The Date Auction

Chapter 1: Preparations

My phone jangled noisily on my nightstand. It's Saturday, why did I set an alarm? I wondered as I swiped past the smiling photo of me and Jake at Lake Tahoe.

REMINDER:, I'd written to myself in enormous capital letters, DATE AUCTION TONIGHT.

Oh no oh no oh no! I screamed internally. I was so nervous at the idea of being onstage at my sorority's annual date auction, but all of our sophomores had to do it - half the funds went to Preventative Plastic Surgery for Children of Ugly Parents (our charity of choice), and the other half went to our social fund. I tried to breathe slowly and calm myself down. It's okay, Madison. You'll go up there, get maybe one or two pity bids, and then Jake will outbid them all as a grand romantic gesture.

I got out of bed only to trip immediately over a hardcover edition of Pride and Prejudice I'd left next to my bed after an anxiety re-read last night. Why I am so messy and clumsy when all the other girls are neat and graceful? I sighed, going through my morning routine as I looked at my straight brown hair and plain face in the mirror. My sister Reagan got all the beauty in the family, I could almost hear my estranged mother say.

No! I wasn't going to think about my family drama today. I needed to meet up at the sorority house right away if I was going to be ready in time! On the way over I called Jake just to make sure everything was in place.

"Hey, babe!" he answered, his deep voice as reassuring as his bland heterosexuality. "You ready to dazzle the world tonight?"

"I'm so nervous!" I said

"Nonsense!" he said, "I'm the one that should be nervous! A girl like you, up on stage, where anyone could buy a date with you? I'll be lucky if I'm not bankrupt by the end of the night!"

"Thanks, babe." I said, but I couldn't control my nervousness. Last year someone had bid three hundred dollars for a date with Eleanor Bradlington, AKA the hottest blonde on campus. I'd seen my friend Courtney only get a forty dollar bid and that nightmare scenario had haunted me over this past year. Even Jake and I making it serious didn't mean I wouldn't be embarrassed. Another nightmare: only my boyfriend wanting to pay to go on a date with me.

I was so distracted by my call I didn't even notice when I made it to the sorority house. Courtney rushed out and gave me a huge hug.

"Hey Mads," she nearly yelled as she gripped my shoulders to give me a once over, "did you even put on makeup today?"

"You know I don't wear makeup," I reminded her.

"You don't normally wear makeup," Courtney declared, "But today, you will, and you'll be gorgeous, I'll stake my reputation on it!"

Courtney, after her disastrous run last year, had gotten really into makeup and had a growing career as a youtube makeup artist. If anyone could make me look good, it was her. We quickly ascended to her room and she went to work.

"You know," she commented after about twenty straight minutes of shuffling through various palettes, "You're so hard to pick for, since your skin is just so perfect already."

Before I could protest, I was interrupted by a haughty voice outside the door, "You simply have to put me last on the list. People want to see me and we know nobody interesting shows up to parties on time."

"Sorry about that," Courtney said. "Eleanor's been upset all afternoon that we were going to do the list alphabetically. She thinks we should end the night with her as the final spectacle."

"Eleanor's in the auction?" I gasped with an audible squeak, "but she's not a sophomore!"

"Any sister can join." Courtney explained. "Besides, she's our biggest earner, and you know she wants to show off."

Tonight really was going to be a nightmare!