AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You really like dressing up, don’t you?” A woman about my age with a heavy New York accent spoke. “Sorry, I’m being rude. Hi, I’m Jillian and this is Savannah and Samantha.”
She stuck her hand out and I shook it and the other girls’ in turn. It was easy to see Savannah and Samantha were twins and I wondered what it was like to have a sister, let alone a twin. A built-in best friend who never judged you no matter what seemed kind of idyllic.
“I’m Harmony. It’s nice to meet you all.”
“We’re your dorm mates, and we were hoping you’d hang out with us in our common area tonight so we can all get to know each other better. We can pop some popcorn, watch a movie, whatever really.”
“Come on, please,” Savannah—or was it Samantha?—piped up. They looked so much alike it was hard to tell them apart. “We need to know about the sexy new professor, and you seem to be in the know.”
Sexy new professor? Were they crushing on Gray? If they were, I needed to put an end to that sooner rather than later. I didn’t need to be competing with other girls for his attention. I had enough work to do to get him to really notice me. “Um sure, that sounds nice. What time?”
“How about we meet in the cafeteria for dinner at five pm, and then we can come back to our dorm after?” Jillian spoke again. She appeared to be the leader of the little group.
“Okay.” It would be nice to make some connections and not try to navigate this place on my own.
“Great!” Samantha, or Savannah, exclaimed as she bounced on the balls of her feet and clapped her hands.
They filed out of my room and seemed to take all the oxygen with them. The women dressed casually in jeans and t-shirts. In comparison, I looked like I was going clubbing. Sighing, I yanked the dress over my head and discarded it on the messy pile on my bed. I kicked off my Louis Vuitton’s and dug through the clothing, trying in vain to find something to wear like the others. Frustrated, I flung myself on the bed in just my bra and panties and crossed my arms in a pout.
“Now what?” I said aloud to the empty room. I grabbed the map Master Derek had given me and looked at the amenities list. Sure enough, they had a store. A store at a ranch would surely have the appropriate clothing!
Excited, I threw the dress and the heels back on and made my way to the main building to find the shop.
Entering the store, I was happy to see it was mostly empty except for a woman behind the counter and two men perusing a wall of sex toys. The woman at the counter offered a beaming smile. “Can I help you, dear?”
“I hope so. I need all new clothes, you know, appropriate ones for being here. I just moved here, and I just need to fit in. Can you help me out?”
“Do you mean a uniform? Those are in the uniform room, and I can have someone take you there.”
Was she playing with me? I huffed in annoyance. “I don’t work here. I live here and I’m going to school. So whatever is right for that?”
The woman gave me a knowing smile and nodded. “Caterpillars? Butterflies? Or School age? Is your Mommy or Daddy here, or are you shopping alone?” She looked around me like I shouldn’t be there without some sort of chaperone or something.
Now I was uber confused. “Uh, my father is in New York. What do caterpillars and butterflies have to do with anything?”
The woman chuckled. “They are what we call our littlest Littles. The caterpillars are nursery age, and the Butterflies are preschool. Then we have the Middles classes. But if none of that is familiar to you, then I can surmise you’re probably one of our university students.”
“Yes.” Finally words I understood. They certainly inspired a slew of questions in my mind, but I needed to worry about one thing at a time.
“Come this way, Miss…”
“Harmony, please. My name is Harmony.”
“That’s a beautiful name.” She smiled at me before leading me to the clothing section. The store didn’t look big from the outside, but it certainly felt huge once I was inside and looking around at all of the different things they offered.
“Here is a selection of shirts, jeans, and dresses. Over there is the younger clothing for our Littles and Middles if you are interested and would like to take a look. Oh, I have a customer. Have fun and let me know if you have questions.”
I grabbed a stack of jeans to try on. Curious as to what they sold for the Littles and Middles, I found myself gravitating over to their sections. I couldn’t believe all the cool stuff they had.
Excited to find what looked to be dress-up clothes, I decided to have some fun and grabbed dresses that looked historical, maybe from the era of Little House on the Prairie. They even had bloomers! I was in heaven with all the cute dresses, and then there was a collection of vintage style t-shirts with Ghostbusters, Betty Boop, and my all-time favorite, Pink Panther, as well as a host of old-school rock bands from the seventies and eighties that I adored.
I found Mary Janes, lace-up boots for my old-fashioned dresses, and cowboy boots for my jeans. An hour later, I dumped my massive pile on the cashier’s counter. The woman looked surprised when she saw my stack. Whether from what I chose, or the number of items, I wasn’t sure and I didn’t ask.
She bagged it all for me and called someone to help me get the bags to the dorms. By the time everything was put away, it was time for dinner. I felt way more comfortable now that I could dress like them. I didn’t think about the fact that I was trying to fit in. I had never felt the need to do so before, but something about this place made me want to at least try. It would be nice to belong just a little, even if it was all pretend. I chose a pair of jeans and a tank top with Wonder Woman on it. For the first time in my life, I felt free when I put on my cowboy boots. Maybe I wasn’t trying to fit in; maybe I just didn’t have to conform to high society anymore and this was the real Harmony coming out.
The entirety of my new wardrobe would not be allowed back home. Not even as a child had I been able to wear such simple yet expressive clothing. I took a moment to admire the way the jeans hugged my curves in the full-length mirror hanging on the wall. I loved everything except the makeup.
I went to the bathroom and scrubbed off everything and reapplied my lip gloss. I bent over to run my fingers through my curls. When I flipped my head back, my hair fell in soft waves down my back and looked natural and a little chaotic. I didn’t look like me at all and that was the point. Old Harmony was out, and new Harmony was in.
