Page 13 of Something New

Nerissa picks up her phone and dials her friend.

I switch my phone to the app that tracks her calls so that I can listen in.

“Hayley, did you do this?” She asks with laughter in her voice.

“Sorry, what? Um - you are going to have to be more specific, Nissa. I do a lot of things.”

“The dress?”

“Still not following.” Her friend isn’t responsible for the gift.

“The one that I showed you in the window last week - you are the only one who I showed - and I just got home, and it was waiting for me at reception.”

“Someone bought you that dress and delivered it to your apartment?”

“Yes. that is what I just said.”

“Girl, it wasn’t me - you must have told someone else.”

“No, I only told you—” Nerissa didn’t tell anyone else.

“Dammit - I have to run - I’ll call later ok - Just try remember who else you told.” There’s a ruckus in the background and the call ends abruptly.

Nerissa stares from her phone to the dress, confused.

I love that I’m the one who made her eyes shine, and gave her the smile that still hasn’t faded away.

CHAPTER SIX

Nerissa

Istare at the box on the table, running back and forth through my memory to figure out who might have been with me when I commented on the dress. But the harder I think the less I come up with. For the life of me the only person I can remember being around and talking to about the dress is Hayley.

I have a lot of friends, but most of them are just friends at university we don’t hang out or go shopping together. They are casual acquaintances I met through my classes. Hayley is my closest friend, the type of friend who would pull off a surprise like this - well - that is - if she could afford it. But she really can’t.

We are all students working shitty jobs just to get by.

I pull my mouth to the side. Hayley says she didn’t do it, and it would have taken her a half a year to save up for a dress like this - so it definitely wasn’t her. Even if she had the money, she would never be stupid enough to spend an amount like that on one dress. It would be careless. She is more levelheaded and sensible than that.

But who then?

Riley? Could it have been him?

No, he’s amazing, but he’s not romantic like this - I mean - what do I know though? Maybe he is. It’s not like we are dating yet. We might be, after he talks to me at my birthday, and we become an official couple, I will find out he is romantic. He could have done this for me as some kind of pre-gesture, to make sure I say yes when he asks me out. I was going to say yes, anyway. I like him so much.

I giggle and spin with the dress pressed up against my body.

It is gorgeous. I’ve been in love with it since I first laid eyes on it. It became this mystical unicorn. The dress I could never have. The girl I want to be could afford this dress, but not me. It was unattainable and a reminder of my position in life. I’m average, just a student trying to get through my degree so I can afford to buy a dress like this one day.

It’s strange how much power we can put into a lifeless, useless object. It’s crazy how it can represent something completely different from what it is. A status. A lifestyle. A person. A dream.

“Well, you have graduated now, and you start your new job in just over a month - so technically, you can beanyoneandanythingyou want to be. You can be the girl who wears this dress. You can be amazing.” I tell myself, standing in front of the tall mirror next to my bed in my bachelor apartment.

It’s small and cramped in here, but its home sweet home to me.

I have set up the space with pictures on the walls, fairy lights hanging from corner to corner and big textured pillow on my blue, purple and pink comforter.

No one else comes in here but me anyway - and Hayley. We sometimes drink wine on a Wednesday and discuss the horrible chapters we had to study that week. It’s so crazy to think thatuniversity is over now. Our Wednesday night wine evenings are going to be us talking about work and the people or clients who annoy us. We’re actual adults, that is scary.

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