She fell a little in love that night, not realising a single kiss would change her life.
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If one word were to describe seventeen year old Ella Nichols, it would be responsible. Between juggling school, extracurriculars, her job and a mother w...
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(I've finally cast an Ella I'm happy with!)
Hey guys! As you may have noticed, I've entirely revamped this story. Tall, Dark and Target is now known as Till We Pretend and the blurb has been changed as well. I would highly recommend reading this story from the beginning, starting with this chapter. I have privatised the other chapters while I edit them. I know the previous story was unrealistic and I hope you guys enjoy the new turn it has taken. Please remember to vote/comment and let me know your thoughts!
Chapter One
It started out with a dress.
It was a pretty little red dress that I thought would be nice to wear to my best friend's birthday party next week. Said best friend was standing next to me in line to pay at a popular clothing store and couldn't stop talking about said party. I half listened to her, half wondered if I should have left those shoes behind. Granted they were fifty dollars but they went so nicely with this dress and it's not like I was swimming in heel. Maybe I should just go back and...
Too late, the saleswoman glared at me as I'd held up the line in my musings and I promptly walked towards her with my haul. I'd bought the dress and some cute earrings to match. I'd also bought my mom a pair of comfortable slippers since her old ones were practically falling apart and God forbid she actually left her office to buy herself a new pair of reading glasses let alone shoes. I sighed and took out my card to pay and reminded myself that I still needed to pick up some groceries before heading home. I was staying with Ree this weekend and had to make sure that Mom had enough food in the fridge to remind her to eat. Maybe I could make lasagne since it froze well but then again, Mom said she didn't want carbs so maybe I could...
"Declined." The saleswoman I'd previously made upset loudly chewed her gum and gave me a look before drawling, "Would you like to use cash instead?"
It was that look you get in stores when you out thinking it's perfectly acceptable to wear your sweatpants and massive hoodie to the mall? Of course she thinks I'm a homeless little truant, wasting her time.
"Could you please check again?" I felt my cheeks burning as the people behind me in line began making those impatient little sounds that always got on my nerves. What was that horrible about waiting in queues? The humiliation was bad enough until someone shouted that I needed to go back to shopping at Goodwill and I was immediately reminded of why online shopping at four in the morning was my preferred form of retail therapy. The fact that my best friend told the guy where he could put his grand ideas did not help the situation. The more disgruntled they got, the more I wanted to leave the things at the counter and flee.
"Declined. It says insufficient funds." I was subjected to the look again and felt my palms get clammy and beads of sweat formed on my forehead. What on earth?
I did not deal well with unplanned situations or being put on the spot. It wasn't a big deal, I probably had enough cash on me to get just the dress and that was why I was here. I didn't need to splurge on the rest of the stuff but it was the fact that I wasn't prepared for it that really did it for me. Of course there must be some mistake where the bank was concerned and I was sure that it'd be sorted out when we reached out to them but that still didn't lessen my embarrassment.Ree, bless her knew how mortified I tended to get and took charge.
