“Do you think they’ll win?” Will asked.
Natalie shrugged. “I don’t know.”
“Claudia might find herself facing a little competition,” Jennifer said.
“From who?” Tom asked.
“Us!” Jennifer snuggled up to Will. “Of course, we still have to wait and see if we get nominated.”
“If I were you, I wouldn’t underestimate the competition,” Tom said. “A lot of couples submitted essays and most of them have been together a lot longer than you and Will. Claudia and Chase have been together since freshman year. You two just started dating.”
“You and Natalie haven’t been a couple very long, either,” Will said.
“I didn’t submit an essay,” Natalie said. “It never even occurred to me. Maybe it’s because subconsciously I knew Claudia wouldn’t like us competing against her.”
Jennifer noticed that Tom wanted to say something, but he didn’t. Was he mad that Natalie hadn’t submitted an essay because she was afraid of Claudia?
“Well, Claudia is going to have some competition if she and Chase get nominated,” Jennifer said. “They’re going to be up against four other couples. I guess we’re just going to have to wait until Monday to see who gets nominated and then let the voting begin.”
Jennifer hated working on Saturday mornings.
The last place she wanted to be was at DeVille’s. She’d rather be home in her pj’s in front of the TV, watching cartoons and eating a nice sugary bowl of cereal the way she used to when she was younger. Instead, she was standing behind a cash register at the crack of 10 A.M.
Jennifer yawned as she stared around her empty department. She hated working in Bridal. The customers were so demanding. When she’d first been assigned to the department, she’d been thrilled, thinking she’d be working with happy brides-to-be. Wrong! Most of the women she dealt with were spoiled, demanding, whiny, and just not nice! They seemed to think because they were going to be a BRIDE that they could do or say whatever they wanted. Jennifer got the whole “I want my wedding day to be perfect” thing, but these women were out of control. In her opinion, that TV show Bridezillas should come to DeVille’s and hide a secret video camera. They’d have enough material for at least a year’s worth of episodes.
Jennifer began flipping through a bridal magazine. Even though she had told Will she didn’t want a wedding, she couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like to wear one of these gowns.
Thinking of Will reminded her of the night before. After finishing at the diner, he had started walking her home when his cell phone rang. It was his mother, calling in a panic because his father was out of town and one of the pipes in their basement had burst. Water was gushing everywhere and she didn’t know what to do. Will promised to get home right away. When he got off the phone, Jennifer told him she could walk home by herself.
“Are you sure?” he had asked.
“Go,” she had insisted. “Your mom needs you. We’ll talk tomorrow.”
After he left, Jennifer wondered what would have happened if Will had walked her home. Would he have given her a kiss good night? She hadn’t been expecting a full-on-the-lips-end-of-a-date kind of kiss. But maybe a quick peck on the cheek?
The bell in front of Jennifer’s cash register clanged, startling her from her thoughts. She looked up from the magazine and saw she had a customer.
It was Claudia. What was she doing in the bridal department?
“We’d like some service here!” Claudia snapped. “I’m sure DeVille’s isn’t paying you to read magazines!”
Jennifer closed the magazine and gave Claudia her most professional smile. “How can I help you?”
Claudia pointed to a young woman flipping through a book of wedding invitations. “That’s my sister Pam. She’s getting married in October.”
Jennifer walked out from behind the register, bringing along one of the folders they used for registering new brides. “Good morning,” she said. “See anything you like?”
Pam curled her lip in a way that was similar to Claudia’s. The two could have been identical twins, they looked so much alike. The only difference between them was the huge engagement ring on Pam’s finger.
“Are you in charge?” Pam asked.
“No, I’m not.”
“Where’s your boss?”
“Mrs. Hudson won’t be in until twelve o’clock.”
Pam slammed shut the invitation book. “I don’t do assistants.”
“Pam doesn’t do assistants,” Claudia repeated.
Jennifer kept a smile on her face, reminding herself that the customer was always right. “While Mrs. Hudson has more experience than me, perhaps I can show you a few things, and if you have any questions, she can answer them.”
Pam checked the time on her watch. Jennifer couldn’t help but notice it was gold and decorated with diamonds. “As long as we’re here, we might as well,” Pam huffed, plopping herself down on a couch. She snapped her fingers. “Show us some wedding gowns.”
“And make it fast!” Claudia added with a snap of her own as she sat next to her sister.
Jennifer went into the back and found the most expensive wedding gowns they had. She had a feeling Pam wasn’t going to want to see anything cheap. When she brought the gowns out, she displayed them one at a time, explaining all the special touches. Each time she finished her explanation, Pam and Claudia would make a face. They kept doing the same thing until Jennifer ran out of wedding gowns.
“These all look cheap and tacky,” Pam said. “Doesn’t DeVille’s carry any designer gowns?”
Jennifer peeked at the price tags of the gowns she had brought out. Most of them were at least a thousand dollars. How much more expensive did she want?
Pam turned to Claudia. “We should have gone to Vera Wang.”
Vera Wang! Jennifer knew those wedding gowns cost thousands and thousands of dollars. Spending that much on a dress you were only going to wear for one day was crazy!
“What kind of fabric do you have for bridesmaid gowns?” Pam asked.
After returning the wedding gowns to the back, Jennifer brought out a fabric book filled with all sorts of colors. Pam quickly flipped through the cloth pages, vetoing all of Jennifer’s suggestions.
“My bridesmaids can’t look prettier than me,” Pam said. “We need to find a color that’s going to make them look washed out.”
“With the exception of me, of course,” Claudia added.
“Claudia is going to be my maid of honor,” Pam told Jennifer. “So her dress will be different from theirs.”
“How about pea green?” Claudia suggested.
“I was thinking more of a watery lemon.”
“We could have them wear black!” Claudia exclaimed.
“Are you getting married on Halloween?” Jennifer asked.
“No,” Pam said. “October twenty-fourth. Why?”
Jennifer shrugged. “Just wondering. Halloween is on a Saturday this year and we’ve had lots of brides with that date come in.” Plus, it seems like the perfect date for a witch like you.
Pam got off the couch. “Let’s go, Claudia. I don’t know why Mother insisted we come here. It’s obvious I’m going to need to do all this in Manhattan.”
Without even a thank you for all her help, Pam walked away from Jennifer.
“Still coming to my party tonight?” Claudia asked before following after her sister.
“I wouldn’t miss it.”
“And you’re bringing your boyfriend, right?”
Jennifer could see the way Claudia was studying her. Like she was waiting to hear some sort of excuse. “Who else would I bring?”
“I can’t wait to meet him.”
“He’s dying to meet you, too.”
“Really?”
“I’ve told him all about you.” Every nasty, horrible thing you’ve ever done.
“Pam’s going to buy me a new outfit for my party.” Claudia pointed to a mannequin across the aisle i
n the designer dress department. “That one. She works in PR in New York, so she knows what’s hot and what’s not.”
“I’m getting a new outfit, too.”
“Is Old Navy having a sale?” Claudia snickered.
Jennifer could feel her temper rising. She hated the way Claudia was always putting her down. Just once, she’d like to leave her speechless. Before she could stop herself, Jennifer pointed to another mannequin in the designer dress department. “That’s the outfit I’m buying.”
Claudia walked over to the mannequin and checked the price tag on the dress. “Expensive.”
Jennifer joined Claudia and peeked at the price. She gulped. The dress was five hundred dollars! She didn’t have that kind of money. Even with her store discount, she still couldn’t afford the dress.
Claudia stared closely at Jennifer. “What’s the matter, Jen? You’ve suddenly gone pale.”
Jennifer pointed up at the ceiling. “It’s the fluorescent lighting. It washes you out.”
“Uh-huh. Sure it’s not the price of the dress? It’s five hundred dollars. Not fifty. There’s an extra zero.”
“I can afford it,” Jennifer confidently said, even though she didn’t feel it.
“How fab! I can’t wait to see you in it.” Claudia found her dress on a rack and headed over to the cash register. “Bye!”
Jennifer watched Claudia and Pam pay for the dress. As soon as they stepped into an elevator and were gone, Jennifer whipped out her cell phone and called Violet.
“Come on! Answer!” she pleaded with the ringing phone.
Finally, she heard a click, followed by, “Mmghgramhh.”
“Violet, wake up. Wake up!”
“Huh? What?” a sleepy voice asked. “Who is it?”
“Jennifer! I need your help.”
“What’s up?”
“I did it again.”
“Did what?”
“Opened my big mouth and lied.”
Violet sighed. “Let me guess. Claudia?”
“Who else?”
“What happened this time?”
Jennifer told Violet the entire story. “What am I going to do? I can’t afford five hundred dollars.”
Violet yawned. “Here’s an easy solution. Wear something else.”
“I can’t! She thinks I’m not going to show up in that dress and I have to!”
“Okay, calm down. Let me think about this.”
There was silence on the other end of the line.
“Are you still there?” a panicked Jennifer asked.
“Yes! Give me a minute. I just woke up. And you cheated me out of a great dream. I was on a date with the Jonas Brothers and they were all fighting over me!”
“Sorry.”
“You so owe me!” Violet was quiet for a couple of minutes. Then she said, “I have an idea. But it’s risky.”
“What? What? I’ll do anything.”
“You still have that emergency credit card your parents gave you, right?”
“Yes.”
“Charge the dress on the card but don’t take off the tags. You wear the dress tonight and then return it tomorrow. No one will be the wiser. Especially if you snatch the credit card bill before your parents see it!”
Jennifer’s body sagged with relief. “Violet, you’re a genius! Why didn’t I think of that?”
“Because you’re not a genius. Now if you don’t mind, I want to go back to sleep. I’ll talk to you later.”
After getting off the phone with Violet, Jennifer found the dress in her size and hurried to the nearest cash register. She needed to get back to her own register before someone noticed she was gone. As she did, she stopped in her tracks and groaned.
Could her day get any worse?
Mindy Yee was walking her way.
Jennifer looked for a dressing room to duck into, but they were all taken.
“Jennifer!” Mindy called out when she spotted her.
There was no avoiding it. “Mindy!” Jennifer exclaimed with a smile. “Hi!”
“Girl, we need to talk!”
“About what?”
Mindy playfully swatted Jennifer on the arm. “Don’t pretend with me! You know what! You have to tell me all about this Mystery Guy of yours!”
“If I told you, he wouldn’t be a mystery anymore, now would he?”
“So he does exist? Rumor has it that you made him up.”
I can just imagine who told you that rumor, Jennifer thought. And I’m sure you’re the one who’s been spreading it, since you’re the biggest gossip at North Ridge High.
“He exists,” Jennifer said. “Natalie Bauer got to meet him last night.”
“She did?”
“Yes, but I swore her to secrecy.”
Luckily, Natalie had agreed not to let the cat out of the bag. And although The Burger Hut had been packed, there hadn’t been anyone else she’d recognized from school. Claudia was still in the dark and she planned on keeping it that way until tonight.
“So you’re bringing him to Claudia’s party?”
“Yes. You can meet him there.”
“Can’t wait!”
Jennifer decided to deflect Mindy’s attention off her. She pointed to the stack of clothes tossed over Mindy’s arm. If there was one thing Mindy loved talking about, it was herself. “Doing a little shopping?”
“I’m celebrating!” Mindy exclaimed. “My father’s restaurants are going national! You know, like McDonald’s or Burger King!”
Jennifer knew Mindy’s father owned a chain of upscale Chinese restaurants called House of Yee. They made the best egg rolls in town.
“That’s great.”
“I told Daddy we’re going to need a catchphrase, and we should say our food is Yeelicious. What do you think?”
Yeeucky! Jennifer thought.
“There might even be commercials!” Mindy added. “Can you imagine me on TV?”
Jennifer wished Mindy was on TV right now. She’d aim the remote control at her and turn her off.
“I’d love to chat some more, but I’ve got to pay for this dress and get back to my department,” Jennifer said, walking around Mindy to the cash register and placing the dress on the counter.
Mindy peeked at Jennifer’s dress. “I love it! I’ve got the same one in three different colors. Don’t you love shopping here?”
If I could afford it, I would, Jennifer thought, trying not to cringe as the cashier rang up her dress and swiped her credit card.
Natalie’s neighborhood video store always had the best DVDs. They had a wide variety of films and she always managed to find something to take home. Usually, she rented old black-and-white romantic comedies because she loved the witty dialogue and screwball antics. Today she had found six movies she wanted to see, including It Happened One Night, which was from the 1930s.
Natalie wished Tom felt the same way about the movies she liked, but he didn’t. He liked watching movies that had car chases and tons of explosions. Days after seeing one of those movies, Natalie never remembered anything about the plot. It was usually all a blur. There was never any sort of character development or smart dialogue. It was just another thing that they didn’t have in common. The only reason he’d agreed to see Romancing Rachel last night was that he was trying to make up with her. She’d seen him peeking at his watch more than once during the movie.
When Natalie brought her DVDs to the front of the store, she was surprised to see Leo standing behind the counter.
“Leo!” she exclaimed. “What are you doing here?”
Leo looked just as surprised to see her. “I work here.”
“Since when?”
“I started a week ago.” He reached for the DVD cases Natalie was holding and started swiping the backs of them with a silver wand. “You’re renting a lot of movies.”
“We’re supposed to be getting a big snowstorm this weekend. I figured I’d stock up in case we get snowbound.”
There was an awkward moment of sile
nce after that. It was the first time Natalie was seeing Leo since Thursday night. What happened that night remained unspoken between them. Did she say something? Apologize for Tom’s behavior? She couldn’t pretend it hadn’t happened.
“About the other night,” Natalie began.
Leo waved a hand at her. “You don’t have to say anything.”
“But I feel like I do.”
“Why? It wasn’t your fault. Besides, I’m used to it.”
Hearing those words, Natalie found herself getting angry. “You shouldn’t have to be used to it.”
“Hey, that’s life in high school. There’s a pecking order and I’m on the bottom. You’re at the top. So is Tom.”
“Don’t say that! You make it sound like I’m something special when I’m not.”
“Are you serious?” Leo asked in disbelief, his own anger showing. “Have you looked in a mirror? You’re gorgeous. Not only that, but you’re best friends with two of the most popular girls at North Ridge High and you’re dating one of our star athletes. If this was a game of poker, you’d have the winning hand.”
“And that’s why you think I’m better than everyone else?” Natalie asked. “I’m not! I’m just like you.”
Leo laughed bitterly. “No, you’re not.”
“You don’t know anything about me!” Natalie exploded, hating the way Leo was prejudging her.
“That’s true,” Leo conceded. “I will say that you’re not like the rest of them. You’re nice.”
“Thanks,” she said, feeling less angry although she really had no reason to be angry. Leo was the one who had been wronged.
Leo handed Natalie her DVDs. “All set. I see you’ve checked out Breakfast at Tiffany’s.”
“I’ve seen it around ten times. I love Audrey Hepburn movies.”
“Have you seen Sabrina?”
“Of course!”
“Roman Holiday?”
“Yes.”
“Okay, I’m going to stump you. Wait Until Dark?”
Natalie shook her head. “I’ve never heard of that one.”
“She made it in the late 1960s. It’s a suspense movie. She plays a blind woman who’s being stalked. It’s got some scary moments.”
“What kind of movies do you like to watch?”
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