⚠️ to differentiate between the present and the story Eloise is telling, I will bold all 1964/5 parts and keep the present parts normal. Also all the 60s parts will be in first person to show that Eloise is telling the story to Hannah.⚠️
Eloise cleared her throat and sat up straight.
" Alright, I'm ready when you are." Hannah finished jotting down some notes.
" Okay," she thought about where to start as she began. " it was the summer of 1964, when my hair brown, not grey and when everybody called me Lu, not Eloise."
1964
" Lu, can you help me zip this up?" Becky asked me. Becky, Gina, Ida, and I went to the mall the weekend before the first day of 11th grade. We had spent hours trying to find the best first day of school outfits. " I don't know if I like this one." Gina murmured looking at Becky's dress.
" Why not?" Becky admired herself in the mirror.
" I don't know, it's kinda just.. solid?" The red dress had no shape or flavour, just a straight dress with no patterns or prints.
" Well Gina, did you know that Elvis Presley likes solids?" Becky said matter of factly.
Ida rolled her eyes. " Elvis Presley is so lame."
" You're so lame!" Becky snapped back.
" I'm getting this one," she squealed twirling.
" Did you find a dress you like Gina?" I asked her looking at her bag from Harper's, a local boutique where me and Gina shopped frequently.
" I did," she pulled out a blue and white dress with buttons on the pockets and a matching baby blue headband. " do you like it?"
" Yes! It's lovely, you'll have to let me borrow it sometime."
" Mm we'll see about that, show me what's in your bag and maybe we'll have a deal." she smirked.
I opened my Harper's bag and showed her my outfit. I bought a yellow Gingham shirt with baby blue sailor shorts, I also bought a sunflower headband to go over my bangs.
Gina grinned " Okay, we have a deal. That top is bitchin', I didn't see it on the racks."
" Yeah it was the last one," I winked while she rolled her eyes.
Becky had already gotten up to the register to pay for her dress with our father's credit card. Ida had insisted she had good enough clothes at home that she didn't need to buy anything so she had just came along for fun. " Hey, why don't we cook a spell that gives us an extra month of summer?" Ida suggested as we all walked out of Calvin's.
" You know we can't do that," Gina tugged on her arm playfully. " Besides, I'm excited for school."
"Of course you are!" I scoffed, smirking slightly. " Little miss honours classes," I teased her.
" Well I'm excited to join yearbook, I'm going to get us all mentioned in it." Becky told us proudly, her chin up.
" Good luck, only the football players and cheerleaders get mentioned," Ida chuckled.
" god I hate cheerleaders."
" Hey, that's mean."
" What? They're all a bunch of whiny suck ups — literally." she pressed her tongue to the inside of her cheek pushing it out.
" You don't know that. I'm sure some of them are nice!" I projected.
" I know I'd love to get me a football boy," Becky bit her lip.
" Gross," Ida faked a gag.
We headed down Corky's to get something to eat. When we had arrived, the place was packed, unlike how it is now, there wasn't any open seats. The football team along with the cheerleaders were taking up half the diner.
" Speaking of football boys," Becky clapped her hands excitedly.
" No thank you," Gina and Ida said in unison. They turned to leave but Becky grabbed their hands.
" Guys please! Please let's stay." Gina and Ida looked around for a place to sit, where they had found none.
" There's no where to sit Beck, let's go."
