In Sync

Chapter 5

The winter gala was tomorrow and Adrian, Eddie and I have yet to go shopping.

When Mom found out...let's just say there was a lot of screaming.

"Davis Rosemarie Jackson!" Mom yells as she walks into my room. "What is this I hear about you not having a dress for the Winter Gala?" Her face is red with rage.

I set my phone down beside me and sit up on my bed. "Well..." I trail off.

"It is tomorrow!" I glance up at her and roll my eyes.

"Can't I just wear my homecoming dress from last year?" I ask in a bored tone.

"Absolutely not. It is a Winter Ball, in which you must wear a ball gown." Mom puts emphasis on the word ball and sighs with exasperation.

"Actually it's a Winter Gala-" I stop short when I look at her expression. "But I guess that's just a technicality."

Mom walks over to my closet and tears through my clothes. Not literally of course. "I want you to get dressed and go find a dress. A floor length, ball gown. Not a skimpy, slutty party dress, okay? You are representing this family."

I sigh and roll my eyes. "Fine." Rolling out of bed, I grab my phone and make my way into the bathroom. "I hope you're happy!" I yell as I close the door.

Running a hand through my wavy brown hair, I call Adrian.

"Hello?" I can hear him yawning through the phone.

"It's the day." I reply, throwing my hair into a ponytail.

"Already? I mean I always knew this day was coming but I never thought it would be this soon." I roll my eyes again, knowing that he can't see my through the phone.

"Yeah well apparently it's tomorrow so..." I trail off. Applying a bit of makeup, I make my way back into my room. "I'm putting you on speaker phone."

"We've been putting it off for that long eh?" Rummaging through my closet I find a presentable red cardigan and a pair of dark wash jeans.

"Mom says we have to go today." I stand still waiting for his reply.

After a deep and dramatic sigh, Adrian replies, "I don't suppose that your mother is going to fork out the money for Eddie and I to get a new tuxedo do you?"

"Nope," I reply.

"I mean honestly," Adrian says, in a joking manner. "She must know that not everyone has the money to go out and buy a new outfit every time she wants to host a party, right?"

"Yeah well that's not how they work. Can I trust you to call Eddie and meet me here in 20 minutes?"

"Yeah, yeah. See you in a bit."

++++

"So what exactly are we looking for?" Eddie asks while browsing through a rack of dresses.

"According to my mom, anything that isn't slutty or is going to disrespect our family." I glance down at the dress in my hand. It was blue and had way too many sequins.

"Well, that takes the fun out of everything," Adrian say with a pout. Grabbing a bright yellow dress, Adrian holds it up. "What about this one?"

I scrunch up my face. "Absolutely not."

"Why not?" Adrian says while putting it back on the rack.

"Because," I say, shaking my head. "You have orange hair, it would look weird."

I glance around and find Eddie on the other side of the posh pink boutique in the mall. "Find anything?"

"No." Eddie joins us again. "I'm not a girl. I haven't the first clue of what to look for."