Dear Diary

Chapter 73

The only thing any of the senior students could focus on once we returned to school was the fact that the dance was this coming Friday. The hall had been closed off so that no-one could peak inside to look at the decorations, but it still somehow slipped out that it was an underwater theme. 

At least it wasn't as cliché as a masquerade ball.

The teachers, on the other hand, were having a very rough time trying to get the students to pay attention to them, but by Wednesday they had all eventually given up, including Mrs Eley. This is where I found myself in English on Wednesday afternoon, discussing plans with Amy while Mrs Eley marked projects.

"Come on, please tell me your dress design," I begged.

Amy sighed and gestured for me to lean closer. "Okay, I wanted it to be a surprise, but I'll show you," she whispered. 

I nodded and moved to sit right next to her while she grabbed a pencil and paper. As she explained it to me, I felt my eyes widen slightly in shock.

"So, what do you think?" she asked and I frowned.

"It's ... a little revealing, don't you think?" I asked indecisive as I looked at the design then at her. 

I get that girls wear very open dresses, but Amy never struck me as that kind of girl. If anything, she was more conservative than me.

Amy's dress was two colours: the skirt burgundy, the top nude. The skirt had an above mid-thigh slit and slight train, while the top was a halter neck, revealing her whole back, and because of the nude colour, the built-in bra would be very visible.

What made it even worse were the clear stones that would go on the straps of the halter neck, which started by a sweet-heart neckline to expose a bit of her chest, and this emphasised the revealed skin a lot.

"It's not that bad," Amy muttered and I gave a very hesitant nod.

Amy slowly put the drawing away before pulling out some work to do. I frowned when her whole demeanour seemed to change, closed off almost, like something was bothering her. I was about to ask her what was wrong when a tap on my shoulder stopped me.

I turned to look at Richard. "Hey, so what are the plans for Friday?" he asked.

"Well," I glanced at Amy to see her nose buried in a poetry textbook. "I was thinking of getting ready at my house and then go to Tyler's."

Amy looked up. "I thought we were all going to meet by my house. The garden looks really nice now."

I was about to agree when I suddenly remembered one very important detail: Amy's dog. 

"No, I can't go there," I immediately said.

"Why not?"

I paused. "Well, you know how Hazel is around people and ... the fabric of my dress is really absorbent."

"Oh," Amy replied briskly and turned back to her textbook.

I gave Richard a baffled look and he shrugged his shoulders. Cole had silently been watching us the whole time.

"So, what were you thinking?" Richard asked.

"I wanted Tyler, Amy and I to have a few pictures together. It's not every day you have three closely-related cousins in the same grade."

"And where do you want to take them?"

"I was hoping at Tyler's house." 

The house used to belong to our gran and Tyler's dad inherited it. It was a nice big house that could accommodate a lot of guests, because it would not only be Tyler, Amy, and my family but also our date's families too.

"I can't," Amy said and I looked at her. "The vehicle we hired won't allow me anywhere else other than from my house to the school."

"Oh, okay that makes sense," I replied with a nod of my head.

"Hey, Amy, who's your partner?" Richard asked and my eyes widened, realising I never told him.

"It's Cole," Amy replied, giving a shy smile.

Richard spluttered as he looked at her shocked before glancing at Cole, then back at her. But before he could respond the bell rang, signalling the end of the day. Amy immediately stood and packed up her things, giving a soft 'goodbye' before quickly walking out the classroom.

I packed up my things and thought about waiting for Cole to finish so we could walk to tutoring together, but Richard was already urging me out the door. I had no choice but to follow.

"When did this happen?" Richard asked wide-eyed.

"What?" I asked as I adjusted my bag on my back.

"Cole and Amy?"

The tone Richard used made me pause, as well as get slightly defensive. "They're not dating," I said, silently hoping that Cole would have told me if such a thing did happen ... I think.

"And that tone?" Richard asked with a raised eyebrow.

I cleared my throat. "Well, you know, Cole doesn't really look like Amy's type ..."

"So, then why did he ask her?" Richard countered.

I frowned, not knowing the answer. Cole never gave me the reason for that, which could only mean that he probably likes Amy and was a bit shy to say it outright. I felt my heart grow heavy at the thought, as it did every time I thought of him being together with someone else.

"I don't know," I muttered as we walked.

Richard sighed. "Well, maybe it's for the best that Amy can't go to Tyler's house. Your mom would probably flip if she saw Cole."

I nodded with a slight chuckle. "I guess you're right about that."

But despite the momentary light chatter, I couldn't help but get an uneasy feeling when I thought about how strangely Amy had just acted.