Every love has a story. How you first met. Who said the first word.
Even mine does.
Seven o'clock is not the time anyone will think of falling in love. But as our worlds collided, we did just that. In a moment...
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Chapter 27
There was a knock on the door of my room. "Ela? Can you open the door for a second?"
"Why?" I asked, trying to pull up the zipper of my dress.
"Patrick called. He said that Laurine refused to attend your Grad Ball," she relayed the news to me.
Holding the front part of my dress, I reached for the doorknob. When I opened it, I asked her, "Why?"
"Turn around," she ordered, and I followed her. Mom pulled up the zipper on the back of the dress. "There."
"Thanks." I glanced at the mirror to see if I didn't ruin my hair when I put on the dress a while ago. It felt like a bobby pin got loose. I let out a sigh of relief. The crown braid was still in place.
"Look at you!" Mom gushed from behind me, holding both of my shoulders. "You look so beautiful. I'm glad we went to the salon and got your hair done."
"This is completely unnecessary," I said. With my navy blue halter dress that reached the floor and the tint of makeup on my face, it felt peculiar seeing myself like this.
"You're so pretty. We should have gotten you some contact lenses instead of those glasses."
"I don't want to," I declined. "What happened to Laurine?"
Mom sat on the edge of my bed. "She wouldn't say. She locked herself inside her room."
"Maybe she's not feeling well," I answered, checking my purse. It was a graduation gift from Ariel. When we went to the mall last Saturday, she got the four of us the same kind, only different colors to match our dresses. She specifically instructed us to use it for tonight's ball.
I only placed a comb, lip gloss, a compact mirror, the ticket, and a pack of tissue paper inside the purse. There was also a copy of my speech in there. I memorized it whenever I got the chance, afraid to make mistakes during the ceremony.
"Patrick said she looks fine. She doesn't have a fever or rashes or a cold or a cough," Mom replied. She added, "Laurine even bought that expensive dress last month, and she's acting like this all of a sudden."
"She probably has her reasons."
"Do you think she broke up with her boyfriend?"
I shrugged. "I don't know."
"Why? Doesn't she always call here at home?"
"Not for the past few days."
"Can you pay her a visit?" Mom asked, as I took out a box of shoes from under my bed. This was the pair that she had bought me for my prom this year, but I didn't attend it. "Since it's still early and you're also ready to go, maybe you can drop by and convince her."
"Wearing this dress?" I asked, incredulously.
"Why not? I'll drive you to their house and then bring you straight to your Grad Ball. You won't be late," she promised.
