Green-Eyed | Violentine

Part Forty-Four | What Lies Ahead

"What do you think of this one?" questions Brody as she holds an elegant cocktail dress up to her frame, inspecting the colour and the cut before replacing the item on the rack.

Clementine looks up from the fabric she's gently running her fingers across as she turns her attention back to her friend. "That one was nice," says the brunette, as she walks over to her friend and inspects the dress Brody has recently returned to the hanger.

"Yeah," says Brody as she continues to peruse the aisle, occasionally stopping to rifle through the dresses and clothes displayed there. "It's nice but I don't know if it screams 'end of term ball'" she mutters, inspecting another dress as she furrows her eyebrows.

"Everyone is going to be pissed Brody, it doesn't matter too much what we decide to wear, you'll look lovely in anything," says Clementine as she lets her fingers trace across the fabric of a silk dress.

"It's just such a big part of our lives," says Brody as she admires the dresses at the back of the shop where the designer gowns are hanging from the walls. "This is one last celebration before we go through graduation and then move onto our adult lives. I want it to be a night to remember."

"I'm sure it will be," says Clementine as she follows her friend into the depths of the shop.

"How do you think Louis and Violet are doing?" asks Brody quietly.

Clementine hums and looks over at the suit shop across the street, wondering the same question herself. "God knows," she replies, "ever since Violet has moved in with him all the two of them do is mess around, I can almost guarantee that they'll simply wear the same outfits they wore for prom at the end of high school."

"How's that going?" asks Brody as she inspects a dress before putting it back on the hanger. "Violet moving in with Louis I mean?"

Clementine nods, while a smile breaks on her face, "much better," she admits. "Violet's a lot happier now that she's away from her dad and while I think she misses her mother; Louis's family are taking care of her there."

"Do you two get any alone time," says Brody with a wink. Clementine feels her face redden as she looks at her friend.

"Brody," says Clementine in embarrassment as she returns her focus to the coloured fabrics in front of her face. "If you must know that hasn't been a problem because we haven't done that since before my surgery."

"Three weeks ago?" says Brody in shock.

"Well I've been cleared for all activities now," says Clementine, still unable to look at her friend, "but it took two weeks to recover from the surgery, and then I wanted to wait a while after Minerva pushed me up against that locker last week."

"Makes sense," says Brody. "still... three weeks."

"Brody," says Clementine with an exasperated groan as she hides her face in a cluster of fabrics, "can we talk about anything else?"

Brody hums to herself while she flits through the clothes, "okay," she says after thinking for a while. "Do you know what happened with Minerva post that meeting?"

Clementine inhales deeply and removes her fingers from the dress she's currently holding as she looks at Brody. "Yeah actually," she begins, "Sophie filled me in on it last night."

"And?" says Brody with increasing eagerness.

"Well she's been suspended for two weeks," says Clementine, her interest quickly gravitating towards a red dress that she lets her fingers skim across.

"But we're in the last week of term?" states Brody in confusion? "how has she been suspended for two weeks?"

"Well, she's got to come back in the summer to do her exams, if she fails them she'll have to re-sit the entire year." Clementine exhales in relief, "and she's been banned from attending the end of term ball. I know I shouldn't be happy about that, but it honestly does make me feel much better. The fact that I won't have to see her again," mutters the brunette with an exhale, "I've never felt so reassured."