Kate

After Mom dropped me off, I met up with the others. Shannon immediately wanted to see my dress, and when I pulled it out of the shopping bag she squealed with delight.

"Kate, that dress is amazing, where did you find it?"

"Mom knows someone who runs a boutique store, we went there."

"Wow… what are you going to accessorize with?"

"I'm not sure yet, Mom's got me something, but she won't give it to me until the actual day."
"Aw, that's nice… not that you'll really need accessories with that dress. You're going to look gorgeous at the ball, Kate. James is going to love it."

"Oh, I'm sure he will…" I didn't get a chance to finish the sentence, as Shannon had seen a friend of hers from her ballet class, and ran over to hug the other girl. I shrugged, made sure the dress was safe in its bag, and went to sit next to James, who had thoughtfully saved a seat for me. I was surprised to see Jack and Ana sitting quite near. They didn't notice me, though, because they were too busy kissing to know what anyone else was doing.

James was flicking through a magazine, so as I went to sit down I softly touched his shoulder, and when he looked up to see me I kissed him.

"Hey, Freckles. Shopping go okay?"

"Great. I'm completely done. You okay?"

"I'm fine. Got my outfit sorted and everything. Can I see ya dress?"

"Hmmm, maybe just a little look." I opened the shopping bag a little, so he could see the dark-green silk inside, then closed the bag and put it away. "Okay?"

"I'm sure it's perfect. But then, you'd look good in anything."

"Yeah, yeah… well, I'm starving, so I'm going to get some lunch. And don't look at my dress while I'm gone."

Claire

When everyone left the mall, Jack told me that he and Ana were going to her house, so Charlie drove me home. When I got in, Margo was in the kitchen. I put my bags down on the table, and she turned around. "Oh, Claire, dear, you're home. How was your day?"

"It was nice, thanks."

"Did you get a nice dress for your dance?"

"Yes, d'you want to see?" I reached into the bag with my dress, pulling it out and holding it up for her to see."

"It's lovely, dear, just lovely. You're going to look beautiful at the dance."

"Thanks. Um… Margo?"

"Yes dear?"
"You don't have anything special planned for tonight, do you?"

"No, not particularly. Why?"

"Oh, it's just… I was going to go out with a friend tonight, for dinner. Is that okay?"

"Of course, dear. Who are you going with?"

"Just a friend…"

"Oh, come on.."

"His name's Charlie. He's in my class at school. Jack knows him."

"Well, if Jack knows him, I'm sure he's a nice boy."

"He is, I really like him. He's taking me to the ball next week."

"Oh, he must be nice. And to answer your original question, no, I don't have anything planned for tonight. Just don't stay out too late, and don't walk home by yourself after dark."

"Okay. Thanks, Margo. Oh, um, Jack's gone over to Ana-Lucia's house, I'm not sure when he'll be back. I thought you should know."

"Okay, dear."

I took my bags and my dress up to my room, carefully hanging the dress in my wardrobe, and started to get ready for my date with Charlie. I ended up curling my hair, and after a lot of changes of outfit I eventually chose dark blue jeans, a camisole and a long-sleeved kaftan, with just the minimum of makeup, a little bit of lipgloss and some mascara.

Charlie showed up at eight o'clock, in his typical jeans, Converse and a t-shirt with the logo of his favourite band. When I went out to his car, his eyes widened when he saw me. "Wow… you look amazing, Claire."

"Thanks, but it's nothing special."

"Yes it is. You're special."

"You're making me blush, stop it."

"Alright… get in the car then."

I got into the front passenger seat of Charlie's car, rolling my eyes at the pile of battered textbooks, books of guitar music, and at least one pizza box that littered the backseat, with a guitar case just visible underneath. "Don't you ever clear out the inside of this car?"

"Ummm…"

"Charlie, the backseat of your car is a health hazard. And if you think you're driving me to the ball with the car in this state, think again."

"Okay, okay, I'll clean out the car tomorrow."

"Good. Now, where are we going?"

"Well… I can't afford anything really expensive.."

"Charlie, where did you book?"

"A pizza restaurant. You don't mind, do you? It's just… you look so great, I wanted to take you somewhere posh.."

"Charlie.. I love pizza. And I don't care if you take me to a fancy restaurant or not, all I care about is having a lovely evening with you."

"Um… okay."

"Come on, let's go."

"Oh, yeah, of course…"

We drove to the pizza restaurant, and it turned out to be very nice, with cosy booths around the sides and small tables in the middle, soft music playing, and friendly waiters.

We ordered drinks and a cheese pizza to share, and spent the next hour talking about music, school, and anything else that we could think of. Just sitting there with Charlie, talking and laughing together, I felt happier than I had for a long time. I realised something – now that I had Charlie in my life, I felt truly at home in America.

When we finished eating, we went for a walk together and then Charlie drove me home. He even walked me as far as the front door. We stopped on the doorstep, and I hesitated before opening the door.

"Um, I had a really nice time tonight, Charlie. Thanks."

"I had a nice time too." Then, I took a breath and kissed him softly. "Thanks. I'll see you at school on Monday, okay?"

"Uh, yeah… sure. Goodnight, Claire."

" 'Night, Charlie."

Then I went inside, and after saying good night to Margo and Christian I went to bed.