cruel and unusual. If Jess hadn’t scheduled something for tonight, I might just get into my car and drive in a straight line until I ran off a bridge, or into a ditch, or straight up a mountain.
It is currently six o’clock in the evening. I have been shopping for prom dresses with my mother and sister for the past EIGHT HOURS. EIGHT (8) HOURS. We have been to TWO (2) different malls, and THREE (3) additional stores not housed in a mall.
To make matters worse, I found my dress at the first store we visited. It is a slim black sheath that comes to just above my knees. There is a short kick split at the back and the whole thing is this really fun woven fabric that looks like raw silk, so it has a sheen, but it’s also stretchy, so it clings and gives in all the right places. If I’m going to endure this prom, I’m at least going to be comfortable. The dress is strapless except for this small wave of shiny sheer fabric that sort of splashes up over my shoulder. It doesn’t really act as a functional strap, but it’s just there for some drama and flair. It’s totally sophisticated but still fun.
Of course my mother HATES IT.
She kept trying to get me to try on these big mermaid gowns in bizarre clown colors. In fact, she wouldn’t even let me get it the first time we were at the store. She made me put it on hold until we’d done some more shopping. I mean, WHO DOES THAT? Who CARES about shopping? If you find the dress you want, BUY IT AND GO HOME. Mom was like, Oh no! You can’t buy the first dress you like at the first store! You have to try on TWENTY MILLION OTHER DRESSES.
I was like, But why? I like THIS dress. THIS is the dress that I want.
She spent hours—literally HOURS—trying to convince me to try on other dresses. Finally, I just started doing it because I realized I was doomed for the entire day. Ashley was trying on all these gigantic gowns with sequins and feathers and bows and trains. I decided to play a game. Every time we went to a store, I’d look for the ugliest dress I could find, and go try it on. Then, when I came out, my mother would try to convince me that THIS (horrifyingly ugly) dress was the BEST DRESS EVER. SO much better than that first dress I tried on.
It got to the point that I was laughing so hard that even Ashley started cracking up. I was wearing a chartreuse mermaid dress. First of all, I should never wear any color in the bright yellow family. I have brown hair and pale skin, and it makes me look like I am dying of a rare blood disease. Furthermore, this particular “gown” was covered in rhinestones and bugle beads. It felt like I was wearing mermaid armor. Mom COULD NOT STOP talking about how beautiful it was. I finally turned to Ashley and said, ARE YOU HEARING THIS? She looked at me and we just both cracked up laughing.
I think this pissed Mom off a little, but my GOD.
Finally, Ashley settled on a dress. She is going full-bore princess. Pink tulle for daaaaaaaaays. Whatever, she seems to be really pleased with it. Mom bitched about my dress all the way back to the first store, and all the way home. I don’t care. I love it.
And thank GOD Jess planned something tonight. I love my mom. Really I do. She just drives me CRAZY, and after today, I need some space.
Sunday, May 4
Okay, I guess the headline here is that I did another tab of ecstasy. It’s weird because I told Jess that I wasn’t going to do any on Friday night, and then, I dunno . . . at some point, while I was shopping with my mom and Ashley yesterday, I realized that I was really looking forward to going over to Kelly’s with Jess, but like in a way that was more excited than just getting to go to her house and hanging out. I think I was excited about the possibility of doing more ecstasy. This started to dawn on me when I got to Kelly’s house—which, by the way, is gigantic—and saw that Brandon’s SUV was there. I rang the doorbell and Kelly answered and took me upstairs to meet