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“Ooh,” Mom said. “We could do these to hang with the disco ball!” She pointed at jellyfish with crepe paper tendrils swirling down.
“Love it!” Birdie sang. “I think that’s everything on my list.”
“The only thing we have left is my dress,” I said.
Mom gave me a knowing smile. “Why don’t you check your room?”
My lips parted. “No way! It came in while I was at Waldo’s?”
She nodded, but I was already running toward the stairs and up to my room. Shoving the door open, I could see the most beautiful dress I’d ever laid eyes on.
It was lime green, with a beaded top and a full tulle skirt that cascaded all the way to the floor.
I picked it up and held it to my chest, spinning in circles so the material flared around me. Was I in heaven? I had to be.
“It’s beautiful,” Mom said.
I glanced to see her and Birdie standing in the doorway. Mom’s hands covered her heart, and Birdie had a huge smile on her face.
“You have great taste, Xi.”
“Thanks,” I said with a smile.
Mom nodded. “Hopefully it goes with whatever your date is wearing.”
“I don’t have a date,” I said.
Mom had a sly smile. “Maybe not yet, but there’s time.”
I wanted to tell her it didn’t matter whether I had a day, a week, or a year; getting Kiyana to fall in love with me would never happen. [Not in a million years.] No matter how much I wished it would.
Four
Kiyana
I spentmy first week out of high school doing absolutely nothing. Well, next to nothing. There was a workout routine the cheer coach had given us to do over the summer. So, I slept in as late as I could. Worked out, lounged by the community pool, stayed up watching movies and did it all over again.
Going to Emerson Academy had been no joke. There were piles of never-ending homework, rigorous cheer practices, and then add on the social pressures of keeping a secret that could change your life if anyone ever found out.
This rest felt needed. It feltearned.
But Stefon and I had agreed to go out the following Friday night to keep up the charade. As I got ready, my grandparents sat in the living room with my parents, chatting while the TV played in the background. Stefon came to my house and knocked on my door as he had all those times before.
Hearing the commotion, I left my room, grabbing my purse, and saw Mom answering the door.
“Hi, Stefon!” she said, taking him into a hug. “How does it feel to be out of high school?”
He hugged her back and gave her his winning grin. “I haven’t had much time to feel since I’ve been catching up on sleep.”
Dad chuckled. “Lil miss has been doing the same thing.”
Rolling my eyes, I said, “It’s not a crime to sleep.”
“Amen,” Grandpa said.
Grandma nodded her agreement. “Kids do too much these days. They need time to just be kids.”
Having heard this rant a million times before about all my extra-curricular activities, I was more than ready to go. “We’re gonna be late for the movies,” I said.
