Fearless The King Series Book One - By Tawdra Kandle Page 0,75
stall.
I gave a dramatic little turn in front of the larger mirror. The dress danced around me.
“Yes, I do. I think this is it. Now can we go eat?”
“Shoes first. Eating later.”
Thankfully for my empty stomach, shoes were much easier to locate now that we had the dress decision made. I squealed with true girlish delight when I saw the dainty silver heels. They were simply made—just straps and heels—and delicate. I knew they would set off the dress to perfection.
“And I have a brand new silver purse you can borrow if you like,” my mother offered.
“Sold! Now let’s please eat before I pass out.”
We found a small restaurant in a corner of the mall. The Sunday after-church crowd hadn’t yet arrived, so we had our pick of the tables. We decided to share a chicken and fruit salad and sipped sweet iced tea.
Before my mother even opened her mouth to speak, I sensed that she was feeling reminiscent.
“I can’t believe that you’re going to your first dance,” she sniffed. “It just seems like yesterday that you were my tiny little girl, toddling around…”
“Mom,” I muttered in embarrassment. “I’m just going to a dance, not getting married or joining the foreign legion. Most girls my age have gone to loads of formals. I’m just backward.”
“You’re not backward. You’re just right. Don’t ever think that.”
I smiled at her over my forkful of fruit. “I don’t, really. I just think it was a matter of finding the right person.” I thought of Michael, and my smile deepened.
My mom sighed. “I do worry. I’ve never seen anything like it. You… actually light up when you talk about Michael, or whenever he’s around. It’s not just your expression, it’s like a glow from inside you.”
“Why would that worry you?”
“Because you’re seventeen years old. You’re not supposed to have this happen so young. You’re supposed to finish school, have a life, and then find that special person.”
“But maybe I am supposed to have this happen now. Maybe that’s the way my life is supposed to work. And I do have a life, already,” I added.
She was quiet, eating and thinking. “I don’t want you to be hurt, and I can’t see how it can be avoided. I can tell that you feel strongly about Michael, but you’re very inexperienced. So much of life is in front of you. Circumstances are bound to pull you apart. Look, even next year, Michael’s heading for college. You have to accept that things will change.” He’s going to go off to school and leave her here, with a broken heart. I don’t know how to stop that from happening.
Panic filled my heart. “I can deal with change. I’ve been handling that all my life. But did you ever think that maybe we won’t be pulled apart—we might be able to handle it, together?”
My mother nodded. “We’ll see. Tasmyn, I just want you to remember that this is your first relationship. So have fun, be young while you are young. Try not to be so intense. That’s all I’m saying.”
It might have been all she was saying, but she continued to think pretty loudly for the rest of the afternoon.
Chemistry had been so quiet for so long, in terms of Nell and Ms. Lacusta, that I had gotten lulled into a sense of complacency. Ms. Lacusta hadn’t mentioned her chemistry club to me again; I hoped she had either forgotten about it or decided I wasn’t the right material after all. Nell never turned around, never looked at me; it was as though I had ceased to exist in her mind. And Liza had perfected the art of completing a lab without speaking a single word to me.
So I was totally unprepared on Monday when Ms. Lacusta approached my side of the table, her eyes focused on me. I had come into class a little early that day, since we’d had a test in French and Madame had let us go when we finished. I was still feeling challenged by the pace of Chemistry, and I was glad to have a few extra minutes to prepare for the day’s lesson.
The room was empty when I sat down in my chair, and I was so absorbed in the reading that I hadn’t noticed when others began trickling in for class. Even the growing buzz of thoughts didn’t distract me; I was becoming used to hearing it as my ability to maintain that mental curtain was slowly fading.