WATTPAD FEATURED NOV 2020 AND OCT 2021 - FROM OUR STARS LIST
WATTPAD MULTICULTURAL FEATURED SEP 2022 - AUSTRALIAN WHISPERERS READING LIST
It's difficult to save someone who doesn't want saving, particularly when they're lying to you.
...
Claudia and...
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"Okay, this is crunch time, ladies. We have T-Minus twenty-four hours until the ball," Emmy says. "Is everyone happy with their outfits?"
It's Thursday evening, and Emmy, Aleisha and I have spent the afternoon following a strict schedule Emmy wrote up in English today.
From 4 to 5, we'd waltzed up and down my creaky stairs in our high heels, grading each other's walks and practicing what Emmy calls 'the hip manoeuvre'. Between 5 and 6, we'd practiced our make-up and hair, and Emmy and I got into an argument about the correct way to apply winged eyeliner. And now, between 6 and 7, we were trying on our dresses.
Emmy and Aleisha got theirs on first and I can't help but stare at the silk and sparkles covering them as I shrug on the flowy black jumpsuit I'd bought months ago.
This was the first time I'd pulled it out since that afternoon, and as I zip it up and assess myself in the mirror, I can't help but wonder if it's as outstanding as I'd originally thought.
I fight down grimace, a stab of regret, and turn to the two of them with a fake grin plastered onto my face.
"This is my outfit! What do you guys think?"
They evaluate me, heads tilted to the side, and Emmy frowns.
"Hmm, I dunno. It needs something."
"I agree," Aleisha says. "It doesn't quite pop the way I'd expected."
Emmy's comments I'd braced for, but Aleisha's hit me for a six, and my heart drops.
"What does it need?" I ask, spinning to look at myself in the mirror again. "A necklace? I could try different heels?"
Emmy snaps her fingers.
"Ah ha!" she says, the words sounding like a line from a stage play. "I have just the thing."
I turn to find her and Aleisha looking at me.
"What?"
Emmy moves over to her bag, grabs something wrapped in brown paper and throws it at me. The package lands on my bed and I eye it.
Aleisha nudges me closer and smiles. "Open it."
I pick the item up and pull away the wrapping, and when I see the red fabric inside, I know what they've given me.
"Happy birthday!" they both scream.
I pull out a plunging red jumpsuit — the other outfit I'd been looking at when we'd been shopping — and then blink at them.
"Guys... It's not my birthday."
"That fact is irrelevant," Emmy says, sitting on my bed and grinning. "Aleisha and I knew you'd end up wanting to wear it, so we got it for you."
"What the hell. How?"
"Aleisha doubled back after we left the store and bought it while I distracted you. Do you like it?"
