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“Go try your dress on. I’ll wait out here for you,” Lauren said. I took my dress into the fitting room. I had picked out a classic A-line sheath dress. If it fit well I planned to purchase a silver heart locket and some silver star earrings that dangled. I would also need to double back and get the red high-heel pumps with the silver bows adorning the heels that we saw at another store.
When I stepped out of the fitting-room stall in my dress, I caught Lauren’s attention. When our eyes met I could tell something was wrong right away.
“Does the dress really look bad on me?” I asked, feeling self-conscious. Lauren walked closer to me, looped her arm through mine and pulled me away from the fitting-room stalls into another area where the mirrors were.
“What’s going on?” I demanded to know.
“Shh.” Lauren quieted me. Once we reached a safe distance she began to speak softly.
“Anna, Bernita is here, trying on dresses,” Lauren said.
“What? Where?” I asked, taking a quick look around.
“She’s in one of the stalls. She’s here with that girl over there.” Lauren nodded her head in the direction of a girl with luminous eyes and pale skin. I didn’t know the girl personally but saw her often around school.
“Bernita is looking at the same dress that you have on,” Lauren said.
“Geez, of all the stores she could be shopping in, why did she have to come to this one?” I wasn’t expecting Lauren to answer that question. It was just a thought that had run across my mind and rushed out of my mouth.
“Well, I just wanted to let you know,” Lauren said.
“Thanks and I’m glad you did. How do I look?” I asked.
“I think you look great.” Lauren smiled.
“Come on, let’s move back closer to the fitting-room stalls. We left our purses in there and I wouldn’t want someone shady like Bernita to see an opportunity and run with it.” We headed back toward that area and then stood in front of a large trifold mirror that allowed us both to look at ourselves from various angles.
“Do you think it’s too formfitting?” I asked Lauren as I tugged on the dress, concerned that it was making my behind look bigger than necessary.
“Why are you looking for something to be wrong? That dress fits you perfectly and Jeremy’s eyes are going to pop out of his head when he sees you in it.” Lauren swept away a loose strand of my hair that was on my shoulder.
“Oh, no, you don’t have on that dress!” I looked in the mirror and saw Bernita.
“Yes, I do and I look fabulous in it.” I put my hand in the air for a high five from Lauren, who gladly gave it to me.
“You might as well put it back because you look fat in it. Your friend just doesn’t have the heart to tell you the truth.” Bernita’s low-as-a-cockroach personality emerged.
“Who invited you into our conversation?” I said, allowing a frown of annoyance to tug at the corners of my mouth.
“Seriously. Real talk. You don’t have enough cleavage up top to really rock that dress like I do.” Bernita made a gesture around her boobs like a hand model displaying a product.
“Why are you even over here by us? There is another mirror over there.” Lauren waved her hand dismissively.
Bernita scowled and looked at Lauren and me as if we were small. I could sense that Bernita was intent on getting in the last word. “You know, after seeing how ugly you look in the dress, I think I will put it back.” Bernita paused to gauge our reaction to her biting comment, but Lauren and I could not have cared less about the nasty remark she hurtled at us. Seeing that her words had no effect, Bernita flipped up her middle finger and thundered out of our area and back into the dressing-room stall.
“Ooh, I can’t stand that girl.” I felt contempt flowing through my bloodstream.
“She seems like a bratty version of Scrooge to me,” Lauren said.
“Well, if that’s the case, it’s about time that Scrooge receives a visit from the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future.” I smirked and turned back to the mirror to look at myself again.
“Thanks for having my back,” I said.
“It was nothing. I know you’d do the same for me in a similar situation,” Lauren said. I stepped toward her and we embraced.
“So should I be on the fence about this dress?” I asked, pivoting from side to side and second-guessing myself about whether or not to make the purchase.
“Anna, you need to buy that dress so that you can rock it at the holiday party. If you don’t, I will choke you.” Lauren jokingly reached out with her hands positioned like two jaws ready to clamp around my neck like a vise.
“Okay, I’ll get the dress. There is no need for theatrics,” I said, chuckling, before returning to the dressing-room stall to change back into my street clothes.
eight (#ulink_74ef2724-c42e-56f7-851e-dfff45067047)
I was standing in the family room near the festooned fireplace with Maya, Viviana, Keysha, Wesley, Red and Misalo. We were all dressed impressively and posed for camera-phone pictures, which were instantly posted on Instagram and Facebook. I was waiting on Jeremy to be dropped off by his parents so that we could catch a ride with my cousin Viviana and her boyfriend, Red.
“I want a photo with just Maya and me,” said Viviana, who looped her arm around my older sister. They smiled and took a few selfie photos with their camera phones and then posed for my dad, who took a few more with his iPad. Viviana and I took a photo together and so did Keysha and Maya. My mom, who was blurry-eyed with happiness, asked all of the ladies to gather together so that she could take a photo with us. As the photo was being taken, I heard the doorbell ring.
“I’ll get it,” said Paul, who earlier had been complaining that he wished he could come with us. Paul escorted Jeremy into the family room, where everyone was waiting. Jeremy had purchased a white wrist corsage for me and he handed it to me the moment he saw me.
“It’s pretty,” I said as I opened the clear plastic container it was in. I easily slipped it onto my wrist. I held it up to my nose and inhaled the fresh scent.
“Smart move. You don’t have to worry about sticking her with a pin,” I heard Red say.
“Yeah. It’s definitely easier this way,” Jeremy agreed.
“Take a picture with Anna, Jeremy.” My mother came over and moved him next to me. He threaded his fingers together in front of him and tried to look relaxed. I could tell by the way he stood like a soldier on guard that he was doing his best to appear trustworthy and responsible in front of my parents. Once the photo was taken, I leaned closer to him and whispered in his ear.
“Relax—you’re not about to be court-marshaled.”
“Do I look uncomfortable?” Jeremy asked.
“Yeah, you look stiff like some cartoon character has blasted you with a freeze gun,” I said and poked his side. Jeremy flinched but only loosened up slightly by standing with his hands at his sides.
“Oh, they’re so precious.” My mother got a little emotional, which was embarrassing.
“We’d better go. The dance began a half hour ago,” said Keysha. We all headed for the door and from there got into cars and headed to our destination.
The high school gym was decked out with holiday decorations. There was an artificial Christmas tree in one corner and giant empty gift-wrapped boxes in another. There were snowflake and snowman cutouts pasted on the walls, and the fragrant scent of pine filled the air. There was a makeshift stage in the center of the gym for the DJ, and a sizable strobe light and a multicolored disco ball that spun around casting various shapes and colors on the walls and ceiling hung from above.
“This is so cool,” Jeremy said as he began to pop his fingers to the music.
“Now you loosen up,” I teased him.
“Just a little bit,” he said and maneuvered around my body like a trained dancer.
“Do you like this song?” I asked, thinking that he wanted to dance.
“It’s cool,” he said, but instead of leading me out to the dance area, he led me toward the back wall, where there were round tables draped with red-and-green tablecloths and chairs. As we moved toward the tables, we came across Lauren and her boyfriend, Sheldon.
“Oh, my God! You look so awesome.” Lauren spoke purposely in my ear as she leaned in and gave me a hug.
“No, girl, you’re the one who is looking fabulous,” I said.
“Hey, Sheldon,” I said before giving him a hug.
“What’s up, girl?” he asked.
“Nothing,” I said. “Oh, Sheldon, do you know Jeremy?”
“I’ve seen you around,” Jeremy said as he offered up a handshake. The two of them shook hands and then Jeremy hooked his arm around my waist. At that moment Allison and her friends came over to where we were standing.
“Hi, guys,” she said. We all greeted her with cheerful smiles.
“Merry Christmas,” I said to her.
“Merry Christmas to you, too. You guys know why I’m over here, right?” Allison asked.
“We see you have your iPad with you,” Lauren answered.
“Absolutely. Have you guys ever watched any of my videos?” Allison asked.
“I’ve watched them and you have some funny episodes. I really like the one where you and your grandmother did a video together,” I said.
Allison laughed loudly. “Oh, yeah. I got my seventy-year-old grandmother to lip-synch a song and dance around with me while my dad shot the video.”
“It was really cool to watch you guys dancing around your backyard. Your grandma actually has some smoking moves,” I said.
“When she was younger she was a professional dancer and taught dance for years at several performing-arts schools,” Allison said with pride.
“It sounds like you guys have a blast together,” I said.
“We do. Anyway, I wanted to let you guys know that I’m doing a Christmas video blog and I’m asking couples here at the dance a few questions about what the holidays mean to them and wanted to know if you guys would like to participate.”
“Yes, girl,” I said as I pulled Jeremy closer to me.
“Great,” Allison said, holding up her iPad to record. She asked us to talk about what Christmas meant to us and what our family holiday traditions were. We answered the questions and afterward Allison thanked us and moved on.
I heard a song that I really wanted to dance to, so I pulled Jeremy out onto the dance floor. We found a spot and I got lost in the music. Jeremy danced rhythmically and I moved right along with him, making sure that he noticed the look in my eyes and how connected to him I felt.
“You are so much fun,” he said as we danced together.
“Of course I am. I’m not boring.” I spoke loud enough for him to hear me over the music. When that song ended, the DJ put on a romantic slow song. It was Christina Aguilera singing “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.” Jeremy raked his fingers through his hair before he pulled me in close to him. I fit easily into his embrace and rested my cheek against his and stroked the back of his head.
“I wish we could stay like this forever,” he whispered as we swayed back and forth.
“I am so happy that you picked me,” I said as I sang a line from the song. I didn’t have time to breathe, think or blink before Jeremy placed my cheeks in his hands and began kissing me. His supple lips sent electricity through every part of my body and I felt my legs threatening to buckle. He must’ve sensed it because he held on to me tighter. I sighed as my mouth opened a bit, and the kiss deepened. I completely surrendered to him and lost myself in the moment. I couldn’t think of anything except the taste of his lips and the warmth of his body. We slowly turned and rocked side to side in a small space. He took a moment to pull away from the kiss. He looked so deeply into my eyes that I trembled.
“You look so pretty,” he whispered and drew me close again. I closed my eyes and allowed the magic of his words to dance around in my mind.
“Every time I hear this song I’m going to think of you,” I whispered. This time, I pulled back and looked at him. I noticed how smooth his lips were and how his eyes flashed at me. It made me hunger for another kiss, but instead of moving in for another one, I bit my lip and tried to contain the swell of butterflies that were fluttering around deep inside of me. Trying to control such strong emotions was impossible and I stopped fooling myself. I closed my eyes, kissed him again and allowed myself to feel the strength of his hug.
“Can I talk to you for a minute?” Bernita boldly stood next to us and poked Jeremy on the shoulder. Flames quickly ignited in my eyes and I felt a surge of contempt swell in my heart. I looked into her eyes as if she’d just stepped on my foot with her high-heeled shoe.
“Excuse you,” I snapped, clutching on to Jeremy tighter. There was no way that I was about to let him go.
“Jeremy, we need to talk,” Bernita said as if there was some urgent matter she needed him to attend to. That was when I noticed it. Bernita had the audacity to purchase the exact same dress that I had. This chick has copied my style and wants to step into my shoes. I heard a thought come from somewhere deep within me.
“He doesn’t want to talk to you. We’re a couple now and I’m not going anywhere, so you need to respect that and move on.” I shooed her away like a snotty-nosed brat. I positioned myself so that my back was to her and tried to recapture the euphoric moment that had been stolen from me.
“Seriously, Anna.” Bernita smacked her lips as if I had wronged her.
“Bernita, I don’t have time for you.” Jeremy finally spoke up, which made me happy that he had finally put her in her place.
“See, he doesn’t want to talk to you.” I turned around and directly faced Bernita. I was ready to take off my shoes and remove my earrings and handle my business if she wanted to go there. Jeremy stood behind me with his hands resting on my hips. I could feel him tugging me closer to him.
“Are you really sure that you want bones, Jeremy, when you can have something that’s more filling?” Bernita asked as she jutted her cleavage in his direction. Anger struck me like a thunderbolt and I began removing my star-shaped earrings.
“I know I don’t want a control freak who stalks me.” Jeremy’s words rumbled like a shotgun blast, but Bernita fired back angry words of her own.
“Oh, so she’s got your nose open like that?” Bernita looked past me as if I were invisible. I popped my fingers in front of her nose and caught her attention.
“Excuse you! Can’t you see that he has better things to do than talk to you? I’m going to tell you one time and one time only. You’re not me and you never will be no matter how much you try to duplicate my style. I’m an original, and a substitute like you will never be good enough. He doesn’t want you. He chose me, so go bother someone else before you get dealt with.” I waited, prepared to go to whatever level Bernita wanted to take things to. Bernita’s girlfriend appeared from somewhere in the crowd and began to push her away from me.
“Come on, a teacher is coming. She’s not worth it, Bernita,” her friend said as she pushed Bernita farther and farther away. I was thankful that nothing serious had happened because I really didn’t relish the idea of ruining my holiday spirit by getting into a shouting match or fistfight at a Christmas party.
nine (#ulink_9ef60859-aacb-5d6f-b074-c1ba73bd06ba)
Paul, Maya, Viviana and I were in the family room watching reruns of a reality television show called Fear Factor. It was a show where people did outrageous stunts that were designed and supervised by professionals. We all liked it because we got a charge out of watching people who boasted about being tough and unshakable wail like the siren on an emergency vehicle or puke when they were asked to eat something really gross, like live scorpions. We had just watched a lady who had tried to eat African cave-dwelling spiders. The spiders were brown, had long legs and tiny claws. They were on a table and scurried around in search of someplace to hide.
“Eww,” said Maya, who cringed at the sight of the insects rushing around. “Oh, God! I would never eat a spider for any amount of money.”
“I would,” Paul said, who didn’t seem to be bothered by the grotesque spiders.
“What about you, Viviana?” he asked.
“Oh, no, I’m with Maya on this one. I couldn’t do it. What about you, Anna?” she asked me.
“If my life depended on me eating one, I would,” I calmly answered.
“Really?” Viviana was surprised by my answer.
“I guess,” I said as I watched one of the contestants, a female, pick up one of the spiders by its hind legs.
“Oh, God,” Maya said as she covered her face with her hands. She tried not to look, but curiosity got the better of her. The contestant pinched her nose just before she bit into the insect.
“Eww.” Viviana cringed, then began sweeping her hands over her arms as if something creepy or slimy had just crawled on her.
“Paul, would you kiss a girl who ate spiders?” I asked.
