Now is a Scary Word

Chapter 7

The sudden sound of the door slamming behind her made Jodie's heart stutter momentarily. Katherine quickly skipped past her and led her hastily up the hall and towards her bedroom. She swung the door open rather violently; she grabbed Jodie's and thrusted her onto the satiny wood floor of her room. In one swift motion, Katherine shut the door and turned to face her closet. Jodie took herself over to Katherine's bed and placed herself on the edge. She watched Katherine reach into the white panels and pull out the dress. Jodie felt dazed. It appeared that the mental effort she had been putting into the drug situation had completely overwhelmed her mind and wiped her short term memories, as no matter how long she scanned her eyes over the garment, she only gently recognised it.

"You are going to look like a straight up barbie doll in this," Katherine said, marvelling over the dress while she held it up, "it's like super flattering and will totally hug your body."

Katherine laid the dress out on the bed. She tugged at the bottom to straighten it out properly. Running her hands briskly over the fabric, Katherine spun around once more and knelt down, searching for the corresponding shoes. Jodie stared at the dress while her brain tried its best to visualise her body in the tight fabric. Jodie had never been hugely involved with the modern trend of skin tight, heavily revealing clothing. She didn't believe that there was anything inherently wrong with wearing those types of outfits; it simply just wasn't her style. More often than not, it was the people themselves that irked her rather than the articles of clothing. Whenever she scrolled through the gratuitous amounts of photos posted by her peers, it became more and more apparent that many of the females in the photos were all cocky assholes who only dressed like that for the attention. It was honestly a little sad. Many were forced into it via peer pressure. This mainly happened in the confines of the popular group though, so Jodie was very much so in the clear.

Jodie's daydream was brought to an abrupt halt by Katherine shoving a pair of pink pleather pumps into her face. The pointy silver rods that made up the heel came uncomfortably close to her eye. Her reflexes made her blink sharply and pull herself back.

"Uh yeah, wow, those are.. yep.. eh heh.." Jodie responded. The reaction was partly due to the shock, but it was in combination with the intense fear that flooded her body after she realised those would be going on her feet. Katherine preformed one quick nod before returning to the closet, fumbling through item upon item of clothing.

"Okkkkkk I think this look would go well with a jacket.." She thought out loud, slightly being muffled by the rustling of the hangers. Jodie's heart skipped a beat. She would have something to cover herself up, thank god. She let out a small sigh of relief, softly closing her eyes for a moment. But as soon as her split second of bliss came to a close, her eyes darted over and laid upon the extremely ripped and sheer piece of material Katherine was holding up.

'No,' she thought, 'that can't be the jacket. It looks like a pair of worn pantyhose sewn together with a dirty fox's tail around the neck.'

Jodie's eyes began to widen as her friend then lifted the dress off the bed, bringing it up to herself.

"Oh my god I can'tttt. This combo is so amazing I can't wait for you to wear it!" she squalled.

Jodie swallowed hard. This could not be actually happening. She took a deep breath and tried to pull herself back down to earth.

'Things will work themselves out,' she declared to herself, 'you know that.'

"JODIE!" Katherine's eyes were harsh and her jaw clenched with frustration. Jodie racked her brain for what Katherine may have been saying, but she had been so caught up in her own mind she hadn't a clue.

"Y..yeah?" Jodie nervously replied. She was aware that Katherine's mood could change in a heartbeat.

"We need to get ready soon, ok?" The smile that was plastered over her face was so toothy and wide, Jodie had a hard time seeing it as sincere. These mood swings were seriously throwing her brain into a spin. Jodie began to wonder how much more she could take before she involuntarily snapped, releasing all her built up confusion, anger and disappointment in a flood of who knows what.

Just then, it registered within Jodie what Katherine had said; 'We need to get ready soon". As Katherine was busy rummaging through and locating the pieces of her outfit, Jodie slipped her phone out of her jeans to check the time. It was already 6 o'clock. It certainly didn't feel like they had spent 2 hours sorting through clothes.

"I'll just go.. try this on ok?" Jodie said to Katherine in a sheepish manner. She stiffly grabbed both the dress and so called "jacket" and took herself to the bathroom. She hung the pieces up on the coat hanger on the inside of the door and clicked the door shut. She took hold of the bottom of her shirt but paused as she stared back at the dress. Pressing her eyes tightly shut, she continued changing.

Pulled, straightened, readjusted.. the dress clung to Jodie's body with all its might. No matter how hard she sucked in, the fabric continued to follow her skin. The jacket squeezed her arms, causing her hands to begin to puff up with blood and the fur tickled and irritated her neck. She ran her hands slowly over her stomach. Her heart throbbed while she watched her hands in the mirror. She couldn't do this. She looked awful. She turned and gripped onto the basin in front of her, gazing into her reflection. She watched her eyes fill with sorrow and tears and her face shift to dusty pink. Her mouth began to contort. She threw her hand up to cover it to avoid the whimper escaping. Jodie leaned back and slid down the wall behind her. She rested her folded arms on her raised knees, gently placing her forehead in the centre. Trying her best to breathe and recollect herself, Jodie's vision slowly started to blur. This only caused her breaths to quicken once more. The thought of passing out at this moment in time was absolutely horrific. She instinctively jolted her head down and held it firmly in between her knees. She could feel her head aching and her temples pulsating as a result of the sudden increased blood flow. She allowed her eyelids to cover her eyes while she continued to control her breathing.

"Jo, you almost done? I need to try on my dress!" Katherine barked from the other side of the door.

"Oh, uh yeah just taking it off now," Jodie's voice was husky from being upside down, and her throat felt thick and engorged.

Jodie flung off the oversized tourniquet and peeled the dress off her body. Shrugging her flannel and jeans back on, she briefly checked her face in the slightly foggy mirror and exited the bathroom. She didn't get a chance to speak a single word to Katherine before she shot into the bathroom herself. Jodie slouched on the end of her friend's bed, trying to comprehend what she'd just experienced. She never thought she would be a victim of it, but as she replayed the events in her head, it sounded uncannily similar to a panic attack.