Prom Queen

Chapter seven: Zoe Adams

After about 20 minutes, we arrive at the dress store. The front has a large glass window that showcases some of the latest styles. Lily turns off the car and we step out and head inside. It smells lightly of rose and clean linen, and there is music playing that sounds like it should be at a spa. Veronica starts looking at the racks, and Lily goes to the front desk and rings the bell.
"Where is the owner?" I ask.
"She'll be here in a minute." Lily rings the bell again, and I hear Veronica say,
"Turn around."
I do, and she's holding up a matching top and skirt set. She gasps and exclaims.
"Oh my gosh!! Zoe, this would look SO good on you, you have to try it on!!"
I look at it and ask,
"Really?"
"Yes!!" She spots something else and runs over, saying
"This too!"
Lily hears the commotion and walks over. I hold up the set that Veronica found, and I see Lily's eyes light up.
"Wow. That would look amazing on you!"
"Wait. Really?"
Veronica runs back over and they both cry in unison,
"Yes!!"
I hear another voice come from the back of the room.
"What's so exciting out here?"
I take a peek and see a tall woman who looks to be in her late forties come out. She is wearing a knitted loose black sweater, yoga pants, designer sneakers with big pearls attached to the laces, and her hair is pulled into a tight bun with a pencil through it. Her hair is slightly gray, but it makes her black eyes stand out like black gems.
"Aunt Larissa!"
Veronica runs over and gives her a big hug.
"Hello darling! Are you and Lily doing some shopping today?"
"We are, and we have a new addition!"
Larissa looks over Veronica's shoulder and sees me and Lily standing there.
"Hello Lily! And I'm sorry, what's your name?"
"I'm Zoe. It's so nice to meet you, are these your designs?"
"Yes they are! I have to admit, I'm a very proud woman. I never had children so to me, these are my little ones."
She turns towards Lily and says,
"Hello Lily dear! I'm so glad that you all came here today. I'm assuming that you're here for prom shopping?"
"We are, do you still have the secret room?"
She laughs, and says "Yes of course! Right this way."
She notices the pieces I'm holding and says,
"Those would look excellent on you, I insist that you try those on. Now, all of you follow me this way!"
While she's walking, she asks if any of us would like any sparkling orange juice. We all eagerly say yes, and we approach a black door with intricate vine carvings with a big central gold knob. She asks,
"Now, are you all ready to enter a feminine girl's heaven?"
We all exclaim yes, and she grins and opens the door. Inside, there is plush white carpet, which is so clean that you don't want to walk on it. There are little crystal chandeliers down the ceiling in a pristine row, and there are two large ballet pink spherical couches in the center, with shoe storage underneath. They have smaller spherical centers on top to provide back support, and there are baskets of expensive-looking bakery goods in little sparkly bags with pink ribbons which contain bakery goods from sugar cookies to mini cakes that look like they are right out of Alice in Wonderland. The prom clothes are organized by color, and there are many options, from bejeweled ballgowns to intricately patterned pantsuits. I walk over to the dark blue section while Lily and Veronica start shifting through the baby pink dresses. I look a bit and then I turn around to see Lily and Veronica standing behind me holding a gazillion dresses from every color. I think that I also see some pantsuits in there.
"These are for you!" says Lily, and they dump their piles into my arms at the same time.
"What?" I ask.
"You need a prom outfit, right?" says Veronica.
"Well yeah. But guys this is a lot."
"Well we have all day. Now go get changed. Start from the top and work your way down!"
I try to protest, but they push me into the dressing room before I have a chance to respond.  I throw the enormous pile of clothes onto the chair in the room, and I start filtering through the clothes deciding which to try on first.
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Finally after what feels like an eternity, I've found it: The "perfect" prom dress. It's a navy blue backless dress, and the skirt goes down in ruffles to the knee. We walk out of the store and I say bye to Larissa. They drop me off at home and say, "See you on Monday!" in unison.