Nobody Likes Megan McGowen

8. A New Look

"So I was thinking...why don't we go to the mall this weekend?" Karen asked.

"What for?" Megan wanted to know. She was all for hanging out, but she wasn't sure the mall was really the place she wanted to be.

"There's this new store that just opened that I want to check out. And I want to get a new dress." Karen told her.

"Ok." Megan shrugged, deciding it was better to not be difficult.

Megan didn't particularly like the mall – shopping always seemed pretty boring to her. But this was the first time anyone other than Jen had wanted to hang out with her since she started high school, and she didn't want to waste the opportunity.

Besides, now that she was actually hanging out with the most popular girls in school, she was starting to feel like maybe her faded jeans and Jr. High t-shirts weren't really cutting it anymore. And when it came to picking out her new wardrobe, she could probably use the opinion of some people who actually knew something about fashion.

"Wait – you're going to go? Really?" Jen asked, eyes wide. She casually put her hand over her mouth and Megan knew she was hiding a smirk.

"Sure, why not?" Megan shrugged again. It wasn't that big a deal – so why was Jen treating it like it was the best joke she'd heard all year?

"I just never thought I'd hear Megan McGowen actually say she'd go to the mall voluntarily."

"I go sometimes." she said defensively. True, it was usually when she got a rip in her jeans that was too big to patch, but so what? It wasn't like she'd never been before.

"Well, if you're going, I'll definitely be there." Jen grinned in a way Megan wasn't sure she liked. "What time are we going?"

"Great." Karen said, oblivious to just how excited Jen really was. "How about after school on Friday?"

"Wouldn't miss it." Jen told her.

"I'll meet you guys there." Stacey broke in. "I'm going to try to meet up with Heath after school."

She said it in a way that made Megan feel just the slightest bit nauseous, but no one said anything to Stacey about it. Even Megan knew better by now.

"Let us know how that goes." Tara said. She looked like she was trying not to roll her eyes. Stacey didn't seem to notice the sarcasm.

Megan spent the rest of the week secretly dreading her group excursion. She tried to play it off like it was no big deal, but inside she was trying to keep from panicking. What if she said something stupid? Or if she only ended up picking out the tackiest clothes? What would her new friends think of her then?

When the last bell finally rang on Friday, Megan met up with her friends at the back of the school before heading to their cars. She really wasn't looking forward to the trip, but she tried her best not to show it. Instead, she tried to be positive. She was going somewhere with friends, and that was the important thing, right? Hopefully that would keep this whole thing from being too boring.

The first thing Megan's friends did when they got to the mall was make a beeline for that frilly shop with the dresses displayed in the window – the one Megan made it a habit to avoid at all costs. She'd long ago made the decision to never wear dresses. Same for skirts. She was perfectly happy in her comfortable, somewhat faded jeans. But they hadn't been in the store five minutes before Danielle was trying to change that.

"You should try that on." she told Megan, pointing to a deep blue dress with a frilly neckline that was hanging on the wall.

"Uh, I don't know..." Megan said. She'd been kind of hoping to avoid the whole trying on clothes thing.