Finding the Wolf Within

Chapter 5

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I found myself sitting shotgun in Leigh’s car as we drove to the mall after school on Friday. I had remembered to look up the Powerpuff Girls online the other night, so at least now I know what I’m getting myself into. If I were being completely honest, I would say that it’s a pretty good idea. But since I don’t like to dress up, and I know that this is going to involve a lot of poking and prodding from ElEl, I’m going to hold off on the honesty, at least until I see what kind of dress they’re actually expecting me to buy.

We all agreed that the white tights worn by our three characters weren’t going to cut it for us. The only stipulations we made for our costumes were that we had to wear a black belt and black heels and eyeshadow and nail polish that matched the color of our dresses. I agreed to the second condition only because I was green rather than pink. We figured it would take us no time at all to find the makeup, so we decided to hit the department stores first for our dresses since they would have a bigger selection than the smaller boutiques.

Leigh’s dress ended up being pretty easy to find. It was fun and flirty, which suited her. With thick shoulder straps, a fitted bodice, and a flared skirt with several layers of tulle that came just above her knee, it was perfect. We grabbed a thin black belt from the accessories section and Leigh was done. The shade of pink also actually complemented her hair, rather than horribly clashing with it. Lindy of course egged Leigh into a really bad interpretation of the prom scene from Pretty in Pink while the three of us were crowded into one fitting room. I’m almost positive that the woman manning the area wanted to scream bloody murder at us but we quickly left, giggling all the way to the cashier.

Our next stop produced Lindy’s dress. It was electric blue instead of the baby blue of the character’s outfit, but it was ideal for Lindy. Strapless and fitted all the way through until it stopped mid-thigh, it hugged every curve of her body and showed quite a bit of cleavage, not that she minded at all. It was daring, sexy, and playful, just like her. We paired it with a medium-width shiny metallic belt that added an extra pop to her outfit and sky-high stilettos.

We spent the next hour hitting up every store for my dress but kept on coming up empty. Leigh was more optimistic, but Lindy kept on shooting down every green dress we saw, saying that they didn’t suit my personality or that they were ugly. I was getting frustrated and ready to head home when Lindy saw what she proclaimed the “perfect” dress in the seventh store.

“Lindy, I cannot wear that. I would look like a hooker.”

“Come on Ceci, it was made for you.”

“I’m serious. There’s no way I would be able to sit down without flashing someone, let alone move around and be comfortable.”

“Ceci,” said Lindy, looking quite exasperated, “you have got to stop hiding underneath mountains of fabric. You’re hot and you should show it off.”

“Lind, I don’t hide under my clothes anymore and I am not stepping out in public in that dress!,” I huffed.

“Would you at least TRY it on and then we can vote.”

Oh what the heck. If anything, trying on the dress will prove to her how inappropriate it will be. After what felt like an eternity squeezing all of my curves into the skintight dress, I turned and looked in the mirror and gasped. Lindy and Leigh were waiting just outside the door and wanted to know how it looked as soon as they heard me. I hesitantly let them in, already knowing that I would be outvoted.

“Oh my god! Ceci, you look AMAZING. You have to get that dress!”

“Yea – Lind is right. That dress was definitely made for you.”

I nodded and looked back in the mirror. I did look really good, but I didn’t think I had the guts to walk around in this dress. It has a deep sweetheart neckline, which means that my boobs are slightly pushed up, though tastefully so. Apple green, the dress stopped just short of decent and exposed almost my entire back, making me seriously consider what bra and underwear I could possibly wear, if any. I think the only reason it stayed on my body was because the accompanying black sash tied across the middle of my back. I knew there was no way I was walking out of here without the dress so I sighed and nodded my head in the affirmative before pushing ElEl out the door so I could change. Lindy squealed of course and started rambling about how hot the three of us were going to be. I wasn’t as positive. I agreed that we would certainly make an entrance, but I also was imagining me getting promptly kicked out for indecent exposure.

I shrugged to myself, figuring I might as well enjoy the moment while it lasted, especially since the dress was amazing on me.

The next week came and went without major incident. I still occasionally felt like there were eyes on me, but I decided to attribute them to my own insecurities. The MP and I successfully managed to mostly avoid each other, almost as if we were at a stalemate. Amber gave me her best death glare on Wednesday though when Eddie actually came up to me at the beginning of gym to ask me to wish Jenny, a seventh grader at the shelter, a happy birthday. I blinked rapidly a couple of times after his request, since I couldn’t believe that 1. he was willingly talking to me in public and 2. he remembered Jenny’s birthday. Eddie just chuckled at my stunned expression and patted me on the head before walking off.

He patted me on the head!! That one took me more than a few blinks to get over, especially since Lindy and Matt both saw it and stood there with their own mouths hanging open. What kind of gesture was that? Was it a “nice, doggy” pat or a “you’re so cute” pat or a “thunk, thunk, idiot” pat? I’m inclined to think the first or third, but Lindy’s insisting on the second, Why? – I have no idea.

Starting that day though, Lindy became much more vocal with her compliments about Eddie – how hot he was, how cute he acted when he pat my head, how hot he was, how good he looked in his football uniform, how hot he was. After the first hour, I just rolled my eyes while Matt started pretending to gag. Lindy of course, paid us no attention and continued to act all dreamy-eyed when talking about Eddie. I would have suspected she had developed a crush except I caught her once giving me a look before turning across the cafeteria towards Eddie and tapping her finger to her lips, as if deep in concentration. I don’t even want to know what she’s thinking or planning.

This was getting complicated. I now felt like I couldn’t be sure who he really was. Was he just playing around with me, making me feel comfortable only to later make me the laughingstock of the school? It sounded like something someone from the MP would do, but it didn’t really make sense why he would go through the trouble. It’s not like he needed me to satisfy any physical needs – he had what seemed like a harem of girls for that.

Oh my god. What about if that was it?!? What about if there was some sick bet going on where the stakes were my virginity or something? This is starting to sound way too much like all those teen rom-coms from ten years ago. Like She’s All That or Ten Things I Hate About You or something equally embarrassing. I know I always say my life is one long high school cliché after another, but it surely couldn’t be this bad, right?

Taking some deep breaths, I decide to wait it out before jumping to conclusions. I knew that his interactions with the kids last month were sincere. He couldn’t possibly have faked their happiness at seeing him. Now I just had to figure out exactly what percentage of each personality actually made up who he was. Was he 25% nice guy and 75% jock with a bad attitude? Was he some other combination of personalities? While I can’t be sure of the exact numbers, I know that “nice guy” fits in there somewhere. I’m hoping that it’s enough.