The Academy

Chapter Nineteen

Rose:

Alrightie, sitting in the car with Peter and Logan. Fun.

The silence was becoming oppressive over the three of us, Peter was sitting in shotgun while Logan was driving and me in the back.

“How about we turn on the radio?” I venture trying to break this awful quietness. Peter nodded, “Sure, radio sounds good.” He flipped it on and the song “Call Me Maybe” (which I had hoped died with that dreadful summer in which it came on) blasted our ears. “My ears are bleeding!” Logan yelled over the music as he turned it off with a rather violent jab. Peter was laughing at his pained expression and he glanced at me, I mouth “3...2...1…”

After I mouthed the last number Peter and I broke out into an intentionally awful chorus of the song, “HEY I JUST MET YOU, AND THIS IS CRAZY-” “I swear I’ll fucking pull this car over and you two will have to walk home!” Logan yelled, and Peter and I started laughing, tears formed in my eyes I was laughing so hard.

We then stopped at the bridal shop Logan was red in the face, perhaps from us or from the stares we got from passing cars.

Brittney’s Bridal Dresses and Co. Read the neon sign over the pristine white house. Logan got out, “You two have fun in there, not like that- you know what I mean.” he said with a wave of his hand as he drove off. Peter sighed at the sign, “I’ve never been one for tuxedos.” “I have to put on a dress, so you can deal with a stupid tux.” I replied with a frown.

With that we headed in.

At the front desk it was empty, like I had never seen any place so desolate in my life. It looked like it should be bustling but somebody had put “anti-human” spray on it or something.

As if reading my mind, a lady popped up from behind the desk. You know Jack-In-the-Boxes? That was how she appeared.

The lady whose name was Brittany, had gotten plastic surgery too many times, and her overly happy smile pulled her face and made it look painful. That and she reeked of hairspray. “Hello!” she said cheerfully, and Peter glanced at me awkwardly, “Um...hi?” he replied and I sighed, “Sorry, I’m Rose, and that’s Peter. He needs a tux, I need a bridesmaid dress, I’d prefer to go first.” I said barely taking a breath and she nodded.

Peter looked at the lady as if figuring something out, “She seems different...be careful when you’re alone with her.” “I’m always on guard when I’m around strange people in strange places. Besides I don’t trust people who have had plastic surgery.” I retorted with a laugh and held up my ring.

Perky-saleswoman-of-death, as I had presumed to call her from now on, led me through some racks and pulled out a blue dress, “This a good color for the wedding?” “Mhm.” I replied with a nod.

Dang it Tink, you better know how much you mean to me because I wouldn’t be getting into a dress for just anybody.  I thought to myself as I took the dress from her and got changed.

After five minutes, and trying to find my way through the puzzle that was known as this dress and a lot of: “Where’s that hole come from?” “What’s that thingy?” “How is one person supposed to get this on?!” “Oh come on, don’t tell me I zipped it too early.” and “Was that a rip I heard?” I finally got into the stupid dress. I looked at myself in the mirror and sighed, “Alright, it doesn’t look too bad.”

I walked out of the dressing room and found Peter sitting down, keeping an eye on perky-saleswoman-of-death who was standing in the corner with her creepy doll smile plastered on her face.

“What’d you think?” I asked, itching to get out of it, and he gave a thumbs up, “I won’t say too much because I don’t want Tink to get mad at me but seriously, if I wasn’t getting married to her I would ask you out.” “Thanks…?” I asked in the same tone as him when he said hello to perky-saleswoman-of-death.