AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Just open it,” Gwen said. “You know you can’t wear what you’ve got on. They’ll kill you.”
“Cheerleader meat!” Mikey growled as he hit the gas pedal. The Cadillac lurched forward, throwing them back. The radio snapped on with a fuzz and a pop before jumping through stations. Loud, crashing music blasted from the speakers, fast ragged vocals following close behind. Isobel gripped her seat as the car sped away from the stadium. They turned onto the main road, the rear bumper scraping the curb. She glared at the back of Mikey’s absurd hair, which resembled that of a bomb-blasted, smoke-charred cartoon character’s.
Next to her, Gwen, impatient, yanked off the box top, revealing folds of lace.
Isobel’s eyes widened.
“What?” said Gwen.
“Gwen, I can’t walk in there wearing that thing!”
“Why the hell not?”
“It’s pink!”
“So?”
“Uh—hello—did you not see Carrie?”
“Plug it up!” Mikey cried, and banged the steering wheel rapidly in tune to the drums.
Isobel glared.
“You’re making a statement,” Gwen said, and draped the gown across her own lap, pulling the zipper down.
“I’m not wearing a pink dress to a goth prom.”
“These are the shoes,” said Gwen, and shoved a pair of rose pink flats into Isobel’s lap.
“Gwen, no!”
“Look, it’s going to be crowded. Everybody between here and the Indiana underground is coming to this thing. How else is he supposed to find you? Honestly, you’d think I was sending you off as a virgin sacrifice.”
“Are you really a virgin?” Mikey chimed almost predictably from the front.
Isobel clamped her mouth into a silent and furious line. Gripping one shoe tightly, she fought the urge to whack him upside the head.
“Besides,” Gwen added, fluffing the dress folds, “this thing took forever, so you’re wearing it.”
“Wait, you made this?” Isobel asked, distracted.
“Altered it,” she admitted. She shrugged. “Half off at the Nearly New Shop. By the way, you owe me twenty-five dollars. Oh, and there’s a smudge on the toe of the left shoe, but I got them to throw those in, so don’t worry about it. Now how do you get this stuff off?” Her hands flew to Isobel, twisting her by the shoulders. Isobel felt the release of her cheer uniform’s zipper.
“What are you doing?” Isobel squealed. “I’m not getting dressed in here!”
“What? Why not?”
“Uh, boy!” she shouted, and shot a finger at Mikey, who lifted his chin and waggled his eyebrows at them through the rearview mirror. Isobel made a sound of disgust. Who was this kid, anyway?
Gwen leaned forward. Reaching through from the backseat to the front, she flipped the rearview mirror so it faced the ceiling.
“Isn’t that kind of dangerous?” Mikey protested.
“Keep your eyes on the road or you’ll be a eunuch before the night’s out.”
“What’s a eunuch?” he asked, chuckling.
“Look it up.”
