Chasing Perfect

Chapter 5a

"The dress can't possibly be that bad!" Bethany exclaimed in complete disbelief. "How can a piece of clothing make you this angry?" she questioned.

"I believe it," Lizzie chimed in, "a Lummox like you in a dress like that? Makes perfect sense to me." Abigail did her best to avoid a snide remark, but couldn't stop herself.

"Oh but Lizzie," she sweetly remarked, "I'm sure someone like you could pull it off just fine." She finished the statement with a large false smile.

"THAT I would love to see," Jacob remarked through heavy laughter. "You... dressed like a Lummox. Oh please, someone, make this happen." His laughter elevated and spread to the others at the table.

"Oh come on," Shiloh interjected, "please bless us with this image." Through his giggles he turned to look at Abigail. "Tell me you brought some extra dresses with you from that Christmas village you called home."

She tried to hold back a devious smile as she answered. "Why yes," she turned to look at Lizzie, "I did happen to bring a couple of extra ones. How do you feel about the color peach, Lizzie?" They each struggled to hold back their laughter as they imagined Lizzie in such an outfit.

"What's so funny?" Alex sat his plate down beside Abigail, just as dirty as he had been the day before.

"Oh just helping Lizzie pick out her outfit for tomorrow," Bethany did her best to hold back giggles as she spoke.

"You know what?" Lizzie interjected, "Fine. I will wear the dress. Just to prove to all of you that it isn't near as bad as the Lummox wants to make it out to be."

"Oh, it's pretty bad," Alex quietly added. "No offense, Abigail, but those outfits you have to wear are certainly off-putting. That could explain why you are one of the first people from Louxe we have ever attempted to bring back," he elbowed her to let her know he was joking with her. "No one else wanted to get too close to that thing."

Lizzie seemed to want to comment at the jest, but held her tongue. Abigail slightly wondered if perhaps Alex's dislike of the attire was affecting her. Even though Jacob seemed to be like a moth to a flame to her, she was oblivious to anyone but Alex. His opinion obviously mattered to her than anyone else's.

"Fine. But I think if I am playing dress up with Abigail's clothes, it's only fair that I get to give her a makeover of her own," Lizzie jested back. Somehow, though, Abigail felt like she wasn't being cruel and the idea of getting a new look while here made her excited in a way that she didn't think she could be. Who knew the idea of hanging with Lizzie could give such a feeling?

Later after lunch, Maggie approved of Abigail going to check out the store room and she and Bethany eagerly made their way down the stairs to meet Lizzie. As she took each step downward, further into the heart of this underground city, Abigail almost felt like she was going further down to bury her old self. She only hoped she liked the new Abigail that emerged afterwards.

As they stepped through the doorway into the storeroom, Abigail was in awe at everything before her. Where most floors had standard sized hallways and rooms, it was like this room took up the space of two whole floors. The ceilings were as high as the gymnasium in her old school, and clothes, decorations, and even household items filled the large space.

She stepped further into the store with Bethany leading the way to the section of clothing that would fit her. Jeans much more fashionable than she had ever encountered in Louxe hung on racks, and shirts and jackets like she would have never imagined surrounded her. There were even shoes in so many sizes and colors and styles that Abigail felt her heart soar. Looking down at the hideous shoes she had been wearing since her arrival: the horribly clunky shoes from Louxe, her eyes lit up as she made her way to examine the wide assortment before her.

"Well that is something you need for sure," the voice of Lizzie behind her made her jump and nearly drop the shoe she was examining. "But if I were you, I would go with a boot. We are out in the middle of nowhere so it's most convenient for when we go above ground.... And it makes you feel tough." She nearly laughed at herself for the last comment, but shrugged it off and walked over to the jeans before holding up a pair for Abigail to examine.

"Did you even wear anything besides dresses in Louxe?" Lizzie asked.

"We had some work pants we could wear when doing yardwork, but otherwise no," Abigail explained. "We had to look and dress modestly at all times."

"Well we are about to change that," Lizzie held a smirk that made Abigail nervous, but she didn't argue as they picked out and tried on different clothing options before finally finding something they could all agree on.

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Author Note:
Yay! She finally has new clothes!

Next chapter we get to find out some real intrigue and emotion from the group!

Stay tuned on Friday for the last section of chapter 5!