The Girl in the Boys' Dorms

Chapter Twenty-One: For future reference, a warning would be nice.

[ for @KieraStyles98, who made the adorable banner above ]

The Girl in the Boys' Dorms - Chapter Twenty-One: For future reference, a warning would be nice. Just give me a heads up next time, alright?

I stared at my reflection in the mirror, disbelief written all over my face. The gown Kathleen had chosen for me was, in a word, perfect. Well, perfect for me, since it managed to accent whatever minimal amount of curves I possessed, while still looking classic. A sweetheart neckline ended just above my chest, revealing my collarbones, but nothing that I wouldn't be comfortable showing; it wasn't strapless, either, but had two thin bands of embroidered material that tied behind my neck; and the hem reached all the way to the floor, pooling around my feet like a small puddle of silk. Not to mention, it was the deepest, most intimate shade of midnight blue, and made my skin appear like delicate porcelain against the rich color.

"Wow," I breathed, unable to help myself.

If I hadn't ever felt beautiful before, now was the time to. And to be honest, I thought I did look something along the lines of beautiful; something above pretty, but nowhere near spectacular. Yet, I was content. Content with the waves of my raven black hair, content with how the rouge highlighted the angle of my cheekbones, content with the miniscule blue rose that rested against my throat.

The miniscule blue rose that had been carved from diamond, and that hung from a simple silver chain. The same one that Chase had gifted to me on the boat; the one that brought back invigorating, confusing, embarrassing, and disappointing memories all at once. It was like a safeguard nonetheless, and gave me the feeling that, when I was wearing it, no one in the world could hurt me. It was odd, to say the least, that a necklace given to me by a boy who I could barely stand to be in the same room with, could mean so much... But it did. It meant more than I could express, more than I could understand, and much more than I was willing to admit.

"Amazing, right?" Kathleen gushed, smoothing out the skirt of my dress, as I continued to gawp at myself in the reflective glass. "I knew you'd finally acknowledge it, too. You're going to give Evelyn a real run for her money tonight, Bailey."

Oh, yeah. I was supposed to parade out onto a stage, plaster a fake smile across my lips, and pretend to be excited. I was meant to be someone I wasn't. Charming, suave, charismatic - I wasn't any of those things. I was shy, sarcastic, clumsy, and scatterbrained. I was not one of those pageant girls.

"What am I going to do, Kathleen?" I whined, my resolve suddenly draining. "I've got no chance against them. They're all shiny grins and hourglass figures... And I'm just a klutz in a nice outfit." I mumbled, unable to contain my negative thoughts.

"Bailey, what are you talking about?" She snapped, moving in front of me so that I was forced to look straight at her. "You don't have to be one of them. They're all shallow, fake, like identical clones of one another. You're different, much different."

I knew her speech was supposed to make me feel better, but it didn't. She was pointing out what I already knew. I knew I was different, unlike those other girls. I knew I was the random one in the competition, the one that didn't belong within a hundred mile radius. Evelyn Walker was the epitome of charm and grace; she could win this pageant with a click of her manicured fingers. She was what the students wanted, what the judges admired, and what was expected of a proper North Shore Pageant Queen. I was the contender that everyone doubted, that no one even fathomed could make it past the first round. It was obvious that I'd be eliminated tonight - so obvious, that I'd be better of skipping the whole thing altogether.

"They don't want different." I countered, fiddling with a strand of my hair.

Kathleen chuckled humorlessly, reaching up a hand and batting my fingers out of the tresses she'd worked so hard to arrange. Chewing at her bottom lip, she murmured, "No, they don't. But different is what they need. All of those girls are exactly the same. Blonde curls, blank stares, nothing more than air in their heads. Like Barbie dolls. And Barbie dolls are bound to go out of style sometime, right?" She winked, and I found myself grinning just a little. Kathleen barked a laugh, patting my arm in encouragement. "Good. Besides, you're the wild card, Bailey. You're meant to shake things up, not just conform."