Coping With Clarity

Chapter Twelve

“It looks brilliant.” Selena gushed at the sight. The thin plastic covering it may have hindered seeing the dress in its full glory, but she wasn’t going to risk taking it out until she was going to try it on.

“Well, are you putting it on?” Mandy’s voice crackled over the speaker phone setting. Selena bit her lip, she was in her room at the ‘house’ alone. Her mother had ordered the dress the day Demi picked it out. She didn’t think it was fair. The two people who had basically gotten the dress for her, wouldn’t be there to witness the first fitting. And as flattering as the full length mirror in her room was, there was one person’s opinion she wanted more.

“Mom, could I maybe...?” She didn’t finish her request knowing she had said it all.

“Seen as she picked it out, I suppose...” Her mom playfully sighed down the line. Selena’s eyes reflected with the caribbean blue of the dress’ material.

“Thankyou!” She returned, to her mom’s approval. Carefully she folded the dress over and tried to think about how she was going to cycle to the hospital with the fancy dress.

“No mess ‘Lena. I am not going to pay out if it needs cleaning.”

Selena chuckled at her mother’s warning. As if she would let anything happen to it; besides, hospitals were one of the cleanest places in the world.

~

Its a quiet afternoon. Selena juggled her shoulder bag containing her bike lock and leftover school books, making sure to keep it away from the plastic covered dress. Even though it was nowhere near anything remotely unclean, Selena held the clothing out at an arms length to protect it, as she reached Demi’s ward.

Selena hears how truly quiet it is when she stands in the middle of the corridor. Normally she can hear the faint buzzing of machines or talking coming from the nurse’s station. Luckily it seemed calm, nothing unordinary, which was a good sign when there’s a girl carrying an expensive prom dress.

The dress is heavy on her arm and Selena wants to put it down. Spying across the hall she sees Demi’s open door, as usual. The light of the afternoon makes it clear that her friend is in there; lying comfortably on her bed - and from the look of it - reading. Selena grins as her surprise seemed all set up.

There is a disabled toilet further down the ward that she’s used once. Its still out of sight of any wandering doctors that may possibly see her and feel the need to question what she’s doing.

Selena really doesn’t want to have to honestly admit that she’s going to abuse the toilet facilities to change into her prom dress to surprise Demi. Its a nice gesture in her mind, but apparently its not to the members of staff who run the ward. Who knew?

Clothes are shredded shyly in front of a convenient mirror. Even though no one is there to witness, Selena avoids looking at her reflection. She may have a ‘waist size to die for’ - as Taylor embarrassingly commented during class one day; but she was still as insecure as any other normal girl.

She wears her gym shorts underneath the dress (‘because you can never be too careful’), it was the first time they’d been worn all term. The back is hard to zip up on her own, but she gets it far enough to hold the dress on her.

On the night she’ll be wearing a better suited, strapless, bra. One less worry. And she’ll have gloves. Her hair will also be up.

Loud footsteps rushing past the door shock Selena out of her self-depreciating comments.

She takes a deep breath and just...looks.

The length of the dress will better suit her when she finds heels to go with it. But her legs don’t look half bad in the dress, either way.