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I looked at the swing tag hanging from the back of the dress.
"Holy shit," I whispered. "I could never afford something like this."
"Try it on anyway." Grace peered over my shoulder and her eyes widened. "Oh, wow. Yeah. Go on. I want to see how it looks on you."
"Too expensive and too small," I said. I hung the dress back on the rack and moved to the discount section. Something here must be my size, and in my price range.
"What about this?" Grace held out a slinky black dress with a plunging back. "You'd look amazing in it."
I looked over at it and sighed. "I'd look like a sausage trying to get out of its skin. It would look much better on you."
It would look better onanyone. Why was I bothering anyway? Who'd care what I wore to the graduation formal? Everyone’s eyes would be on Britney, or Jenny. The pretty girls in class. No one would notice me. Spending a ton of money on a dress seemed like a waste. It was one night and then it would be forgotten forever.
Grace stuck out a hip. "Rebecca Anne Anderson, stop putting yourself down. You're gorgeous. Any one of these dresses would be lucky to have you. You'd look beautiful in all of them."
"Even that?" I pointed to a bright orange dress with ruching all down the front. It looked like the 1970s and the 1990s had a lovechild.
"Hell no," Grace said loudly. "No one would look good in that. If that's this season's next big thing, then I'll be sticking to last year's clothes."
"Yeah, me too." Like always. Last year's clothes were from the year before.
I preferred to wear classic clothes that were never really in style, but didn't go out so far I looked like something from my parents’ era. At least, that was what I told myself.
"So, how did the tutoring session go?" Grace glanced at me while looking through another rack of dresses.
I could tell she'd been itching to ask me all day. I was surprised it took her this long.
"I don't know, okay I guess." I fingered the soft fabric of a dark red dress. It was at least three sizes too small, with a plunging neckline and a slit up to mid thigh. Conrad would notice me in a dress like that. Heck,everyonewould notice me in a dress like that.
"Just okay?" Grace looked disappointed. "You didn't make out for hours?" She wiggled her eyebrows at me.
I blushed. "No, we didnotmake out. It was strictly professional." Except that being around him set my blood on fire. When he flirted with me, I wanted to melt into a puddle on the floor.
"How come you're bright red right now then?" Grace asked. "That is not the face of an innocent woman." She shot me a teasing smile, then pulled out a blue dress and held it up against herself.
"Of course it is. Conrad Florence is kinda attractive, but he's arrogant, self-centred and could have any girl in school he wanted." He was also smart and actually liked poetry. He'd deny that, but I saw it when we talked. More than that, hegotpoetry. I suspected that deep, deep down under that asshole jock façade, he was a romantic.
I let go of the red fabric. All of this thinking was getting me nowhere. He wasn't, and never would be, interested in a girl like me.
"I see no reason why he couldn't want you," Grace said. "You have a lot going for you." She nodded and added, "You should try on that red dress." She leaned past me to pull out the dress I had been touching.
"It's your size, see? And it's even a good price." She held up the swing tag to show me.
She was right, it was a good price. Andmaybeit was my size. But me, in a dress like that?
"What do you have to lose?" she asked. She all but shoved the dress at me.
I had to grab it before it fell on the floor. "My self-respect? My dignity? What little I have left."
She shook her head and smirked before turning around and shoving me towards the change room. "I want to see how you look in it."
"Okay. Okay. But if I look terrible, you have to try on that orange dress." I smiled over my shoulder, then laughed when she looked horrified.
"Oh, hell no. No deal. We'll find some other way for you to embarrass me. Although, we won't need one. You're going to look amazing. Now shoo." She waved me away.
I shook my head and closed the change room door behind me. Making sure there were no gaps, no way for anyone to look under or over, I stripped down to my panties and pulled on thedress. It felt strange to be without a bra, but the fabric was firm and supportive around my breasts.
I closed my eyes while I did up the zip. For a good two to three minutes, I didn't dare to look at myself in the mirror.
