at a frantic pace. “I mean… it’s not exactly a lifelong dream--”
“You’ll look amazing in this.” Kendra trilled as she pressed the Dorothy costume against my chest. “And you can even use that little doggie you always carry around, and we’ll find you a little basket somewhere.”
Oh yes… Pompom. “Yes, he would make an excellent Toto.”
“I’ll braid your hair,” Alicia offered, bouncing from one foot to the other.
The excitement was contagious.
Ace grabbed a pair of sparkly ruby shoes. “And you can’t do it without these shoes.” He handed them to me, a huge grin stretching across his face. As much as I was trying to keep my distance from him, I had to admit that there was something so fun about him.
I gazed down at the price tag on the shoes. They were forty dollars. And the costume was fifty. I couldn’t afford it. “Nah, I’ll just wear my black school shoes. I can’t afford these.” No sense in hiding the truth. He and I were from different worlds, and no way in hell was I going to be ashamed of it.
“No worries, love. I’ve got it,” he said. “All the costumes are on me.”
I started to shake my head, but he was fixing me in that intense way of his. “I’m happy to pay for all the costumes, and I won’t hear another word about it. It’s my pleasure.”
I was speechless, and I desperately wanted to object, but not a single word could escape my mouth.
So there it was. I had my costume for the party. And down the yellow brick road, I was heading.
And for the life of me, I had no clue how it had all happened.
Luckily,we were back in time for my ‘date’ with Leo. I even had time to grab a bite to eat. Alicia and I made ourselves ramen noodles, multigrain toast and hard boiled eggs. The common room kitchen was always stocked with healthy staples for everyone to enjoy. Mariah, a really nice lady stocked our cupboards every Monday. Brianna tried to bribe her to bring us some junk food once, wielding a shiny twenty dollar bill. “Just a few chocolate bars, is all we ask for.” Mariah just shook her head without a word. “Geez, it’s not like we’re asking for crack,” Brianna had scoffed.
“Isn’t Ace dreamy?” Alicia swooned. “I love the way he talks. It’s not just the accent, it’s the words he uses, like he’s from a different century or something. And the hair. And those eyes. And that car!”
Oh no. Alicia had fallen under Ace’s spell, like practically every girl at RAMS. “Watch out for him, Alicia,” I warned her. “Did you see how he has everyone under his control? The way he controlled Kendra… she really wanted to be Dorothy. And then he manages to make me buy that smutty Dorothy costume. God, I don’t even know if I can wear it.”
She smirked. “Yes, his powers of persuasion are impressive… kinda sexy.”
