For Fluff's Sake

page 1

Alice sipped her tea, her cream-colored and delicate gloves meshing with the dusty rose and burgundy floral pattern of her tea cup. I eyed the plate of macarons before taking a couple for my small plate.

It was my first time at a meetup, and I was nervous as heck. Everyone looked better than me by a significant margin. I tried to take a dainty bite of my macaron, but i still squeezed it too tightly between my fingers and crushed the rest of it.

"So what's your name?" The girl next to me asked as she eyed my Milanoo dress with a barely concealed smirk.

"Beth," I replied. I'd learned too late that Milanoo was a scam site, sending out poorly made dresses that did not represent the beautiful photos on the site in the least. I'd worn it anyway because I didn't want to miss out on the festivities; there wasn't enough time to order a properly sized dress from a better retailer. When I'd posted to the comm's Facebook page, everyone else was at least half my size, so that was out of the question.

"Seems fitting for you," she replied, not bothering to tell me her name. I felt my face redden as she shifted her attention to the girl to her right. Well then, I thought to myself as I ate the rest of my half eaten macaron.

"How long have you been into Lolita?" I asked the girl to my left. Her smile was pained as she carefully eyed me. I get it, I'm fat and in a terrible outfit.

"Four years," she said. "What about you?"

"I'm brand new to it."

"I had a feeling. Don't be afraid to ask for advice," she was talking about my horrible dress.

"Haha, yeah. I had a bit of a mishap. Didn't know Milanoo was a scam until I got the dress. I'm gonna order from Bodyline as soon as I get home to be ready for the next meetup." My face felt warm but I forced a minuscule smile.

"I don't mean to be rude," she trailed off for a moment, "but I'm not so sure you'd be able to fit in Bodyline. Dear Celine has custom sizing. You might want to look into that to ensure that you can get something that fits."

"Thanks! You look really pretty, by the way," I said, "If you don't mind, I'd love to get your advice on getting a decent outfit together."

"We call them coords," she softly said.

"Oh! That's what that means?"

"Did you not do any research?" she asked.

"Not really," I said nervously. I felt my face growing warmer.

"I'll send you a few good guides for beginners," she pulled out her phone, "what's your name on Facebook? I'll add you."