Rouge Child

Ice Cream and Calvin Carr

"Which one is it?" A pouting Jean asked for the nth time. She was unbelievably impatient today.

She was always impatient anyway.

Deciding that she had enough of it, Lily sighed, "Jean, the Spring Dance is still four months away. You don't have to worry about what gown to wear until then, maybe ah, three weeks before the dance. We can shop together. Excited much?" She rolled her brown eyes and went back to her writing.

Surely, Lily was getting annoyed with the redhead and, with her blabbing about prom gowns, she had little to nothing of focus to what she was writing for the next issue of the school paper. Just last night, she suffered from writer's block and had no idea why. Thinking about it, she was a bit annoyed with it and Duncan because, now, she was cramming to make it to the deadline. Ugh! He gave her more assignments than usual. There was something maddening about being a Sail and, at the same time, the editor-in-chief of the Bugle. Demanding was the word for the Sail siblings - Duncan and his big sister and former editor-in-chief, Becca.

Giving up because she couldn't help it now, she said, "Come on, help me with this and that, so we can go out and watch the game."

Jean pouted even more and continued her "Google-ing". Trying so hard to concentrate on and get done with the task, she mentally pushed herself to work. The inner oh-my-goddess-sexy-body-Jean was still pouting like a five year old hungry for more cookies; she wanted to look for more gown designs. Stupid Bugle paper deadline.

A while ago, she was browsing the internet and "Google-ing" for some "Bugle" assignments when she came upon an online shop, the Pinks & Creams. It offered pretty dresses that made her thought about the Spring Dance all of a sudden. The Spring Dance was the Fram Hill High ball for senior students. And yes, it was still four months before she and the raven-haired girl, Lily, needed to worry about gowns and shoes and purses, and, ok, make-ups and nail polish, but she couldn't help it. Her fingers went twitchy and seemed to click the mouse on their own accord and non-stop so she gave up searching for stupid business names and information and drooled over Pinks & Creams and its collection of cocktail dresses and ball gowns instead. When she found cute and fab dresses, she asked Lily which one was the best. As always, the raven-haired girl was all scowl and utter focus on whatever she was writing. The Stiff!

Jean had already been dreaming about her own Spring Dance and her date since she was still fifteen and a "chubby" girl - oh, she hated that stage of her teen life; those were the dark days. Looking down at herself now, she thought that she was passed that stage but, oh boy, she was still chubby - she lost almost thirty pounds last summer and still she looked the same.

The Spring Dance, she mused. She had it all figured out - she would be wearing a stunning dress with a princess tiara on her pretty red head; the sexy "fuck me" heels she got as a birthday present from Lily were a must wear, and her boyfriend's hot wheels parked outside her house; he would be impatiently waiting for her - who could patiently wait for her when she would be so freaking-tastic gorgeous that night? So, bring it on, baby. Wait! Not to forget, the butterflies in her belly, the sparks between her and her prince charming, and the sweet anticipation of a lovely night of kisses and fun would be all over the air too on that spring night.

She simply couldn't wait for the Spring Dance. Damn the four months.

Now, inside the Bugle's office where it was all scattered paper stacks here and there, Duncan's messed up and bloody calendar and the old clock hanged on the wall, and Lily's nonstop blabbering about deadlines, company names, and pictures, she closed her eyes and her thoughts drifted to the night of the Spring Dance. She could already imagine that her boyfriend's car smelled good, like sexy good, and that his lips when he leaned in to kiss her were both pure pleasure and forbidden on her lips. His lips were warm yet wet - she could also feel his tongue searching for and dancing with hers, asking for more.