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  Willow said, “Olive, you should go with us.”

  “Pia’s not the only one who doesn’t have a dress,” Olive said.

  “I told you, we’ll get that all worked out,” Willow reassured her. “The church has some group they work with in Atlanta that does something with dresses. I don’t know.”

  “Well, tell us about it,” Sanaa said. “Quit holding out!”

  Playfully putting her hands up to tell Sanaa to back off, Willow replied, “I don’t know all the details.”

  “See, you get people up to let them down. Don’t be sayin’ you can help work things out when you don’t know what’s up,” Pia joked back.

  “You are trippin’!” Willow said. “We’ll figure out all the details. Calm down. It’s obvious that you don’t want to tell Shawn you can’t go, so heads up. We all going to prom.”

  “Speak for yourself, Willow,” Olive murmured. “It’s not just about a dress for me. I don’t wanna go with my girls. If I can’t go with Charles, I don’t wanna go. And as much as he tries to act like it wouldn’t bother him if I went with you guys, I know it would. So count me out.”

  Shocked and a bit disappointed, Willow checked her friend. “So you gon’ let a man keep you from doing what you wanna do?”

  Olive pushed back. “No. I’m gonna let my heart keep me from doing what I don’t wanna do without him. You don’t have to understand, Willow. We can agree to disagree, but it is what it is.”

  Willow rolled her eyes, not agreeing. Olive rolled hers back, not caring.

  Octavia looked at them both and said, “Y’all just finish the ice cream. Y’all are supposed to be worrying about my problems anyway. I mean, why won’t Shawn ask me? What have I done wrong, Olive? Why does he want to sit around the house on prom night?”

  “For one thing, you need to quit worrying about it,” Willow said, truly irritated.

  “I agree with her,” Olive said. Now the two of them were on opposite sides of the issue, but that’s what Octavia loved about the swoop list girls. They never stayed mad for long.

  Octavia voiced, “Alright, alright. I hear y’all. I’m not gonna worry about it. I know he’s gonna ask me any day.”

  Three days later, Octavia was walking around like she’d lost her little puppy. She was talking with Olive as they headed to class, trying to find any clues to why Shawn had been so distant, but Olive seemed standoffish too.

  Octavia bulldozed, “Okay, so what’s going on, and what don’t I know? Why won’t you talk to me? We’re supposed to be girls, but you won’t tell me what’s up. Did I offend you? Did I offend Shawn? Because Charles doesn’t wanna go, does Shawn not wanna go? I don’t get it. I started to go as low as to ask my dad to call him, but I knew I’d feel horrible if I did that. So I’m coming to you, but you’re standing there, mum’s the word. What? Is there some household loyalty that you’re under? Has he told you something he told you not to tell me? Does he not like me anymore? Has he got another girl? What?”

  Fed up, Olive blew up. “Okay, Octavia! You’re stressin’! I haven’t talked to Shawn. Not about you, not about anything. Charles goes in his room, shuts the door, and acts like I don’t even exist. Maybe Shawn’s pulled away because he knows we are friends, and that’s all weird for him, but I’d be speculating at best. I’ve always known the joker couldn’t dance. That could be it. But again, I don’t know. So don’t ask me to tell you something that I truly don’t have the answer for, and don’t be all mad at me because I’m not responding. Heck, there his tail is, right over there. Go ask him!”

  Shawn looked back, saw the two of them, and then started walking faster. Octavia’s insides started bubbling over. Shawn’s distant actions were making her queasy.

  Octavia said, “Okay, I get the point. I didn’t mean to pressure you.”

  Olive saw Octavia’s eyes start to water up and said, “Hey, I’m sorry. I’m not trying to hurt your feelings or anything like that. It’s just that I don’t want you to think that you’re the only one down with boy drama. Sometimes it’s like, how can I help you with yours, when I can’t even help myself? You know the whole airplane theory? You can’t put a mask on a kid if you ain’t got the mask on yourself first when oxygen is low.”

  “I don’t got you, but I got you,” Octavia said. “Let me catch up to Shawn. Hopefully he has the answers.” She ran over to her boo. “Uh, you’ve been avoiding me, and I don’t like it.”

  “What? You rather me break your heart instead?” Shawn shocked her by saying.

  “What is that supposed to mean?” Octavia said, truly irritated with him.

  “You’ve been sweatin’ me. I’ve been getting your messages. Too much pressure. I don’t want to go to prom. If I can’t live up to what you need, maybe I ain’t the guy for you.”

  Shawn looked at her as if he hated delivering the tough words. She couldn’t hold back the tears that fell. This news was devastating.

  CHAPTER TEN

  Humbling (Pia’s Middle)

  When Pia arrived in the big city of Atlanta at the World Congress Center, Ballroom A, that held racks of evening gowns that stretched as far as her eyes could see, she was giddy and a little melancholy. Truly, she hadn’t thought she would be able to afford to go to the prom. But Willow had kept her word and gotten with Ms. Davis and found out about this charity group, Sisters in Faith, that allowed people to either donate a prom dress and get another one or bring five dollars and purchase a prom gown.

  Most of them were pretty much new or gently used. Pia didn’t want a handout, but she did want to look amazing. As the tears swelled, Pia was very excited that Ms. Davis cared enough to drive them all to Atlanta and that her girlfriends were there to make sure she had what she needed. That meant the world to her.

  “Alright now. We don’t have time for tears,” Willow said. “It’s time to get out and shop on.”

  “Where do I start?” Pia asked.

  “Follow the signs. They are hung from style to color. Start wherever you like. No wrong way to browse,” Ms. Davis assured.

  “I don’t want to shop by myself! We’re all up here. Willow? Sanaa? Have y’all gotten your dresses?”

  Both of them shook their heads no.

  “Octavia? Olive? You guys gotten your dresses?”

  “You know I’m not going,” Olive said.

  “And hot off the press, I’m not going either,” Octavia announced.

  Pia looked over at Ms. Davis like Help me, please.

  Ms. Davis nodded and walked over to the girls. “We all came up here with Pia, and while she appreciates how much you all care, she wants to enjoy this time to the max. So, let’s all pretend like we’ve got somewhere special to go. The prom, a wedding, a fun dinner, a cotillion, whatever you want to think of where you could wear one of these beautiful dresses. Humor us. Try on a few. Show us your favorite. I’m trying on one too. You can take selfies and post them up and all have fun.”

  Pia hated seeing her four friends flare up their noses. “How can I be all excited about prom when my four best friends are looking stank?”

  “Uh oh, look at you trying to call us out,” Willow said, proud of Pia trying to be hip. “Alright, we’ll try on some dresses.”

  Pia was shocked that having a backbone was all that it took to get the four of them to scatter about. Pia was left with Ms. Davis. The two were pleased that all the girls were going to dream of being princesses.

  Ms. Davis said, “It’s really sweet of you to share this time. They were all excited to come up here for you, but you want them to find dresses too.”

  “Why not? Even though Willow’s and Sanaa’s parents can afford something real expensive, if they find something here, that’s great, right?”

  “Yes, absolutely.”

  “But what about Olive and Octavia? I’m really worried about them. I’m actually worried about Sanaa and Willow too. I mean, it’s hard to think about being happy when the people you care about are miserable.”

  “But that’s l
ife, Pia. It ebbs and flows.”

  “I don’t understand,” Pia said.

  Ms. Davis explained, “There’re going to be some good times, and there’re going to be some bad times. Sometimes you might be up and your friends might be down, but then they might be excited when you’re going through bad times. But it’s not just about one person. What makes life meaningful is that in your good times, you can spread good cheer to others who are not as happy. You got to be able to lean on each other and be there for each other. There are some things I wish I could change in my own life, you know.”

  “Like what? You’ve got it together. Except you never talk to us about your love life.”

  “Hmm. That might be because you’re younger than me. We’re not girlfriends.”

  “But Ms. Davis! Tell me! You don’t want me to tell the girls, I won’t.”

  “Well, I’m not going to ask you to keep secrets from them. There’s this guy ... ”

  “Ohhhh, so what do you regret? What? He asked you to marry him and you said no?”

  “No, it’s nothing like that. A niece of mine ... but forget it. We’ll talk about that later.” Ms. Davis hesitated.

  Pia was listening, but her eyes locked on a gorgeous gown. “Oh! I like this one!”

  “Well, go try it on, girl! That Tiffany blue would look beautiful on you.”

  Pia picked up the Tiffany blue dress and nine others. The first few dresses Pia tried on were horrible. Too big, or she couldn’t zip them, or she didn’t like the color or the style. But the first one she’d laid eyes on was the one she saved for last. Before she could slip into it, her cell phone rang, and it was Stephen.

  “Hey, beautiful,” he said.

  “Hey, you.”

  “What you doing?”

  “Trying on dresses for the prom.”

  “Ah! So you’re going to go with me after all?”

  “It’s not every day a girl gets asked to go to the prom the way you asked me. So yes, I’m working it all out so that I can be your date.”

  “Lucky me! I’m going to have the most beautiful girl in the place on my arm.”

  “Stop it. Are you okay?” she asked him.

  “You mean about all this stuff with the basketball players and the rape? I’m ostracized, but it’s cool.”

  He continued, “The police have talked to my mom, and I think they’re going to make some arrests soon. Those guys might not be able to graduate, or at least they won’t be allowed to attend graduation. But don’t you worry yourself with all that. Just get a great dress.”

  Pia hadn’t realized that she had the dress fully on because she was looking down as she stepped into it. But when her girls entered the dressing room and started screaming, she looked up and was stunned.

  “What’s wrong?” Stephen asked.

  “Everything’s right! I got to go. I’ll call you later. I think I found the dress!”

  “Oh, you found the dress!” Willow yelled out.

  “It’s beautiful!” Sanaa said.

  “Absolutely perfect on you,” Octavia uttered.

  “Yeah, girl, you’re working that,” Olive said.

  Ms. Davis just smiled.

  When Pia turned around, the five of them had on the dresses they loved too. Everyone had found one. All the girls were smiling. Pia knew all wasn’t right in her world, but all wasn’t wrong either. Pia knew her friends cared so much for her, and it was humbling.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  Crying (Sanaa’s Ending)

  The prom was in full swing. Sanaa couldn’t believe Willow had talked her into the two of them going. She’d agreed, they’d found dresses and looked beautiful; however, Sanaa had never really wanted to go stag to her senior prom. Somehow, she was doing it anyway.

  Sanaa knew Willow wasn’t going to just walk into the place quietly. No, she had to put on a show.

  “Willow and Sanaa in the house!” Willow sang.

  Sanaa truly matched the prom’s fairytale theme, looking like Cinderella. She was heavenly in a cotton candy pink dress that was strapless at the top and flared out at the bottom. The rhinestones across the top made it pop.

  Though Willow had bought a gown from the dress exchange in Atlanta with the other girls, she ended up wearing a different dress that her mother purchased for her. Willow was working it in this fitted, red-beaded gown. It looked like it cost a thousand dollars.

  The two of them were getting looks from a bunch of guys who were without dates. Willow was eating up the attention. Sanaa’s eyes searched for a place to sit. As she scanned the room, she froze dead in her tracks when she saw Miles standing at the entrance with Toni. Willow followed Sanaa’s eyes and saw what was bothering her friend.

  “Oh my gosh! No, his tail didn’t walk up in here with that heffa!” Willow hollered.

  They watched as Toni and Miles hugged each other real tight. Toni was facing Sanaa. She rolled her eyes hard like, Gotcha.

  Miles walked away from the dance floor, and Willow said, “Maybe they’re not together. Let’s just find a seat and not worry about it. We can have some fun. You didn’t wanna come here with him. So if he came with a date, even if it is her, don’t sweat it.”

  The two of them went to find a table, but Sanaa kept eyeing Miles. “See, look. They are together. He brought her punch.”

  “You need to get a life,” Willow told her. “Ain’t no use in worrying over spilled milk.”

  The place filled up so quickly that Sanaa lost track of where Miles and Toni went until later in the evening, when Toni tapped Sanaa on the shoulder.

  Toni bragged, “Mighty funny how the guy you thought you’d be coming to the prom with came with me instead.”

  “Like she cares about any of that,” Willow said. “You see us over here worried about you and Miles?”

  “Yeah, Sanaa’s real worried. Let me go find my boo. Toodaloo!” Toni said, sashaying on.

  “Why didn’t you let me kick her tail?” Willow said to Sanaa.

  When a slow song came on, Sanaa thought she was going to die. Her heart couldn’t stop beating. All she kept thinking about was Miles, out there on the dance floor with his hands all over Toni. While she didn’t want his hands all over her, she did wish things hadn’t ended so abruptly between the two of them. But she didn’t know how to fix it at this point. Willow was right. No need to stress over things that can’t be changed. So Sanaa cased the room for a guy to dance with. While she had many suitors looking at her like, Pick me, she stayed put, wishing the hour would hurry up and roll on so that she and Willow could roll out.

  Suddenly she heard the words, “May I have this dance?” and when her eyes peered up, she was stunned to see Miles, looking good in his black tuxedo, white tie, white vest, and white shirt. She didn’t want to get caught up in the moment. She didn’t want Toni to see her with Miles.

  “No, go be with your date,” Sanaa said. She got up to try to walk away, but Miles walked faster and stepped in front of her.

  “Hold up. I came by myself. You did too, right? What’s wrong with us dancing?”

  “What do you mean, you came by yourself? Why you lying to me?” Sanaa questioned.

  When she tried to move him out of the way, he stood firm. “I’m not lying to you. Who’d you think I came here with?”

  “Toni. Quit playin’. Dang, this is hard enough.”

  “What, you jealous?”

  “Oh, so now you admit you came with her?”

  “Oh no, that’s not what I’m saying, but you’re all up in arms, thinking I came with Toni when that’s a lie.”

  “I saw you two.”

  Willow rushed over. “Ooh, girl, I gotta tell you, Toni was lying!” Then she saw Miles. “Oh, I guess you already know.”

  “Nah, she thinks I came with Toni. You might wanna tell your friend the truth.”

  “Girl, she over there with the girls, looking pitiful, moping like you were doing,” Willow said. “She is not here with him.”

  “Why we see them together?
” she said to Willow. Turning to Miles, she said, “You hugged her. You gave her punch. All that stuff.”

  “I walked in, and she was right there. She gave me a hug, said I looked good. I told her hey. She said she was thirsty. I’m a gentleman. I got her something to drink. I didn’t come with her. The rest of the night, I’ve been searching for you. Can we put all that aside and have this dance? You didn’t wanna come with me. The least you can do is be with me now that you see you care about a brotha, right?”

  “Right?” Willow said, putting in her two cents.

  Sanaa couldn’t say hush because her girl was telling the truth. “Okay.”

  Another slow song came on, and Miles guided Sanaa out to the middle of the dance floor and put his arms respectably around her lower waist. He leaned over, kissed her on the cheek, and said, “You’re gorgeous. You look like a princess tonight. I’m sorry for coming on so strong. I’ll take you any way I can. Even if that means I gotta keep my hands off you,” he said as he put his hands down, teasing.

  As she became emotional and the tears started flowing, she lifted his hands up and put them back on her waist. “No. I know you can be respectful. You holding me does feel really good.”

  He said, “Alright. If I’m making you feel good, then please, no crying.”

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  Caring (Willow’s Ending)

  “Wow, they look so sweet,” Willow uttered to herself as she watched Sanaa and Miles waltz on the dance floor.

  “Okay, they do look sweet. But who are you talking to?” Octavia asked, startling Willow.

  Willow got up and gave Octavia a very big hug. “Oh my gosh, look at you! I thought you weren’t coming.”

  “My dad talked me into it. Said he regretted not going to his prom. And since I had a dress and all and you guys were set, why should I sit at home and mope? I’m about to go to college. Shawn’s loss.”

  “That’s wassup. I like the way you talking.”

  “Even though I wish he was here ... ,” Octavia said.

  “Oh no, no, no. We are not having none of that. This is not the pity party table. Sit. Let’s have some us time,” Willow said as she put her arm under Octavia’s.