𝐋𝐔𝐃𝐈𝐂𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐒. ᵒᵘᵗᵉʳ ᵇᵃⁿᵏˢ ¹

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 31.

"𝐎𝐇 𝐌𝐘 𝐆𝐎𝐃, 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐋𝐈𝐄," Sarah gasped, "You look stunning!"

She was sitting on the edge of her bed, leaning back on her hands, when I pushed open her bedroom door and stepped inside. The dress I was wearing was long and silky, and reached just above my ankles, and I held it up to walk. Sarah, who was comfortably sitting on the bed, ready to watch me parade in, was wearing her long white dress that hugged her body perfectly, with delicate loose straps that hung off the shoulder.

    We had gotten caught while grabbing the plat map of TannyHill. When had I asked her in the room— at first, she seemed taken aback and slightly confused, but I had lowered my eyes, meaning something else, and she figured it out within seconds. We had snuck into the office covertly, and as she searched through the maps, the door had opened and in walked Ward. He immediately seemed skeptical to see his daughter searching his drawers.

    Sarah had surprised me with her quick reflexes when she made up the excuse that I was curious about the island, and simply wanted to learn more about their marvellous home, so she had offered to show me one of the maps. I butted in and added that I was very into history and cartography, which was an undeniable lie— but it seemed like her dad believed it. He had even invited me for another visit, which was uncalled for, where he offered to tell me all that I wanted to know about TannyHill, some other time. Then we went to get dressed.

    When we had gotten back to her bedroom, the two of us were in fits of laughter. She mocked me for my cheap lie for saying I was a history-buff, and I admired her for the quick reasonable excuse. I had then found myself sitting on her bed, watching her search through her ginormous closet, for the dress she had stored for herself. It was a beautiful dress. I didn't know what I would wear, and there wasn't anything I owned that would be good enough, nor was there even time to check my own closet back on the Cut. I had apologized for the sudden need of a last-minute outfit.

    But, before she could deny the apology and say that it wasn't my fault, she had pulled out a gorgeous pastel yellow, silky, long gown. My mouth had fallen open at the sight of it. She immediately told me that I had to wear it, and I didn't deny, because it was my favourite colour, and the perfect style of dress I'd always wanted. She was smiling from ear-to-ear when she handed it to me, and I took the silky gown in my hands, admiring how beautiful it was already. Without another word, Sarah had excitedly grabbed my shoulders and shoved me out of the room, towards the washroom at the end of the hall.

    I could hardly believe my eyes when I had fully put it on, and looked at my reflection in the bathroom mirror. I looked like I was going to an event, something that my parents would attend somewhere in Hollywood. The dress was supposed to be short, reaching the calves, but with Sarah's height being taller than mine— the yellow dress reached just above my ankles at the perfect length. It hugged my body in the right places, didn't outline any of my flaws, and the low neck left room for a necklace or two.

    "Holy shit, dude," Sarah's eyes were shining when I stepped into the room, my hands holding up some of the length of the dress so I wouldn't trip.

    Flattered, I looked down at my bare feet walking on her hard-wood floors, and used an unoccupied hand to push my hair behind my ears. I walked right over to the full-length mirror she had in the corner of her room, next to the window.

    "Where'd you even get this dress, Sarah," I said through small laughs, liking the look of it even more in her mirror.

    "I was supposed to wear it for spring formal last year, but I never went," she answered fondly, standing up from the bed.

    A genuine smile was plastered over my lips as I trailed my hands down the soft silk of the gown, enjoying the way the material felt underneath my fingers.