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||꒰𝒃𝒓𝒚𝒄𝒆꒱||
It was the last day of eighth grade. The day of the grad dance. My mom had gotten me a light purple tie, to Mrs. Baker's advice. I wondered what Juli's dress looked like. It didn't matter what she wore, though. She'd look stunning.
"Come here Bryce, let's get a photo before we leave to get Juli!" My mother grinned brightly at me. I decided it was best to just do it. Protesting wouldn't get me anywhere.
So I stood in front of the staircase while she grabbed the camera. "Say cheese!" I plastered a smile on my face. The camera shutter clicked. I'm certain I looked incredibly nervous in the picture. Like, terrified. "Okay, I'll go get in the car if you want to walk over to Juli's house and knock on the door."
And I walked across the street in my suit and tie. I had barely tapped my knuckles to the door when Juli swung it open. She wore a mid-length lilac dress that was the same color as my tie. It was silky and fit her well, making her look even prettier than usual. Her white shoes matched with her earrings and necklace. Curled pieces of hair framed her face like a halo.
"Holy... woah," I mumbled, now incapable of forming a full sentence. She looked perfect.
"Um, hi," she replied, furrowing her brow. "Are you okay?"
I nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine, it's just... you're..."
"I knew it! I look stupid, don't I?"
"... pulchritudinous," I said because it was the biggest word I knew and I couldn't stress how beautiful she looked.
Juli seemed very confused. "What language are you speaking?" We laughed.
"Sorry, it's just that I couldn't find a word long enough to explain how pretty you look," I replied bashfully.
"Where did you even learn that one?" She smiled, and I was glad she was no longer underestimating her own elegance.
Well, I couldn't tell her that I was reading a thesaurus to find a word that would impress her and also describe how I had predicted she would look. Somehow, she was still dreamier than I had imagined.
I bit my lip. Play it cool, Bryce. "I, uh, picked it up from a book I was reading." Technically not a lie.
"Oh," she responded with a shrug. "Cool."
Then I remembered why I was here. "Right, uh, my mom's got the car ready, since you're riding with us."
"Gimme a second," she answered, "I've gotta go say bye to my parents."
