College Fund

//Ten Children and a Horse//

"Does this skirt make my hips look too wide?" I questioned seriously as I twirled in front of Margaux's full length mirror. I was having a hard time picking out an outfit for my night with Eric. No, it wasn't because I was in love with him like Margaux, Bria and Sage assumed, it was because we were going out in public and I needed to look decent. I wasn't trying to impress him. Not at all.

Okay, maybe I was, a little bit. I just wanted him to be stunned by my beauty, that's all.

The problem was, I didn't have any beauty to stun him with.

"Hmmm," Margaux thought as she examined my outfit with the intensity of a brain surgeon. Apparently, my simple red skirt/white top combination were not going to cut it. She turned away from me and disappeared into her closet. When she returned, she was holding a velvet black dress that I doubted would even cover my butt. "This is much better."

"I have belts that cover more than that." I eyed Margaux disgustedly.

"Don't look at me like that! Just try it on, it stretches," she insisted.

I didn't really believe her, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to try it on if it would make her happy. I slipped the skirt and shirt off and pulled the dress over my head. The velvet material was comfortable, and much to my surprise, my butt was not hanging out. Margaux had been right; the dress did stretch, even if it was still shorter than what I was normally comfortable wearing.

"C'est parfait!" Margaux sighed happily. "Go show Bria."

I walked across the hall to Sage's room where Bria was helping her do her stage makeup. All I'd heard all day from Sage was how excited she was for her show. She'd been running her lines all morning, and I'd barely understood a word, considering it was entirely in French. Nonetheless, I was very excited to watch the play with the English translation of the script Margaux had printed for Eric and I.

I heard Bria's voice before I saw her. "Oh, Will, I've just been having the most amazing time in France. It would be a million times better if you were here though. I miss you a lot." Even if she hadn't mentioned his name, I could have guessed she was talking to Will by the admiring tone in her voice.

Pushing open the door, I entered the room. Sage was sitting by the window in the chair that was normally in front of her desk. Half of her face was covered in a slightly orange foundation. Bria's phone was leaning up against the window sill and was displaying Will's face. Bria herself was staring at Sage's face, lost in concentration, and her hand was holding a sponge covered in foundation.

Sage spotted me first. "Cassidy, that dress looks gorgeous on you!"

"Merci!" I smiled, and did a little twirl, modeling the dress. "Your sister leant it to me."

Bria abandoned her work on Sage's face to judge the dress. "I think it's perfect!" She approved.

"I'm glad, because if I had to try on one other outfit I think I would actually pass out." I rolled my eyes. "Putting on all those clothes is the most exercise I've had in over a month."

"Who's there?" Will's distant voice came through Bria's phone. "What clothes? What exercise?"

I laughed and stepped into the view of the phone's camera. "Hey Will, it's Cassidy."

"She has a hot date tonight!" Bria squealed and ran into view beside me.

"Oh, really?" Will wiggled his eyebrows on screen. "That's pretty exciting. Who's the lucky guy? Maybe Bria and I can join you guys next time and we can double date."

"It's not a date, it's just a casual outing between two friends," I corrected.

"Well, you're not gonna stay 'just friends' if you're wearing that dress."