“Anna, Bernita is here, trying on dresses,” Lauren said.
“What? Where?” I asked, taking a quick look around.
“She’s in one of the stalls. She’s here with that girl over there.” Lauren nodded her head in the direction of a girl with luminous eyes and pale skin. I didn’t know the girl personally but saw her often around school.
“Bernita is looking at the same dress that you have on,” Lauren said.
“Geez, of all the stores she could be shopping in, why did she have to come to this one?” I wasn’t expecting Lauren to answer that question. It was just a thought that had run across my mind and rushed out of my mouth.
“Well, I just wanted to let you know,” Lauren said.
“Thanks and I’m glad you did. How do I look?” I asked.
“I think you look great.” Lauren smiled.
“Come on, let’s move back closer to the fitting-room stalls. We left our purses in there and I wouldn’t want someone shady like Bernita to see an opportunity and run with it.” We headed back toward that area and then stood in front of a large trifold mirror that allowed us both to look at ourselves from various angles.
“Do you think it’s too formfitting?” I asked Lauren as I tugged on the dress, concerned that it was making my behind look bigger than necessary.
“Why are you looking for something to be wrong? That dress fits you perfectly and Jeremy’s eyes are going to pop out of his head when he sees you in it.” Lauren swept away a loose strand of my hair that was on my shoulder.
“Oh, no, you don’t have on that dress!” I looked in the mirror and saw Bernita.
“Yes, I do and I look fabulous in it.” I put my hand in the air for a high five from Lauren, who gladly gave it to me.
“You might as well put it back because you look fat in it. Your friend just doesn’t have the heart to tell you the truth.” Bernita’s low-as-a-cockroach personality emerged.
“Who invited you into our conversation?” I said, allowing a frown of annoyance to tug at the corners of my mouth.
“Seriously. Real talk. You don’t have enough cleavage up top to really rock that dress like I do.” Bernita made a gesture around her boobs like a hand model displaying a product.
“Why are you even over here by us? There is another mirror over there.” Lauren waved her hand dismissively.
Bernita scowled and looked at Lauren and me as if we were small. I could sense that Bernita was intent on getting in the last word. “You know, after seeing how ugly you look in the dress, I think I will put it back.” Bernita paused to gauge our reaction to her biting comment, but Lauren and I could not have cared less about the nasty remark she hurtled at us. Seeing that her words had no effect, Bernita flipped up her middle finger and thundered out of our area and back into the dressing-room stall.
“Ooh, I can’t stand that girl.” I felt contempt flowing through my bloodstream.
“She seems like a bratty version of Scrooge to me,” Lauren said.
“Well, if that’s the case, it’s about time that Scrooge receives a visit from the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future.” I smirked and turned back to the mirror to look at myself again.
“Thanks for having my back,” I said.
“It was nothing. I know you’d do the same for me in a similar situation,” Lauren said. I stepped toward her and we embraced.
“So should I be on the fence about this dress?” I asked, pivoting from side to side and second-guessing myself about whether or not to make the purchase.
“Anna, you need to buy that dress so that you can rock it at the holiday party. If you don’t, I will choke you.” Lauren jokingly reached out with her hands positioned like two jaws ready to clamp around my neck like a vise.
“Okay, I’ll get the dress. There is no need for theatrics,” I said, chuckling, before returning to the dressing-room stall to change back into my street clothes.
I was standing in the family room near the festooned fireplace with Maya, Viviana, Keysha, Wesley, Red and Misalo. We were all dressed impressively and posed for camera-phone pictures, which were instantly posted on Instagram and Facebook. I was waiting on Jeremy to be dropped off by his parents so that we could catch a ride with my cousin Viviana and her boyfriend, Red.
“I want a photo with just Maya and me,” said Viviana, who looped her arm around my older sister. They smiled and took a few selfie photos with their camera phones and then posed for my dad, who took a few more with his iPad. Viviana and I took a photo together and so did Keysha and Maya. My mom, who was blurry-eyed with happiness, asked all of the ladies to gather together so that she could take a photo with us. As the photo was being taken, I heard the doorbell ring.
“I’ll get it,” said Paul, who earlier had been complaining that he wished he could come with us. Paul escorted Jeremy into the family room, where everyone was waiting. Jeremy had purchased a white wrist corsage for me and he handed it to me the moment he saw me.
“It’s pretty,” I said as I opened the clear plastic container it was in. I easily slipped it onto my wrist. I held it up to my nose and inhaled the fresh scent.
“Smart move. You don’t have to worry about sticking her with a pin,” I heard Red say.
“Yeah. It’s definitely easier this way,” Jeremy agreed.
“Take a picture with Anna, Jeremy.” My mother came over and moved him next to me. He threaded his fingers together in front of him and tried to look relaxed. I could tell by the way he stood like a soldier on guard that he was doing his best to appear trustworthy and responsible in front of my parents. Once the photo was taken, I leaned closer to him and whispered in his ear.
“Relax—you’re not about to be court-marshaled.”
“Do I look uncomfortable?” Jeremy asked.
“Yeah, you look stiff like some cartoon character has blasted you with a freeze gun,” I said and poked his side. Jeremy flinched but only loosened up slightly by standing with his hands at his sides.
“Oh, they’re so precious.” My mother got a little emotional, which was embarrassing.
“We’d better go. The dance began a half hour ago,” said Keysha. We all headed for the door and from there got into cars and headed to our destination.
The high school gym was decked out with holiday decorations. There was an artificial Christmas tree in one corner and giant empty gift-wrapped boxes in another. There were snowflake and snowman cutouts pasted on the walls, and the fragrant scent of pine filled the air. There was a makeshift stage in the center of the gym for the DJ, and a sizable strobe light and a multicolored disco ball that spun around casting various shapes and colors on the walls and ceiling hung from above.
“This is so cool,” Jeremy said as he began to pop his fingers to the music.
“Now you loosen up,” I teased him.
“Just a little bit,” he said and maneuvered around my body like a trained dancer.
“Do you like this song?” I asked, thinking that he wanted to dance.
“It’s cool,” he said, but instead of leading me out to the dance area, he led me toward the back wall, where there were round tables draped with red-and-green tablecloths and chairs. As we moved toward the tables, we came across Lauren and her boyfriend, Sheldon.
“Oh, my God! You look so awesome.”