Hearts Afar

...26...

...26...

It was just a few days before Christmas break and my friends, sisters and I were heading to the mall to look for our winter formal dresses. The dance wasn’t until the middle of next month but we wanted to go ahead and get our dresses. I wasn’t like some snobby girl like Jessica and ordered her dress the year before. I about choked on my French fries when I was told that. This was also the crown she was vying for and it fit her perfectly: Ice Princess. 

 I had to admit though that once she found out that Clay and I was an item and not just faking it, she has backed away from me, I was told that she was making plans to steal him from me. The only thing I had to say about that was that if she thought she could, I would gladly except the challenge. I would also shove my boot so far up you know where that the doctor’s would have to surgically remove it.

 As we strolled along the shops at the mall, Tara and Haylee both found their perfect dresses within the first two stores we went in. Cassie and Lacey were being a little picky and I knew exactly what I was looking for but could not find it. I didn’t want to order it online because I knew that it would take longer to ship so I was hoping that I would find it somewhere in  It was the perfect dress. It had just enough sparkle on it without a chance of blinding anyone and it covered enough and didn’t look slutty.

 When I was just about to give up, something caught my eye. I walked a little closer and it was the dress I have been looking for. It was an ice blue strapless floor length dress. It had a rhinestone embellishment on the bodice and had a lacey skirt with a layer of chiffon over it. I didn’t even say a word as I searched for my size. There was only one dress like it in the store and it was two sizes too big. I looked at the price tag and about choked... five hundred and thirty eight dollars. I knew I was going to have keep searching because there was no way I was paying that much on a dress.

     “Is there anything I can do for you today?” the store assistant asked.

    “No,” I laughed. “Not after seeing the price of this dress.”

    “You know the price on the tag is only half of what it is, right?” she asked, smiling.

    “What?”

    “We get the dresses that have the slightest little imperfection and then my mother is a seamstress and she’ll fix them. This dress is just as good as what you would pay online only instead of paying the five thirty eight, it’s only two fifty,” she smiled.

I about choked when she told me that. That was a difference of two hundred and eighty eight dollars. I just stared at her thinking that this was my lucky day until I remembered that it was too big for me anyway. I turned back to the dress and sighed. The lady looked at the tag and then at me.

     “This dress looks too big for you. We can do alterations also and that will be a sixty four dollar fee. We would have to do a lot because it is so much bigger. When do you need the dress by?”

    “My dance is in about two and a half weeks’ time.”

    “That is very possible if you want to do it,” she said.

I looked at the dress one more time. I had to make a decision and fast. This was the only dress like it, it was the one I’ve been looking for and it was going to be a lot cheaper than I originally thought. I would almost be stupid if I didn’t take it. I was still hashing over it when the bell sounded that indicated more customers were coming.

     “Claire,”Haylee said. “You just kind of walked away from us.”

    “Sorry,” I said, reaching out and touching the dress.