Skylar couldn’t help but think, That’s easy for you to say. And then she shook her head and reminded herself, It’ll be easy for me, too. Soon.
Ascension had a tradition of naming a King and Queen of Spring at the dance. Unlike prom and homecoming courts, this honor was open to any student, no matter how young. Apparently, Pierce was a shoo-in for King of Spring this year, given how he’d already—gracefully, humbly—stepped up to fill the void in Ascension’s athletic department. Skylar got butterflies in her stomach when she thought about the logical next steps: If Pierce was voted King, and she was his date (or better yet, his girlfriend!), she had a solid chance of getting the Queen of Spring crown. And that . . . that would be a dream come true.
Okay, Gabby kind of deserved the royal title. After all, she’d planned the dance practically single-handedly—“Until you came on board,” Meg had helpfully reminded Skylar—and she was doing her best not to let Ascension turn into a permanent place of mourning. But still, Skylar wanted it. What a triumph it would be for a nobody like her to sweep into town and be voted queen after only a month! She already knew what dress she was going to wear. It was an old one of Lucy’s—black, with a V-neck and a full skirt, belted. She would look great standing up there on the stage next to Pierce.
Maybe he’d even ask her tonight. For now, she had a lot to do: curl her hair, put on a fresh coat of nail polish, exfoliate her feet. She needed to look perfect. Skylar took a deep breath. Maybe she’d have some wine to loosen up before Fiona came to get her.
She found a bottle of something called “hydromel” in her aunt’s pantry—a sweet honey wine that stuck to the side of the glass as she sipped it. She didn’t usually like the taste of wine, but this drink was sweet on her tongue, like dessert. It reminded her of licking powdered sugar off fried Greek doughnuts with Lucy as a child. Then she took a long shower, using her mud scrub on every inch of her body. She shaved her legs. She applied vanilla-scented body lotion. She put her hair in rollers—Meg had gotten them for her as a gift—and listened to the Dusters as she waited for her hair to set. She went downstairs to pour herself some more. Then, back upstairs, a light coat of tinted moisturizer, a swipe of mascara, a smudge of blush. They were supposed to look like they were going to bed, after all. Rollers out, a flip of her head, on with the pj’s. She spun in the mirror, happy with the way the lime-green and pink complemented her newly highlighted hair. She looked like . . . she looked like summer. And the bit of lace that tickled her chest and hung from the hem of the shorts—it was just the right amount of sexy.
Fiona would be here soon. She had just enough time to paint her nails—a watermelon pink that matched the color of her pj’s. She felt good. She belted out the chorus of her favorite Dusters song while texting Meg: Hey girl, off to the pajama party—wish me luck! And just before she turned off the light in her bedroom, Skylar caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror. She gave her head a toss, shaking out the curls, and smiled. She barely recognized herself.
? ? ?
“Who wants more cheddar popcorn?” Gabby came in from the kitchen holding a big red bowl. “And why is this the most popular flavor?” She surveyed the still-half-full bowls of caramel and plain popcorn.
“Because it goes best with beer,” Sean said from his perch on the living room couch, raising his bottle. “Cheers.”
Skylar was in the living room, where a cozy fire was going. She was sitting cross-legged on the floor near the window with Lauren, Jenna, Nick, and a few other boys, trying to quell a feeling of frustration. The evening wasn’t quite going the way she’d hoped.
Pierce was there, but he’d quickly settled in the kitchen to play poker with a bunch of boys wearing L.L. Bean flannel pants and white undershirts. Apparently, every boy in Ascension wore the same thing to bed. They were all whining, too. “If we don’t get to sleep over, why did we have to wear our pj’s?” Secretly, Skylar wondered the same thing.
Em was in the kitchen too; Skylar had seen her when she first came in. Em had been friendly enough, but Skylar couldn’t help feeling that Em didn’t like her very much. She just wasn’t very warm. Nothing like Gabby. Skylar had a hard time understanding their friendship. One so bubbly, the other so . . . dark. It was like Em carried a heavy weight with her everywhere she went. Aunt Nora would say Em’s aura was off.
Not that she wasn’t absolutely beautiful. Tonight, with her flawless skin glowing against a dark-purple-and-black silk robe, which she’d worn over black leggings, Em looked sophisticated, urban, and lovely. Effortlessly cool.