Mistakes

by A. M. Hayward

  “What has you so amused?” he said giving me a smirk.

  “Nothing, nothing at all.” I laughed as he raised one eyebrow. “What’s up?”

  “Coach put on an extra practice this afternoon,” he said looking a little annoyed.

  “Oh, I see how it is,” I said laughing, “It’s fine.”

  “Maddy, I—” he ducked his head and seemed to be struggling to find his words.

  I interrupted him so that he would know I was only joking. “It’s all good, Tim. I’ll see you in study hall. I have to get to class,” I said pointing to the door in front of us.

  “Sure, sure. I’ll catch up with you later, okay?”

  “No problem, enjoy practice,” I said over my shoulder, rushing into the room.

  “Miss Turner, how nice of you to join us.” Mr. Campbel scowled at me as I took my seat.

  Whoever had the idea of putting two math classes on in one afternoon should be shot. This was my idea of hell, not because I was bad at math, but two lessons back to back in my view was the worst class of the day.

  Putting my elbow on the desk and leaning my head on my hand, I sighed, turned, and tried to pay attention to Mr. Campbel. This afternoon was going to drag.

  I could barely focus on the road ahead as my thoughts continued to race back to the idea of going to the débutante ball. This was huge! I had always wanted to be a part of a coming-out party for the daughters of the rich and famous. It sounded silly and childish, but it always reminded me of Cinderella—the beautiful girls descending the stairs to meet all of the eligible bachelors.

  Like many girls my age, I secretly dreamed that I would someday meet my Prince Charming and that he would sweep me off my feet. It wasn’t that I was miserable, but it just seemed to me that the wealthy kids at my school had it so much easier.Surely their parents never fought over the electricity bill or the rising price of gas. Just once I wanted to experience going to a mall and not having to find the clearance section, butI accepted the fact that being a part of that society was just not in the cards for me.

  Being able to go to a ball was going to be a chance of a lifetime. It would be thrilling to know that for one night, I would be a small part of the glamorous life. I was glad that I didn’t have much time to stress about the usual girly things, such as the perfect dress or the perfect hairstyle. I would have to settle for what I could come up with from my own closet.

  The biggest problem of this whole affair was getting past Mom and Dad. They were always leery of the people from the upper crust. Since I was little, Dad had always said, “Money can’t buy happiness, but it can sure buy your way out of a problem.” He’d seen far too many rich kids get away with things that would have landed most people behind bars. Like Dad, Mom was forever telling stories about how spoiled and bratty the kids were at our school. They had little or no respect for authority and felt that a mere teacher was beneath their social status.Most days she hated her job, but it helped pay the bills and allowed me a top-notch education, so she and Dad put up with it.

  Still, I wouldn’t let all of their negative characterizations keep me from being excited about the ball. My parents would never let me go if they thought for one second I could be seduced into thinking I belonged in that crowd. I knew my place, but it didn’t stop me from dreaming.

  Just as I rounded the corner to my house, I noticed Aimee’s car. How had she beaten me home? As I got closer, I noticed that she was pulling out bags from the trunk.

  I pulled up and jumped out. “So, have you decided to run away again?”

  “Very funny! It was just that one time, and I’m much more mature now. Next time, I’ll leave with Mommy’s credit card,” she said with a giggle.”How was your afternoon?”

  “Aimee, that was only about three weeks ago. What was it again? Oh, yeah. Your mom didn’t understand your need to become a vegetarian,”I said with a smile, “My afternoon sucked, Mr Campbel made math class even more horrendous by surprising us with a pop quiz! I am sure these teachers live to torture us,” I said rolling my eyes.

  “I think it is their life’s mission to be honest. That’s what you will learn in college if you want to be one, Maddy. How to torture students and make their life a misery,” she said dramatically, then pointed her finger at me. “And, if you’re going to make fun of me about my vegetarianism, I’ll take my dresses and go home,” she said in a huff.

  “Dresses? What are you talking about? I already have a lot to choose from. And by the way, how did you get here so quickly with all of that?” I replied. I didn’t want to start a fight, but sometimes Aimee made me feel like my family was two steps away from being on welfare. She didn’t mean to come off as offensive, but I could certainly find something to wear without her charity.

  “Hey,” she exclaimed, “I didn’t mean to offend you. I was only trying to help. And in answer to your question, I ditched last period. It was only art,” she shrugged. “What were you planning on wearing anyway?”

  I shook my head and made a mental inventory of all the items in my closet. “You want to come in and see what I have? It’s been a while since I’ve had a reason to dress up for anything, but I’m sure I have something that would work.”

  Aimee nodded as we made our way to the garage door beforeI stopped and turned to her. “Don’t say anything to my parents about the party just yet. I’m going to tell them, but I need to do it when they’re both in a good mood.”

  “Yeah, I get it. I have parents too, you know, even if they are divorced, and I’ve gotten good at mastering the art of manipulation.” I was glad there was no longer any tension. Aimee wasn’t much fun when she was in a bad mood.

  As we climbed the stairs, I remembered that Mom had a staff meeting today, and I was relieved. She would have seen us with all the dresses and asked a bunch of awkward questions. Aimee plopped herself on my bed, while I went to my closet.

  “So, when is that hunk of a brother of yours coming home?” she said with raised eyebrows, leaning back and crossing her legs.

  “Oh, real subtle.” I rolled my eyes. “Have you smelled Zane’s room?” I said in horror. “He’s totally gross! I’m so glad you’re training to be an actress.”

  “Uh huh, and why might that be, dear Maddy?”

  “Because you’ll need to be an academy award winner to pretend you aren’t completely disgusted by what a pig he is,” I said in disgust, not understanding her obsession. I could love him with all his revolting, brotherly faults, but I couldn’t imagine Aimee sitting in his dirty room. She was used to the finer things, and she would never understand. I rarely ventured in there, so I couldn’t imagine that Aimee would last five minutes. “His room was condemned by the board of health. God knows what you might catch.”

  Aimee completely ignored me. “So? When is he coming home?”

  “No idea. I’m guessing for my graduation,” I said with a shrug. “But it’ll probably be brief. He has football camp or something he has to attend for fitness training over the summer.”

  That was the end of Aimee. She got the look that told me she was thinking hard, and I went back to my closet. I didn’t even want to imagine what was going on in her mind.

  As I trailed my fingers along the tops of the clothes, I finally spotted something perfect. I’d worn the dress for the wedding of my cousin Denise’s. It was long and dark blue with a slit up the side. I remembered feeling very pretty in it. This was going to be good. I turned around to show Aimee, who got a horrified look on her face.

  “What is that?” she screeched.

  “It’s a dress. The one I intend to wear,” I said with an air of defiance. Then I gave her a look that screamed, “Don’t you dare saying anything.”

  Aimee was visibly trying to control her emotions. “Well, go try it on. Maybe it looks better on you than on the hanger.”

  Stomping into the
bathroom, I yelled, “You know, I wore this to my cousin’s wedding, and she said it was the type of dress I could wear again! I think it looks fine!”

  Aimee returned with, “Maddy, they always say that shit about bridesmaid dresses. Trust me; no one ever wears them again.”

  I was determined to prove her wrong as I flung open the door and swaggered around the room like a top model. “See…not bad.”

  She looked me over as if I was a piece of meat. “What?” I finally yelled at her.

  She came over to me, tugging it at the hips and gathering it at the chest. “Maddy, how old were you when you first wore this dress?”

  I shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess about sixteen. Why? It still fits…,” I said, as I looked backwards into the full-length mirror that hung behind my door. That’s when I saw it—my ass. The material was stretched as far as it could go. My hips had taken over the dress.

  Tears stung my eyes. She was right. I didn’t have a dress to wear. Aimee must have seen the devastation on my face, because she came to my rescue with. “Well, at least you grew into a nice ass.”

  We both had a loud round of giggles as I sniffed through my now runny nose. “So, that’s it. I’m not going. No point in even asking my parents.” I sat down on the bed in a huff, and to my humiliation, we both heard a loud ripping sound.

  This brought on a fresh round of hysterics, and thenAimee finally contained herself enough to say, “Of course you’re going.It isn’t as if I don’t have a bagful of dresses downstairs that would be perfect for you. Now quit being the poor pitiful me that you so love to play and help me pick out the perfect one for you.”

  I was still unsure about borrowing one of her dresses. What if one of the people at the party recognized it as one that she’d had already worn? I would be mortified. Reluctantly, I followed her downstairs, but I was still hesitant about grabbing the bags of clothes. “This just feels weird. Maybe my parents are right, and I don’t belong at one of these parties. I’m going to feel out of place all night.”

  Aimee hugged me. “You’ve always had a thing for that stupid Cinder-girl story. Right?” I didn’t see where she was going with this, but I nodded anyway. “Just think of me as your fairy godmother getting you ready for the ball.”

  I stood back and laughed. “You really are on crack, aren’t you?” We gathered the bags and headed back up the stairs. Halfway up I stopped abruptly and turned to face Aimee, who bumped into me. She glared at me and said, “What the hell? Are you trying to kill me?”

  “I was just thinking. Look at you.” I pointed to her long, lean body. “And look at me.” I gestured toward myself. “How am I going to fit into one of your dresses?”

  Aimee blushed and ducked her head, “Well, I kind of borrowed these,” she whispered.

  “Borrowed?” I replied. “What does that mean? From whom?” I was completely mortified at this point. I could only imagine where she’d gotten these dresses.

  When she looked back up at me, I could see a renewed determination. “Look, I knew you were going to have a cow, so I told you they were mine. I’m sorry I lied, but seriously, there was no way I would have even gotten these into your house if you knew what I did to get them.”

  I was completely confused. “Aimee, did you steal them?” As soon as the words left my mouth, I realized how ridiculous that sounded. Her laughter rang through the hall.

  “Oh, please. Do you really think I would need to steal anything? Let’s just go up to your room, and I’ll tell you exactly where I got the damn dresses.”

  I was too curious now to argue, so we went back to my bedroom, and I closed the door as she laid the dresses on my bed. “Okay, so talk,” I said.

  “It’s really no big deal. My mom knows some designers in the area. I called them to see if they had any dresses on-hand that would meet our specifications. They said they would send them over if I could be home to meet her by two-thirty today, so I went home and picked them up,” she replied as she continued to spread the dresses over my bed.

  My mouth hung open. “There’s no way I can pay for a designer dress of my own. What were you thinking?”

  Aimee came over and placed her hands on my arms. “Breathe, Maddy. It’s not like that. You’re just going to wear the dress and then give it back. Think of it kind of like a marketing strategy. They get a beautiful girl to wear one of their designs to a high-profile event, their name gets out there, and they get new orders. It’s a win-win situation for everyone, plus it doesn’t hurt that my mom is a good customer,” she said, smiling with a shrug of her shoulders as if this wasn’t a big deal.

  Still not understanding, I asked, “If it’s so great, why didn’t you tell me about it in the first place?”

  “I knew you would overreact, just like you’re doing now. I promise, you’ll be doing them a huge favor by wearing one of these, and you’ll be the belle of the ball doing it,” she added with a smile.

  When I thought about it, I decided that maybe it wouldn’t be that bad. It didn’t hurt that the dresses were all completely amazing.

  We spent the next thirty minutes trying on each of the dresses until we found the perfect one. It fit, most importantly. Plus, the color looked good on me. I loved blue, and best of all, it made me feel beautiful and really brought out the blue in my eyes. “Thank you so much, Aimee,” I said as I looked at my reflection.

  “Seriously, don’t mention it. Isn’t that what friends are for?” she teased.

  “You sure your mom won’t mind?” I asked, still a little apprehensive.

  “She’ll never know, Maddy.” Aimee gave me her little evil smirk. This whole thing still made me nervous, but I was just going to have to get over it.

  It was right at that moment when we heard the front door open and close. “Hello, honey. Did you have a good day?” Mom yelled from the kitchen.

  Aimee immediately unzipped my dress. “I guess there’s no time like the present. Will you stay with me while I ask? I might need your help making them believe our plan.”

  “Sure. You know, we don’t really have to lie. We could use this for the paper. It might be fun. We could talk about who was there and what they were wearing,” Aimee said as she got that faraway look in her eyes again. She was dead-set on becoming famous, and even the thought of having her name printed in our high school paper made her giddy.

  “Whatever you say. Let’s just make this as believable as we can. Come on,” I said, as I headed down the stairs.

  My mom was in the kitchen trying to decide what to make for dinner. “Oh, hello, Aimee. I thought that was your car in the driveway. Are you staying for dinner?”

  Aimee smiled and grabbed a cookie from the jar sitting on the table. I loved that while she really cared about her appearance and the whole model thing, she could just eat a cookie without thinking about it, whereas I had to refrain, fearing it would go straight to my already ample ass.

  “No, but thanks, Mrs. Turner. I can’t stay. Mom has the tailor coming over for my final fitting for the Débutante Ball on Saturday.”

  She eyed me pointedly as if she’d just laid out the perfect opening, and I motioned for her to relax. I knew my parents well. You couldn’t just spring this sort of thing on them. I needed to work up to it slowly.

  “So, Mom, how was your day? Any of the hooligans giving you trouble?” I asked sweetly as I gave her a kiss on the cheek.

  She stopped her search and gave me a look. “What do you want? That was way too nice. You’re up to something.”

  Moms were good like that. They always knew when you were hiding something. “Okay,” I began, “On Saturday, Aimee’s covering a story about the Richland Débutante Ball for the school paper, and she needs me to take pictures. Would it be okay if I go?”

  Dad had just come in from the living room and heard me ask the question.

  “M
addy, you know how we feel about all that high society stuff. We don’t want you going and getting upset. Those people can be very rude to those they feel don’t belong.”

  I was suddenly pissed off. Why couldn’t I belong? I was sick of all this crap. “Dad, just because some of them have been ugly to you and Mom over the years, doesn’t mean they’ll be that way to me. I want to go. Have you ever thought that your prejudices against them are just as bad as the way they’ve treated you? What happened to second chances?”

  “Good Lord, Maddy. Second chances? These people don’t give one iota about you or me. They would just as easily run us over in the street as stop and say hello. We don’t belong in their world, and they don’t want us there,” Dad huffed.

  “Mom, please! You have to see how unfair this is. It’s not like I’m going as a guest. I’m going to work, and I’ll have something extra to put on all those scholarship applications,” I begged, looking with pleading eyes to Aimee. I couldn’t believe they were saying this in front of her. I was so embarrassed.

  “Mr. and Mrs. Turner, I know you have strong feelings about this, but I promise to look out for Maddy. We’ll have a good time, and she would really be doing me a favor.”

  My parents shared a long look that must have held all the secrets of parenthood. The next thing I knew, they agreed. Mom sighed and said, “All right, you can go, but you must stay with Aimee all night, and I’m going to call Mrs. Lancaster to ask her more about this. Oh, and Maddy?Don’t get any fantasy ideas about some prince coming to take you away. I don’t want to see you hurt.”

  I had to cover my surprise. “What am I, five? I know better than to believe in that kind of stuff,” I said, choking on my own words. Of course that’s exactly what I’d been thinking earlier, but I would never let my parents know that. Besides, I knew that no one at the party would be looking at me. I glanced overat Aimee and couldn’t contain my excitement. We both clapped our hands excitedly and then shared a brief hug. She stepped back with a suddenly serious face.