Ready? Not Really.. (Fem USUK) •IN EDITING•

Alice

"Turn a little to the left," the tailor commanded through gritted teeth holding pins in her mouth. She held a bit of fabric between her forefinger and thumb as she gazed at me expectantly. I obeyed and shifted, the skirt of the dress swishing with my body. Immediately, the tailor started fussing with the bottom part of the dress and mumbling how this needed to be shorter and that needed to be hemmed .
I turned my head to Amelia. She sat on the pedestal beside me, a smile on her face and her blue eyes sparkling. "Lookin' good, Ally," she said softly, giving me a thumbs-up. The look in her eyes combined with her initial reaction to my costume...
It made me wonder why I doubted Maddie's remarks about her sister's love for me. I guess I just thought it was impossible for anyone to ever like me like that. I was difficult and pushy and sarcastic and... just not appealing, so there wasn't a single possibility that someone as cheerful and energetic as Amelia could ever fall for me. I still doubted the validity of her feelings, yes, but honestly, love is an unsolved mystery that two people need to go through together to make peace with themselves.
I felt something prod into my ribcage and glared down at the finger in my side. The tailor stopped poking me when she knew she had my attention. "I told you three times to turn again."
"Oh, shit! Sorry!" I shuffled awkwardly so that she could reach the remaining bit of material to fix. All I got was an annoyed look and a huff.
"You spacing out again, Alice?" Amelia piped up.
"I don't know what you're referring to." She grinned up at me.
"If I opened the dictionary and looked up the definition of 'space cadet,' your picture would be smack-dab next to it."
"Shut up, Jones."
Amelia had the cheekiest look on her face. She was lucky I couldn't move around much or I would slap her smugness away.
Her eyes danced mischievously, and the corners of her mouth were raised slightly. I couldn't help but remember when we were small and had no concerns of the world and the expectations that sat heavily on our shoulders. She had worn that same excited look for the majority of her childhood, and I could still remember the bounce of her then-short hair when she dragged me along on adventures that seemed so much more important at the time.
"Come on, Al!"
Before, I would have traded anything to have that gap-toothed smile instead of the constant insults thrown back and forth, but not anymore. I was perfectly happy with the girl I was in love with, and the past no longer weighed down my every thought.
I couldn't help but smile. Amelia frowned in confusion. "What?"
"Nothing."
"What, Alice?"
I shrugged. "You just never change, Amy."
Her eyebrows furrowed more. "Okay, you're sick. You never call me Amy."
The tailor looked like she wished she could be anywhere but with my roommate- no Amelia was so much more than just my roommate- but I didn't care about her opinion. She was temporary, but this strange, unlikely connection between Amelia and I seemed to be eternal, bringing us together despite our differences.
"I'm just happy," I said simply.
"Well then I'm glad you're happy. Just don't get all batshit crazy on me." The ground beneath my foot vibrated softly, and Amelia immediately pulled out her phone to check it. "Maddie, jeez. Chill." She texted her twin back at a skillful speed, her tongue sticking out the corner of her mouth in concentration. I tried to read what she was saying, but Amelia's screen was too far away for my eyes to focus clearly on the words.
"You two better not be talking about me," I said. I got poked again by the tailor and rolled my eyes, shifting to the side.
"Oh, trust me, we are." Amelia smiled, not looking up at my reaction. She suddenly texted slow and loud enough for me to hear each tap of her thumbs. "'So about that Alice, huh? She's got a stick up her butt, don't you think?'"
"You're such a fucking moron," I sighed, annoyed that I couldn't keep a straight face.
"Oh, I'm sorry. Did I read that out loud?"
"Jesus Christ, finally," the tailor blurted before I could respond. She stood up. "I'm done. I'm done! My coworker will ring up how much it'll cost." She stomped away to the back in a rush, cheeks red.
"What's her problem?" I asked to no one in particular.
"You two," the coworker said, typing a few things into her cash register. Amelia and I both looked at her in anticipation. Coworker glanced up. "You really don't know? The teasing back and forth? The..." she trailed off when neither of us reacted. "Ugh, never mind. Couples usually never get it."
Amelia looked at me. "Ah, we aren't-"
"I'll be right back," I interrupted, placing a hand on her shoulder. "I need to get changed." I didn't think I could stand her explaining the fact we weren't in a relationship. Not anymore, at least.
~•~•~•~
Maddie waved us down as soon as we were back on campus. Her hair was pulled back into a braid that trailed all the way down her back, and her blue eyes seemed to brighten when she saw that Amelia and I were together. I would have to tell her later that I heard Amelia's outburst back in Ludwig's shoppe. She would be thrilled once she got over the initial shock, I'm sure.
"Hey, guys!" she said. I noticed a girl behind her with dark hair and a darker look on her face. I don't remember ever seeing her anywhere around campus. I'd remember that glare. "You two are up early!" Maddie clasped her hands together when she stopped right in front of us. "What's up? Any nice two-person activities?"
Wow, subtle. I narrowed my eyes, and Amelia seemed a little flustered. "We were, um..." She began.
"I was getting my costumes fitted," I filled in.
"Oh," Maddie said, looking slightly disappointed until something seemed to hit her mind. "How'd they look?" she asked. Her question was more directed to Amelia than me.
"Nice," Amelia mumbled. By then, dark-haired girl had joined our group, her gaze directed at the floor. "Oh, hey," my roommate rushed, switching topics, "you look familiar. Feli, right? You and Maddie hung out before."
"Yeah, about that-" Maddie started, but dark-haired girl immediately interrupted her.
"Jesus Christ, for the last time, I am Lovina. Not Feli, not my mom, not some dumbass actor, and not whatever goddamn porn star looks like me! It's Lovina!" She snapped. Amelia looked startled. It wasn't everyday that the high school's star cheerleader got yelled at.
"Okay," Amelia said weakly. "Lovi."
"Don't call me that. We aren't buddies." Lovina whirled and turned her scowl to Maddie. "I thought you said your sister was smart."
Maddie looked as uncomfortable as I felt. I was still too surprised to say anything. "I, uh, she is-" But her companion waved her off.
"Yeah, okay. So are we gonna do this project or what?" Lovina crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes into slits.
"Err, yeah." Maddie smiled sheepishly at Amelia and me. "See you guys later?" We nodded in sync mutely. Lovina had already started walking away, and Maddie ran after her.
"Jesus," I said dumbly.
"Damn," Amelia gaped.
~•~•~•~
A few days passed, and soon, my recital was close enough for me to write the date on the calendar hanging on the inside of my dorm room's door. I noticed a little bit later that hearts and stars had been doodled around my event scrawled onto one of the Saturday boxes. Amelia was such a dork.
I sat typing on my laptop, writing an email to my mum about how school was going, how the food was pretty good, how my math teacher was literal satan, et cetera. She always bugged me about sending updates back home, and I decided to oblige before I got another annoyed voice message on my phone.
Amelia had earbuds in as she read some brightly coloured comic book with pictures of muscular superheroes and girls with their breasts hanging out. I glanced over at her bed every now and then, slightly intrigued by her graphic novel but unwilling to move to sit beside her. I didn't need any more romantic confusion at the moment, so I let her be. Not that I stopped looking at Amelia. I smiled when she kicked her legs back and forth.
Dear loving and nurturing mother,
You have no need to make anymore phone calls relating to how much you care for your beautiful daughter and how if she doesn't pick up the phone, you'll "call the dorm advisor and force her to make her pick up the damn cellphone for once." For I am here, and better late than never. (Really, you didn't need to cut off my money funds for lunch to get me to talk. A little extreme, don't you think?)
I tapped the space key lightly, unsure what to actually write about. I looked over at Amelia for inspiration. She was still absorbed in her comic, muttering "You're so fucked, Steve" under her breath. I had no idea what she was talking about.
Anyway, let's cut to the chase, here. I'm sure you want the scoop on my life.
I'm assuming you got the designated email involving my whole roommate-addition thing, as it's required the school sends information about any change to "your daughter's living and educational situation" (Page 27 of the student handbook, by the way), and I'm sure you'd love to hear how your daughter is getting along swimmingly with the chick that sleeps ten feet away and snores like a freaking monster truck. And here's what I'll say: it's going well (not good). She's really cool, mum. We got off on a really bad foot, but I think she likes me, too. She's a cheerleader (and not one of those ditzy, spray tan cheerleaders), and she can actually deal with my cynical nature. I think you'd like her. You remember Fran, right? (You liked her for all of .02 seconds) Well, my roomie is her second cousin. Small world, right?
"Why're you smiling?" Amelia asked, interrupting my typing. She had pulled out an earbud and was watching me quizzically. I touched my cheek. Damn, I was smiling. I must've looked like an idiot.
"No reason," I said, forcing my face to return to normal. She looked unconvinced, but put her music back on anyways.
My recital is pretty soon. Two weeks, actually. I'm so incredibly nervous and excited. I don't know if I'm really ready yet. My roommate (Amelia. Her name is Amelia) says that I'm just over thinking it all, but I am genuinely concerned I might royally screw up the whole thing and be the laughing stock of the entire state for who know how long! It sucks that you can't come. I know you'd give me a hug and say you believe in me with all of your heart, so I'll just pretend you are there. Hell, I could make a life-sized cutout of you. Then you'd be there while probably scaring off a few people.
Anywho, life is good. It would be better if you would actually provide money so I could eat. In a way, this is my food stamp, I suppose. Please don't let me starve.
Love and kisses,
Alice.
I sent it with a sigh, leaning my head back against my headboard. I let my eyes dart over to my roommate and possibly reward for writing such a painfully stupid letter. But Amelia had been staring at me before I even looked at her. She immediately snapped her head back into place so that she had been "focused" on her comic the whole time.
I smiled.