I stood in the changing room and looked at myself in the mirror. The exact same dress that looked so perfect a couple of minutes ago now looked completely different. Maybe this was why it was called a changing room. Maybe the clothes changed in there.
Then I heard the lady’s voice. “How’s it going in there?” And when I didn’t answer, she tugged the curtains a couple of times and said, “Are you okay?”
Why wouldn’t I be okay? What could go wrong in a changing room?
Then I heard Aunt Lillian’s voice. “Can we see?”
I pulled the curtains to one side. “Oh, that is lovely,” the lady said.
“Maybe we should try on a few more,” Aunt Lillian said. I tried on several dresses that I thought were either nice, very nice or just okay on their hangers. Green, gold, purple, ruffles, straight, short, long. All kinds. And when I put them on, they all looked terrible. Or maybe it was me. Maybe I looked terrible. In any case, when I looked in the mirror all I could see was me wearing something that didn’t fit me right. They looked unfamiliar and alien. And wrong.
“What about this one?”
I looked at the dress Aunt Lillian was holding. It was a long strapless dress in deep red. And it had a wide belt at the waist. It was awful. I decided to try it on anyway. Maybe the dresses that looked ugly in the store would look better once I put them on. It didn’t.
It felt like we had been through all the dresses in the store. Then Aunt Lillian held up a blue dress. The bottom half was wider and in a darker blue than the top half. Even though it was a dress. It looked more like a top and a skirt that were attached to each other. It was pretty. But I couldn’t have a blue dress. Frida had said so.
“Not blue,” I said.
Aunt Lillian looked at the dress and then looked at me. “But you love blue?”
“That was two months ago,” I said.
I was tired of trying on dresses and I wanted to go home and watch TV and have a snack. “Maybe we should go home,” I said.
Aunt Lillian laughed. “Oh, it is way too early to throw in the towel already. There are plenty of other stores to go to.”
We went into three more shops, but they didn’t have a lot of dresses and I didn’t try anything on. In the end I found a dress in two different grey tones that looked okay. And when I tried it on it still looked okay. So we decided to buy it. Sometimes okay is enough.
I was happy that I’d found a dress, but I was even happier that the shopping was over. Now I could go home and relax for the rest of the day. If we left straight away I could catch One Tree Hill reruns on TV.
“Now we need to find shoes,” Aunt Lillian said.
34
Preparations
On the day of the prom I went over to Frida’s house like we had agreed. The prom started at 7 p.m. and Frida said to be at her house at 4 p.m., because then we could take our time getting ready, and have snacks and chat and have fun.
Frida said not to put the dress on until I got to her house or else it would get wrinkled in the car. That didn’t really make sense though, because Frida’s dad was going to drive us to the prom, which would mean the dress would get wrinkled anyway. But I did what she said. It is just easier sometimes.
I put my dress and my tights in a plastic bag and Aunt Lillian drove me over to Frida’s house. At 3.58 p.m. I rang the doorbell and Frida’s mom opened the door. She showed me to the downstairs living room, where Frida, Julie and Norunn were sitting on the very white couch. They were all there already even though the time was only 3.59 p.m. On the table was a bowl of strawberries, a bottle of something that looked like champagne and four long-stemmed glasses.
“Help yourself to cider and strawberries,” Frida’s mom said.
“No! Not yet, Mom,” Frida shouted. “God, I haven’t even taken a photo of it yet.”
“Oh dear, I’m sorry.”
“You can leave now,” Frida said.
Frida’s mom smiled and left the room.
“How are you, Malin?” Frida said.
“I’m okay,” I said.
Frida went and picked up one of those big SLR cameras and started taking pictures of the table. She probably took over ten pictures and she didn’t change the angle or anything. She just kept clicking the button and taking identical pictures over and over again.
Then she opened the cider and poured it into the glasses. The label said Herrljunga Magnum Cider. Alcohol free. Then she put a strawberry in each of the glasses. I reached my hand out to pick one of them up, but Frida stopped me by shouting, “Not yet!” She got the camera out again and started taking a bunch of pictures of this as well.
Frida handed me the camera. “Can you take a picture of us?” The girls each picked up a glass, put one hand on their hips and puckered their lips. I took the picture and lowered the camera.
“You need to take more,” Frida said.
I held up the camera again and pushed the button over and over.
“Now I can take a picture of you,” Frida said. She handed me the fourth glass and took the camera from me. And then she took five or maybe six pictures of me. Then we all sat down on the white couch and we were allowed to drink our cider. It was lukewarm and tasted no different from apple juice.
At 4.16 p.m. Frida said that it was getting late and we needed to hurry up and get ready, so we went into her room to get changed. It was two hours, forty-three minutes and nineteen seconds until the prom started.
Frida’s room was huge. Along one wall there was a white dressing table and above it a big mirror with a golden frame. Around the edge of the mirror there were some photos of herself and her friends. Next to the dressing table was a clothing rack that looked like the ones you would see in a shop and there were different blouses hanging on it. She also had a big closet and a desk and a small couch. On her bed lay three garment bags.
The girls got their dresses out of the bags. Norunn’s dress was in a deep red color and the top half sparkled with silver.
“Oh, I can’t wait to see you in your dress,” Frida said.
“Red really suits you.”
“Yes, and I got the shoes too.” Norunn picked up a pair of shoes by the bed. They were also red with some silver details.
Frida and Julie both squealed and were really excited about that.
Julie’s dress was gold and she also had matching golden shoes and a golden clutch bag. And Norunn and Frida talked about how pretty that one was as well. And how much it would suit her.
Frida let her hands run down her blue dress.
“It is stunning,” Julie said.
“Perfect,” Norunn said.
“I am really excited to wear a Faviana dress for the first time,” Frida said.
Julie turned to me. “Who are you wearing, Malin?” I didn’t know what she meant so I didn’t answer. I took my grey dress out of my bag and held it up for them to see.
“Oh, that one looks super gorgeous,” Frida said.
“It really does,” the others agreed.
“And it is grey so it will make you blend in more,” Julie said. “Then people won’t notice those wide straps, which aren’t really in style at the moment.”
“Perfect,” Norunn said.
We all changed into our dresses. I took my jumper and T-shirt off and pulled the dress on over my head. Then I took my shoes and socks and jeans off and put on my tights before putting my shoes back on. And there I was, all ready. And it was still two hours and eleven minutes until the prom started.
I sat down on the couch and wondered what we were going to do next. Frida sat down in front of the dressing table and picked up a small box and a brush. She opened the lid and dipped the brush and proceeded to apply it to her eyelids, making them blue. “Too much?” she asked.
“No, just enough,” Julie said.
“Perfect,” Norunn said.
<
br /> The other girls squashed together in front of the mirror and went through the same procedure, turning their eyelids the same color as their dresses. After that, they all used these pens to draw lines around their eyes, talking about how they all needed just the right shade to suit their individual needs, even though they all looked the same color to me. They finished off by applying mascara to their lashes and they had a lot of thoughts on this subject too. One of them had a mascara that created an illusion of length and one had a mascara that added volume. Or something. I was very bored.
Just when I thought they were done, they needed to do their hair too. Norunn used a curling iron and turned Frida’s perfect hair into perfect curls while Frida made sure she did it correctly by following a YouTube video on an iPad. After that, Julie and Norunn both put their hair up in tight buns on top of their heads, which made them look like stewardesses.
When they were all done with their hair, Frida texted her mom and asked her to bring us more cider. And then I had to take another picture of them holding their champagne glasses while they were all dressed up.
Afterwards, we went into the living room and Frida’s mom took a photo of Frida standing by the front door. Then she took pictures of Frida and Julie, then Frida and Julie and Norunn, and finally she took some pictures of all four of us.
Frida said, “Just wait until you see the gym, it is so pretty with all the decorations and everything. You are not even going to recognize it.”
Then we all got in the car and headed off for the most memorable night of our lives.
35
Prom
At 6.47 p.m. we walked into the gym of Haasund Lower Secondary School. There were streamers hanging from the wall bars and from the basketball baskets. The entire room had been decorated with blue and silver balloons. By one of the walls was a long table, with a blue tablecloth with silver stars printed on it. On the table there were several bowls of punch and different types of snacks. On each side of the room there were several smaller tables for people to sit at. They all had the same blue tablecloths. In the middle of the room was a huge empty space, which Frida said was the dance floor.
It still looked like the gym though. Only now it had balloons and streamers.
Over by the stage I saw Trude Fjell and Principal Skogen and some of the moms who are always here for these kinds of things. They were the chaperones for the evening.
Apart from them, we were the only ones who had arrived.
Frida said we needed to hang our coats in the locker rooms, but my phone was in the pocket of my coat and I didn’t want to leave it.
Frida looked at me and said in a strict voice, “You have to hang your coat.” I didn’t answer.
“No one wears a coat inside the ballroom. Stop ruining the prom.”
So I went down to the locker room with the girls and hung up my coat. I took my phone out of the pocket and carried it in my hand.
When we came back upstairs, more and more people were arriving. As they walked in, the boys went and sat at tables on the right side of the room, while the girls went to the left side. I didn’t see anyone from the tenth grade. Only kids from my year and the year below us.
One of the tables was still free and Frida led the way over to that one.
When we got closer I saw that it had a sign. It said, Reserved.
We sat down and Frida immediately ordered Julie and Norunn to fetch us drinks and snacks. As they left, Frida turned to me. She nodded towards the table next to ours. “Did you see Marta?” I turned and looked at her. She was wearing a strapless dress in dark green. “Look at that color,” Frida said. “Who would wear a dress like that?”
Norunn and Julie came back. They put four plastic champagne glasses of punch on the table, together with a small bowl of peanuts.
They sat down and Julie said, “We met Camilla over by the snack table. Did you see her dress?” We all turned and looked, but I wasn’t sure who Camilla was.
“Look at those wide straps,” Norunn said. “They are so not in style any more.” They all chuckled.
I crossed my arms over my chest. I wished I had my coat on so I could cover the straps of my dress.
Then the girl who apparently was Camilla made her way over to our table. “Hello,” she said.
Frida got up from her seat and gave her a hug. “I’m glad you could make it,” Frida said. “Oh, and I love your dress.”
“It’s beautiful,” Norunn said.
“Yes.” Julie nodded. “It really is.”
“Thanks, you all look great too,” Camilla said. “Well, I’d better get back to my table.” And she left.
That’s when I noticed Ruben. He was talking to some of his friends over by the snack table. He had a blue suit on. And a bow tie. His hair was slightly messy. But in a good way. He looked happy.
The music started playing, but no one was dancing. Everyone just sat at the tables or stood in groups, eating snacks and drinking punch. Frida and the girls kept commenting on everyone’s outfits.
At 7.51 p.m. I went downstairs to use the toilet. And when I went to wash my hands, Trude walked in.
“Hello, Malin,” Trude said.
“Hello.”
“You look lovely in that dress.”
Trude was wearing a peach skirt suit. According to Frida, only people over sixty wore peach-colored clothes.
I wondered how old Trude was.
“How is your night going?” Trude said.
“Okay,” I said.
“Well, enjoy it. You know, your first prom is something that you will remember for ever.” I wiped my hands and walked out.
On the other side of the door I accidentally bumped into a boy.
“Oh, sorry,” he said. It was Ruben.
I smiled. “Hello.”
Ruben didn’t smile. He said, “Just so you know, I don’t like you either!” And then he walked away. He pushed the door to the boys’ toilet open and left it swinging backwards and forwards after him.
Frida was wrong. Ruben didn’t care if I was wearing a dress.
When I walked back up, Frida was waiting for me at the top of the stairs.
“Did you vote yet?” she said.
“What?”
“Did you vote yet? For prom queen?”
“No.”
“Well, now is a good time to do it, isn’t it?” I shrugged. “I guess.”
She looked at me. “I think we both know who you will be voting for.”
She didn’t blink.
“You owe me that much,” she said.
The voting took place in the room where we keep all the sports equipment. Someone had set up a few partitions to shield the voting table. Outside stood Principal Skogen and he handed me a pink ballot paper and a blue ballot paper. Inside there was a table and on it was a box with a padlock and a hole to put your vote in. Next to it was a bunch of pens.
I looked at the pink ballot. It had three names – Julie, Frida and Norunn – and next to each of the names there was a box for you to tick. I didn’t actually care which one of them won the title, but I supposed that I should vote for Frida, because apparently, I owed her that much. But then I thought about Ruben and how Frida explained to me that boys like prom queens and it made me unsure of what I should do. I didn’t want Ruben to like any of those girls.
So under the names I made a new box, which I ticked.
And next to the box I wrote a new name: Trude Fjell.
The blue ballot was for the prom king. I didn’t realize that we were voting for a king as well. The candidates were:
Gjermund Moen.
Vegard Gudmestad.
And Ruben Oftedal.
I didn’t know who to vote for. I didn’t want Vegard or Gjermund to win, because they are not nice. But I wanted Ruben to win least of all. If he became king he would pr
obably dance with whoever was made prom queen. And maybe they would fall in love. I decided to leave that ballot blank. I just folded it and put it into the box.
When I walked back out, quite a few people had made it onto the dance floor. There were no couples dancing though. People just danced in groups. Frida, Norunn and Julie were dancing too. I sat back down at the table and ate peanuts and watched the people on the dance floor.
At 8.31 p.m. the music stopped and Trude went up onstage. She grabbed the mic and said that it was time to announce the prom king and queen. Then there was a lot of feedback from the microphone and everyone covered their ears.
Principal Skogen rushed up onstage and fiddled with some buttons. Then Trude started talking again.
“It was a close race, but we have a winner,” she said.
“The prom queen of Haasund Lower Secondary School’s first prom is…” Trude paused and looked out at the crowd, who were now completely silent. Then she said, “Frida Berg.”
Frida gasped and looked completely surprised. She was so surprised she even started gasping half a second before her name was announced. Everyone clapped and Frida quickly hugged Norunn and Julie before rushing up onstage.
Trude took the mic again and said, “But as we all know, every queen needs a king. And the king of Haasund Lower Secondary School’s first prom is…Ruben Oftedal.”
I looked over at Ruben. He smiled a shy smile, while his friends patted his back and punched him lightly on the shoulder. Then he went up onstage and stood next to Frida, and some girls who I didn’t know came out from backstage and put crowns on top of their heads and ribbons with their new titles across their chests. Trude held the mic out to Frida. “Would you like to say anything?”
“I would just like to say that this was all really unexpected and I haven’t prepared a speech or anything, but I would like to thank you all for voting for me, and you are all so amazing and beautiful and I can’t believe you gave the title to me. You are the best.” Everyone clapped again, and Trude passed the mic to Ruben. “Thank you,” he said.
The Unpredictability of Being Human Page 14
