Much to my Grandfather's delight, Casimir had no problem driving me to the train station. I hated to admit a trip in the truck was a lot faster and easier than trying to bike with my duffel bag strapped to my back. While on our short ride to the train station I turned on the radio in the hopes of avoiding any further conversation. I didn't want to admit it but I was still mad about the whole secret operation/ date happening tonight. I knew I had no powers or skills to add to the team but I hated being left out now that I knew the truth. Luckily Casimir didn't press me for any information, although I did notice him glance at me a few times, opening his mouth like he wanted to say something. Each time he attempted to do this I just focused my attention on the scenery outside my window, continuing my site-seeing until we got to my destination. I thanked him and quickly hopped out of the truck, running up the stairs to the station. I was proud of myself for not looking back as I swiped my pass and boarded the train heading down into the city.
It was an uneventful walk to the dorms and as I hiked towards the building I texted Zola, letting her know I was almost there. A student was leaving as I arrived and they held the door open for me, so I scooted inside with a thank you. The security guard looked up from their desk, eyeing me suspiciously. I waved my school ID to hopefully help alleviate their worries. I was about to text Zola again when the elevator doors dinged open and my friend walked out.
"Girl, there you are!"
"Hey Zola," I replied, shrugging my bag higher up on my shoulder. Zola was wearing a pair of plaid pants and a cute sweater, her hair was pulled back in a ponytail and her glasses were bright green.
"Cute pants," I commented.
"See, you do have good taste," Zola sniffed and I looked at her confused. "Nevermind, let's go." She waved at the security guard with a loud hello before shoving me into the elevator.
"Wait, don't I have to check in?"
Zola scoffed at me, pressing the button for the eleventh floor. "You are on suspension, do you really want the school to know you were breaking the rules?"
"I guess not."
"Live dangerously but not stupid," Zola said smiling. We exited the elevator and went into the suite she shared with Sunita and Jennifer. I went into Zola's room to drop off my bag, amazed at how quiet the apartment seemed.
"Where is everyone?" I asked, looking around for any signs of life.
"Sunita is at the library studying and Jen is gone," Zola called out from the living room.
"Gone?!" I said, walking back towards Zola.
"Yeah, she quit school or her parents moved her? I don't know, we didn't get a lot of notice," Zola admitted. "You want a drink?"
"Please."
I sat down on the couch, looking around the living room. They had moved the furniture since I last visited and everything seemed tidier. Zola returned from the kitchen, two bottles of pineapple soda in her hands. I took mine happily as I loved all the unique flavored drinks Zola would buy. She loved to shop at the local Asian, Hispanic, and Indian grocery markets so her cupboards were full of interesting food. I wondered if I could get her to take me to one this weekend and help me pick up a few things.
"Thank you," I said, sipping from my drink. "Too bad about Jen, although it seems a lot cleaner in here."
"Yeah she was nice, but a slob," Zola snickered.
"Hey, don't talk, I just saw your room."
"That is what you call organized chaos."
I raised my eyebrow at my friend. "Ah huh, sure."
"Okay, so first things first, tell me about the fight," Zola coaxed, turning on the couch to face me.
I leaned back, getting comfortable. "You have to promise you won't tell anyone."
"Tell anyone how you awesomely slapped that jerkwad in the face?" Zola laughed. "I cannot make that promise because I plan on singing your praises until I die."
"No, not that," I groaned. "You can't tell anyone what Zachary said because I hate it, especially Casimir. Or Azar, or Maya!"
Zola seemed a little shocked but she nodded. "Okay, I promise."
I sighed and turned the bottle in my hands around nervously. I explained to Zola exactly what happened including the conversation leading up to the slap. Her nostrils flared angrily when I got to the part about what Zachary said about my grandpa.
"And that is when I just couldn't hold it in anymore, I just slapped him. I just wanted him to shut his mouth," I said softly, my cheeks turning red.
"That sick son of a-" Zola cut herself off choking in anger. She jumped up from the couch, taking a large swig of her soda. "He is lucky a slap is all he got!"
"I said the same thing," I giggled weakly. I watched her pace around her living room, touched by her reaction, it felt good to tell somebody. "Shall we change topics?"
"I guess, but I reserve the right to the occasional angry outburst if I think about it too much."
"By all means," I nodded.
Zola sat back down, placing her soda on the side table. "So, you ready for a few movies and some food or...?"
"How about we pick out that outfit for your date tomorrow, then you can tell me when I get to meet this AJ character," I said, hefting myself off of the couch.
"Speaking of dates," Zola began, tiptoeing into her bedroom, she grabbed a few piles of clothing off the floor, shoving them into another pile by her closet. "I heard the craziest rumor, about Elizabeth going on a date with Casimir, your Casimir."
"He's not my Casimir," I protested, settling in on Zola's bed. Her bedspread was an explosion of colors and patterns, much like the rest of her room. "And yes, the rumors are true."
"No, not Casimir, I thought he was cool!" Zola cried out, grabbing at her head, I laughed at her comment.
"I think it might be a pity date," I muttered.
"Elizabeth Clarke does not get pity dates nor does she give them."
"Okay then, well, I think Casimir has a hard time saying no to people then," I grumbled, irritated. I did not want to be thinking about them on their date tonight. "I honestly don't care who he goes on a date with."
Zola was reaching into her closet and promptly turned to look at me with her hand on one hip. "Do not lie to me Massey, anyone is better than Elizabeth."
"Yeah, I guess," I relented. "Azar is going out with Madison as well, I think it's a double date."
"NO!" Zola screeched from inside the closet. "This is like my worst nightmare, next you'll tell me Maya is dating Zach."
"They would never!" I gasped. "Don't even give me that mental image."
"Well, I'm sorry," she sniffed. "You think you have a good grasp on a person and then they surprise you."
"What about AJ, how well do we know him?" I asked, trying to steer the conversation into better territory. I grabbed at Zola's favorite plush bear, a gift from her Great Grandmother. I hugged the large stuffed animal to my chest, before placing it next to me, like he was watching the fashion show. Zola stepped out of her closet with a smile on her face at the mention of AJ.
"Pretty well I think," Zola answered. "We text all the time and have met up casually. This is the first date-date."
"I know!" I replied happily. "And you are not wearing that." I pointed at her old black dress, the one she would wear to church with her family.
"Okay then," Zola responded as she tossed it in the reject pile. We went through several other outfits before settling on a new dress that was a bright, mustard yellow with large red and pink roses. It had long billowing sleeves that were capped tightly at her wrists and a deep V front.
"You sure?" she asked, turning around in her dress as she stared in the mirror.
"Yes," I assured her. "You look amazing in that color, and it shows just the right amount of skin. Plus you could wear brown, red, or pink glasses with it."
"Maybe I should show more skin?"
"It's the middle of October Zola, you'll freeze," I chuckled, looking at another dress Zola decided against. A deep green, pleated dress with a kimono sleeve. I was tempted to try it on for myself.
"Well, I wanna send the right message, you know?" Zola said, looking at me, both hands on her hips.
"What message would that be?"
"The 'please come home with me and make out on my couch' vibe?" she responded with a raise of her eyebrows.
"Zola!" I said, shocked.
"Don't be a prude," she sniffed, pulling off her dress to hang it back up.
I pretended to be offended, covering her teddy bear's ears as she spoke. "Don't talk like that in front of Mr. Bearington."
Zola chuckled and threw on her original outfit, hanging her date night dress on the hook by her school uniform. "Okay, help me clean up, or else you'll have no place to sleep tonight."
We set to work, putting all her clothes away, and listening to music as we went. It was nice to do something a little mindless and fun to see all of Zola's different outfits. I pulled out a small pleather mini skirt smiling at Zola as I waved it in front of her face.
"Maybe you should wear this on your date instead?" I joked.
"Oh god, that is from a Halloween costume I think, or it's a club outfit," Zola said dismissively.
I couldn't hide my shock. "Club? As in clubbing? As in music, dancing, and alcohol?"
Zola smirked at me. "Yes, for my secret alter ego," she whispered. My jaw dropped as I tried to imagine Zola out dancing, she was such a nerdy homebody and more at home in the garden than anywhere else. "Don't give me that look, Diana. I have a few club outfits, for when my cousin comes to visit, we go out."
"You think you know a person," I mock whispered.
"Oh shut up," she snickered. "Oh my gosh, I have an idea!"
The smile on her face had me worried. "Oh?"
"We should go out to the club and spy on Casimir's date," Zola proclaimed.
"What, no!" I exclaimed. "That would be weird and awkward. How do you know where they are going on a date anyway?"
"Girl, everyone knows," she sniffed, rolling her eyes at me.
"Ah huh, sure."
I wasn't keen on going mostly because I knew Casimir and Azar were going to see if some of the soul drugs were being dealt out of the club and by whom. I was specifically told to stay away, as it could be crawling with the Dark Prince's minions or possibly wraith-infected humans.
Zola turned to me, a serious look on her face. "Hear me out, we go in disguise and just check it all out. How are you not curious?"
"In disguise?"
"I have a bunch of wigs, makeup, we can get dressed up so nobody knows who we are. It will be fun!" she insisted. "We can pretend to be totally different people."
"What about Sunita? She will never go to a club," I protested.
Zola's face fell, "I don't think Sunita wants to hang out tonight."
"What?"
"She's been acting strange, ever since she got into the elite classes, all she does is go to these weird study groups and she is hardly ever home. If she does come home she locks herself up in her room. She hasn't cooked any masala in like two weeks."
"That's not like her," I mumbled. Sunita loved to cook food that reminded her of home and was always happy to share. She spent a lot of time studying but we always hung out as a group no matter how stressed she was.
"I've tried talking to her but that just made her avoid me more," Zola sighed. "I guess we were only really friends because we were roommates but..."
"No way!" I shouted. "Don't say that. Sunita is your friend. Maybe she is just going through some stuff at home. You know she's embarrassed to talk about that with you."
"Yeah, maybe."
Zola still looked upset so I reached out to hug her tightly. "Would dressing me up in a terrible club outfit make you feel better?"
Zola sniffed and mumbled, "maybe."
"Ugh, fine, but we are not going to spy. We are just going for fun," I lectured. Zola pulled back from my hug, squealing happily. "If anything weird or creepy happens we leave immediately."
"No creeps, no spying, just fun gotcha," Zola winked. "Oh man, I have the best outfit for you."
"Can we eat first?"
Two sub sandwiches and a bag of chips later we were getting dressed while one of Zola's favorite action movies played on her small TV. I was sitting in her computer chair, letting her prepare my hair so it could be shoved into a wig.
"I don't know how you will get all of this mess under that wig," I said doubtfully.
"Trust the skills," Zola whispered. She brushed back my hair, pulling them into twin braids and slicking down any loose hair. I was given a wig cap to put on and she moved my hair around, making sure nothing was sticking out. Finally, on came the wig; a short black bob that ended just below my chin, complete with long bangs, ending just below my eyebrows. The hair was so straight and shiny I was in shock. I began to put on my makeup, following Zola's instructions for a dark eye and red lips. I kept peeking over at her, watching her process for putting up her own mane of fluffy natural hair. I watched as she moisturized her hair, twisting it in several places along her head before pinning the ends up with bobby pins. I looked away for a moment, caught up with applying a line of liquid eyeliner and when I looked back Zola had transformed, her hair now a long golden brown, set with heavy waves.
"Woah," I said, staring at the wig. Zola snickered and walked into her bathroom coming out a few minutes later, blinking her eyes, which were now a shocking green. "Contacts?"
"Yep," Zola responded. "We're in disguise so I thought I would go all the way."
"Ah, I miss the glasses," I said sadly.
"I know, it's a travesty," she replied with a flip of her new golden locks. We sat by the large mirror in her bedroom, chatting as we applied our makeup. Zola's lips were now a deep burgundy color that matched her skin-tight dress that had a high neck and long sleeves but a dangerously short skirt. I held up my dress, staring at it once again.
"Are you sure this isn't a sexy nightgown or slip?" I asked, feeling the flimsy material in my hand. It was a shiny satin, deep blue that wrapped over itself and flowed into a very short a-line. it had tiny spaghetti straps and not much of a back, so I would have to go braless. Zola told me the dress had cups sewn in so I didn't have to worry so much.
"It's that or the long sweater tube dress and you said you wanted to be able to walk quickly so..." Zola raised her eyebrow at me. I cursed because I really did want to be able to run just in case of a wraith attack.
"My legs will freeze," I grumbled, pulling on the dress.
"We're taking a taxi there and back ya big baby."
I was admiring the final product in the big mirror, now including a sheer bolero to cover my arms and exposed back. I had also borrowed a pair of small black bootie heels with large silver buckles and my feet were already protesting the unnatural height. Zola came up behind me to check out her look as well and her eyes focused on my necklace, a silver heart locket that definitely clashed with my club look.
"That's gotta go," she mumbled, knowing I never liked taking it off.
"I don't know if I can," I said honestly, clutching at the small heart. Inside was a powerful spell meant to protect me from the wraiths wanting to drink my blood and eat my flesh. This was a fact I could never tell Zola; she thought it was just sentimental, a memento from my parents, which it was but it was also important to my actual survival.
"Here," she said, reaching to take off the necklace. I stiffened as she removed it but relaxed slightly as she took my wrist wrapping the chain around it several times, turning my necklace into a bracelet, which was hidden by my sleeve. "Ta-dah!"
"Genius," I proclaimed, giving my wrist a shake. Now hopefully my grandfather never finds out about any of this.