Social Experiment

02 | Record Stores

"I would never wear that to school." Sasha shook her head and smoothed out her jet black hair, big eyes blinking at me disbelievingly from behind her thick rimmed glasses. Her tone was thick and judgmental as she continued. "It's so revealing."

I frowned; there was nothing wrong with the outfit I had picked out. Bailey and Sasha had asked me what I wanted to wear at graduation, so I picked out a nice deep purple dress that had short sleeves, a scoop neck, and ended above the knee. This was the same dress my mom gave to me last year from London, when she went on her book tour. I admired this dress; it fit perfectly, and made me feel elegant with its simplicity. But now, as Sasha looked at it under her scrutinizing gaze and made a rude remark, I frowned at the dress in my hands.

"You think so?" I questioned, my previous confidence in my thoughts wavering the tiniest bit.

She pushed her glasses up her nose and shrugged before setting her attention back on the book in her hands. "I'd wear something a little more conservative."

Bailey looked up at me, pushing a red curl behind her ear as she did so. "It's not too bad, maybe just wear leggings with it..."

I reminded myself these two girls were just more conservative that I, and tended to be a bit judgmental when it came to my clothing and lifestyle. My mom was a writer, one that was constantly doing book signings and writing stories; she was often up at late hours, crouched over her desk in her study, with the tapestries hanging on the wall and dim artificial light illuminating the desk. She left me alone a lot and trusted me with Luke, my younger brother.

Sasha's upbringing was a little different. Her mother was a lawyer and her father was a doctor, both incredibly successful. Sasha was an only child growing up in a big house by the park, but it's not like she ever gets a minute to actually go to the park. No, she spends all of her time either studying or practicing one of the various instruments her parents insist she master. Her parents brought her up with their own stringent rules and regulations, which molded her into having similar morals.

And those morals were very, very strict.

"We should go to the mall this weekend," Bailey muses after I put my dress back into my closet, away from their judgmental eyes.

Sasha murmurs, "I think so too. I need a new blazer for my interview with Princeton."

I sit back on my bed and glance at Sasha, who never took her eyes off the book in front of her. Then I turned my attention to Bailey and smiled at her, thinking of the upcoming winter break and how her boyfriend, Matt, would be coming home from college. Bailey and Matt dated all through high school, save for Matt's freshman year when we were still in Junior High. He went away to Loyola in the beginning of the year, but him and Bailey have been doing the distance thing. Lucky for her, Matt was so loyal that he would never even consider being unfaithful to her.

"So, B," I begin as my thoughts trail to Matt. "Are you excited to see Matt when he comes home?"

She smiles widely, unlike her normal timid smiles. Excitement lit up her eyes as she explained, "I can't wait! We've been skyping every night the past month. I just want to see him in person, and not out of a stupid computer screen."

"What day does he come home?" I ask, a small smile on my own lips when I see her mood change to pure excitement.

If it was possible, she grins wider as she announces, "Monday of next week."