Just One Sip

Chapter 6

 "WHAT. THE F-" I covered Em's mouth just in time. Emily looked back and glanced back at me. "Seriously?" She seemed more excited then I did.

I nodded, a little dazed about what had just happened. "Yeah, seriously."

"Oh my god! What are you doing? You have to go to the dance." Em said, excitedly. She flashed me a sly grin. "You have to get something to wear."

Oh no. Going shopping with Em was a horrific experience. She always picked out the fanciest dresses and forced me to put them on. Yet, I did have to get something.

I nodded. "Fine."

"Today?" She asked, checking the watch on her wrist.

I shrugged. "Why not?" I hesitated.

A shadow fell over Em's face. "Wait, I have detention today."

"But the dance is tomorrow!" I was able to deal with my three detentions after class ended by writing the teachers a thousand word essays about how I was being irresponsible during class. Since these were my first detentions they let me off the hook. Em on the other hand....

Em slammed her head hard against the table and groaned. "Ugh."

"Well, I'll just have to go by myself." I reassured her.

- - -

I took a deep breath, my phone hovering a few inches from my face. I had to tell Aunt Cassie that I would be going, or else she'd go crazy. I'd been standing like that for the past five minutes, reassuring myself that all I had to do was tell her quickly and get it over with. I finally pressed the call button and pressed my phone against my ear. After a few rings, Aunt Cassie picked up the phone.

"Leah!"

"Aunt Cassie, I'm going to the mall to pick up something for the dance tomorrow. I'll be home in about two to three hours so don't panic. Bye. Thank you. I love you." I said it as fast as I could and pressed end before Aunt Cassie could reply. I sighed, and looked up from the bench I was sitting on. I had arrived at the mall anyway. I wanted to get this over with.

Not having any design in mind, I wandered about, stepping into boutiques and skimming the dresses. What did I want? I finally decided upon something. Something not too fancy, but not too casual. Something comfortable and suitable for me. I walked into a few more stores. Nope. Nothing. In an hour I had went to almost every store in four floors.

Sipping on a strawberry smoothie, I glanced down at my phone, swiping at the screen. I was on the fifth floor, the last floor of the mall. I had given up in searching anymore. Maybe I should be different and go casual? I shook my head. This was a formal dance. They clearly said that they wouldn't allow casual wear.

"Hey, Leah!"

"Hey." I muttered, not looking up from my phone. I hesitated then looked up. Standing right in front of me was Sylvia, her hair tied up high in a ponytail. She was holding a white purse by her side. Instead of a disapproving look, settled on her lips was a smile. I jumped back, surprised, almost spitting out my smoothie.

"Sylvia?" I choked.

"Hey, Leah." She repeated, smiling down at me. "Here, have a napkin." She handed me a pink napkin. I slowly took it from her and wiped my mouth.

"Thanks." I muttered.

"Your welcome." She replied, smiling.

I feeling of uneasiness settled over me. Why was Sylvia suddenly being so nice to me? It was starting to give me goosebumps just thinking about it. Who thought someone being nice could be creepy.

"Why are you here?" She asked nicely.

"Nothing." I answered abruptly, almost knocking over my smoothie.

"Aren't you here to find a dress for the dance?" Sylvia asked.

"Yeah. I was looking for one."

"Hey, I already got mine. Should I help you find one?"

"It's fine, I've already searched almost every store." I stuttered.

"Really? You should have found one. My dad owns this place, so I practically know every inch of it."

"Oh really? That's cool." I stood up quickly, tossing the empty smoothie cup into a nearby trashbin. "Well, I really got to go. I appreciate your help, but I-"

Sylvia grabbed my wrist. "Hey, I can help you." she said almost too sweetly.

"No, it's okay, I-"

Sylvia's grip tightened. I winced.

"Well, okay then." I said, reluctantly.

"Yay, follow me!" Sylvia let go of me, gesturing me to follow her. "I know the perfect place."

I looked at her walking away. I was tempted to run away. This was the only chance I had. Glancing at her back, I shook my head. She seemed different from usual. Maybe she changed.

I looked at my wrist. It was imprinted with her hand, red with a slight hue of purple. The redness started to fade a little. How hard had Sylvia grabbed me? Without further thinking, I tagged behind her, my wrist feeling numb and heavy. If Sylvia Anderson was willing to buy me a dress, I was gonna choose the most expensive shit I saw.

The moment I entered the boutique I knew why I had skipped this one. It was way out of my price range. I looked at the price of the closest one and my jaw dropped to the floor. $300 for a dress I was gonna wear for one night only? That was insane.

I was browsing through the dresses amazed by all the fine details that were added, when all of a sudden Sylvia shoved eight dresses in my face.

"Try them on!" She gave me a huge smile and literally pushed me into the fitting rooms.

I was so tempted to throw the dresses on the floor and tell her that I could choose my own dresses but when I saw the dresses she chose I had to admit that she had an amazing taste in fashion. Exasperated I tried on dress after dress, but by the fifth one I was getting annoyed. These dresses were designed for models with a perfect figure.

"How's it going in there? Need some help?" Sylvia was right outside of the curtains and the last thing I wanted to do was see her face.

"No it's fine! I just need to try on a couple more!" And with that I let out a sigh and went back to trying on dresses that would just make me look fat.

Ready to give up, I randomly picked a dress from the pile knowing it wasn't going to look good on me. I gave it a long look. It was a strapless dress with a beautiful floral pattern and to top it off, it had a white braided belt. It looked amazing but I knew that once I tried it on it would look like complete crap. The dress provided bra caps so I didn't bother keeping mine on. After finally zipping the dress up, I looked at myself in the mirror fearing I might look like a pig again. The dress fell perfectly around my knees, slightly loose around my legs. Surprisingly, I actually pulled the dress off pretty well. For once I felt... sexy. I wasn't revealing anything, I just felt confident in my own skin for the first time in a while. Comfortable yet classy. I smiled to myself and I knew that this was going to be the dress that I was gonna buy without even trying on the remaining two dresses.

"Yeah, go for it." said a deep voice.