Page 100 of A Scandal in Homeroom
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Saturday Night
Reen
I staredat myself in the mirror, and it was almost like having someone else look back at me.
This is who I’m supposed to be.
My hair was swept up in a fancy updo with ringlets gently falling around my face. I’d chosen a yellow, satin, strapless dress, that was almost demure for me, until I took a step and the slit in the skirt revealed my leg all the way up my cheerleading toned thigh. The color accented my skin tone and the dress overall looked classy and sexy without being trashy.
“You look amazing, Reen. Not that you aren’t always the most beautiful person I know, but tonight it’s like you’re sparkling.”
I looked at Janie and smiled. Then I remembered she wasn’t going to be with me tonight and it tampered my excitement.
“Don’t,” she growled, lying on my bed in her jeans and hoodie. “Don’t start with the wholeI wish you were going, toothing. You know dances aren’t my deal anyway.”
“Fine,” I said, and reached for the lip gloss I’d bought. Just a hint of pink to show off my full lips. “You know, Ed’s not going.”
I looked at her in the mirror. She shrugged and pretended like she didn’t care.
“So. Who cares if he goes to the dance or not?”
“I’m just saying, he got invited, but he didn’t ask Bee to go.”
“You don’t know that. He might have asked her, but she couldn’t deal…you know, with everyone who is going to be there.”
“No, Beth told me Fitz asked him if he had asked her, and he hadn’t. He’d rather stay home, alone, than go to the dance with his supposed girlfriend. I just thought you might want to know that.”
Janie shook her head. “Doesn’t matter even a little bit to me.”
It totally mattered to her, but I wasn’t going to say any more on the topic. She bounced off the bed and came to stand next to me. Her smile beaming. “You’re going to knock them all dead tonight. Show them you belong there more than any of them.”
“Thanks,” I said, with not a little bit of nervousness.
“I’ve got to bounce. I want text updates throughout the night, and I’ll be calling you first thing tomorrow.”
“Promise,” I said, as she left. I took another deep breath and checked the clock. Locke would be here any minute and I was quite certain that minute was going to be the longest one of my life so far. I couldn’t sit in this dress. I could barely breathe in this dress. I didn’t want to smudge my makeup and there was absolutely no point in spraying my hair one more time.
Which meant I needed to stand here and not sweat. Except when I thought about not sweating, it made me sweat more.
Lifting my arms, I held them up for natural ventilation.
There was a soft knock on the door.
“Come in.”
Mrs. Sumner walked in with a broad smile. “Oh, my goodness, look at you. That dress is perfect.”
“I borrowed it from Beth,” I said quickly.
It was a lie. I’d bought this dress with my money. It was indulgent and maybe too expensive, but I wanted something that was mine. That looked like me. That fit me perfectly. I didn’t want someone’s hand me down. Not tonight.
“Well, you shine in it. I want to say, I know this is going to seem silly to you, but you do us proud tonight. I know Mr. Sumner may seem a little gruff around the edges, but you’ve been a joy to have around the house, Reenie. I want you to know that.”
To say I was stunned was an understatement. So it took me a minute to respond. “Thank you, Mrs. Sumner.”
She smiled again. “Don’t you worry about your curfew, either. I told Mr. Sumner not to expect you home until midnight.”
