Becoming Beautiful (Wattys2014)

| Chapter 10 |

Chapter 10

Once we were let into the party, which only took a few seconds, we were shoved into an ensemble of Ethel’s coworkers. She’s a doctor, of that I’m sure. The women all had dark dresses with even darker lipstick. They had large jewels hanging from their ears and around their necks. Don’t their earlobes get tired?

“Marissa, Noah," one of the older women said. She had a high-low dress that was obviously for adults, mainly because I don’t know any teenage girl who would buy it. It looked like it was sewn with the image of an old lady wearing it. This woman seemed to fulfill the seamstresses’ dream. “Who are your dates? Introduce them to us.”

“Hello, Vivian." Marissa awkwardly glanced at Eric, who was grinning at the women, obviously enjoying the approving attention. “This is Eric.”

“Hello.” He smiled at the ladies, delicately shaking each of their hands.

“Noah, who is this?” the same lady questioned, her eyes grazing over me. I awkwardly stood there, not able to hide behind Noah, because being the jerk he is, he would step to the side and allow me to be the center of attention. This attention isn’t good attention. Being recognized for being pretty or being intelligent is good attention. From the way she’s looking at me, I can tell that she does not approve of me.

Deciding to introduce myself, I extended my hand, offering her a smile. “I’m Kennedy.”

“I’m Vivian.” She took my hand in her own, her neat eyebrows furrowed. “Kennedy?”

“Yes, you can call me Kenna, though,” I dropped my hand to the side as I stood beside Noah, my arm still curled around his.

She nodded. “How did you and Noah meet?”

This question was aimed at me. We didn’t practice this. Why didn’t she ask Marissa this question? Probably because this is Noah’s first time actually showing up to one of Ethel’s galas in a long while. They all seem to know him though. The other three women all spoke to Marissa but the main one, probably Ethel’s boss, spoke to us. Vivian radiated confidence, more than the other women did.

“Well, we have a few classes together,” I nodded. “And I’m friends with Marissa.”

She nodded, looking between the two of us. “So how long have you two been dating?”

Noah let out a snort, the only noise he’s made since we stepped into this large building. Be yourself tonight. Marissa’s voice replayed the statement in my head. What would I do if someone I knew said this about me? I nudged him in the side with my fist before curling it back around his arm, hoping she didn’t notice. He tensed at my touch while I answered her question. “We aren’t dating.”

“So you’re friends?” she asked, a confused look on her face.

Noah snorted again, quieter this time as I nodded. “Yeah, we’re friends.”

“Couldn’t get a date, sweetie?” she asked, her lips pursed. Noah sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose with his left hand, the one that didn’t have my arm clutching to it.

I suddenly felt defensive. Why did everyone gang up on Noah? What did he ever do to them? “I obviously have a date.” I motioned to Noah with my right hand.

“What I meant to say was, you couldn’t find a date that you wanted to come with?” Did she not have a filter?

“Considering the fact that I asked him, I’d say I found a date that I wanted to come with,” I responded.

“He said yes?” the lady asked.

“Apparently,” I replied through clenched teeth. “Now if you’ll excuse us, we’re going to get drinks.”