Oddily was stunned. “Thank you, Kendall, but…”
“But…? Don’t tell me you’re going to wear that,” she wrinkled her nose at Oddily’s modest jumper and old brown boots.”
“No, of course I’m not. My date said he…” Oddily’s sweet voice trailed off when she noticed Kendall becoming anxious, acting almost desperate for her to wear the garment.
“OK, I’ll wear the dress and thank you so much.”
Kendall seemed pleased with herself while handing Oddily the balled up dress and headpiece. “Great, I’ll catch up with you later.”
Oddily stared at Kendall’s backside as she walked away and swore the girl sighed with relief. Then her attention went back to the black dress. She unfolded the garment and held the slinky dress up, discovering it was one of those dresses that only looked attractive on curvy figures. She shook her head knowing full well she would resemble a beanpole if she wore it.
The time was six forty-five when Oddily arrived at her locker. This was the spot where she and Maxim agreed to meet, so this was where she remained and waited.
She was both giddy with excitement and had a serious case of the nerves wondering if he would show up. She had a tad bit of hope because he bought the tickets and gave them to her for safe keeping—but what would he do about the dress? She had no idea what he planned to do for her and yet, even though he said not to worry, she worried a lot! He didn’t even ask what size she wore, and the consequences could be a disastrous if the dress had darts at the bust line.
The time was now six-fifty, then six fifty-five and still no date. Seven o’clock came and went. The auditorium began to buzz with music and excitement while Oddily’s heart started to sink with the possibility he wasn’t coming.
No, she chastised herself. She tried to bring some hope back by telling herself that there must have been a misunderstanding. What if they had planned to meet somewhere else or he searched for her locker and became lost.
Oddily rushed down the hallway searching in every direction, hoping to find him, but the halls remained empty. Could he possibly be waiting for her inside the dance? Her runaway thoughts were getting the best of her, so she headed for the social event with what she wore.
While waited in line, Oddily eyed the crowd of students that lingered in front of the gymnasium and scanned the parking lot for any sign of Maxim or his car. When she got to the front entrance, she hesitated before handing her ticket to the kid in charge and entered the building.
The first thing that caught Oddily’s attention was the decorations. The gym appeared to be even more beautiful and festive at night. All the posts twinkled with lights and the empty tables were now filled with all kinds of mouthwatering edibles. A gasp of surprise caught in her throat when she spotted Pepper walking away from the buffet, snacking on a piece of fruit. Her entire head of curls had been cut short just like her own. She wasn’t kidding when she said she loved Oddily’s hair, and she looked adorable, especially with those large hoop earrings.
Oddily crept along the side wall to the food table and snatched a brownie. She shoved a piece in her mouth, hardly giving herself time to chew while she continued to survey the room. There was still no sign of Maxim; but, she noticed the place had come alive with color like a beautiful flower garden with all the different hued dresses flitting around. She spotted Starla standing next to Paul pushing her long golden tresses away from her pretty face. Kip joined them while staring around the room, and…the wonder of the spell ended when Kendall appeared out of the crowd of students. She wore a black and white print lantern dress with bright blue heels and bangle bracelets on one wrist.
“Where’s your date?” she gave Oddily the once-over and appeared frustrated.
Caught without wearing the black dress, Oddily’s heart began to pound when she realized how ridiculous she must look wearing her school clothes from earlier that day. She could tell that other students were staring at her with curious, surprised expressions on their face. Or maybe it was her new haircut and exposed face causing the attention, and in that moment, she wished she had her mane of hair back to hide under.
“Why aren’t you wearing the dress?” Kendall’s questioning voice addressed her again. “After all the time spent picking it out, this is the thanks I get?”
Oddily’s shoulders drooped in dismay and glanced over at the beautiful Starla with her perfectly shaped nose and dark blue eyes. She looked lovely in her powder blue strapless dress. It had a tight-fitting bodice full of sparkly rhinestones and a skirt of layered tulle. Of course, the silver high heels were a perfect match with the dress and Oddily experienced a pang of jealousy. Why couldn’t Kendall have picked her out a dress like that one?!?
“The dress didn’t fit." Oddily lied guiltily, and turned when she heard a commotion stirring in the doorway. Maxim had entered the gymnasium.
After placing a hand to her chest, Oddily thought her heart skipped a beat. He showed up for her, but why would he want to stay by her side all evening with so many beautiful girls around? Of course he wouldn’t, not with Starla in the room, so pretty in her blue dress. Maybe she could hope for one hour of his company. Was that possible, or would Starla capture his attention too soon and steal him from her? Oddily glanced up again, and her heart skipped another beat when Maxim edged his way in her direction.
Kendall squirmed with pleasure when Maxim’s eyes met hers. However, when he reached the swooning girl, acknowledging her presence with a slight nod, Oddily was the one his light blue eyes rested upon.
Oddily gulped. She could see Maxim’s straight white teeth as his lips parted over them in a half smirk, half smile way.
“I’m sorry I’m late,” he greeted her in this kind, melodic voice. His smile brightened when he caught her demure, questioning look. He mused over her shyness as a pale shade of pink spread across her cheeks.
“It’s okay,” she coyly glanced up at him despite Kendall’s glare.
“Do you know each other?” Kendall couldn’t conceal her surprise.
“We’re friends,” Maxim answered for them both.
Looking first at the mysterious boy, then at Oddily, who had the beginnings of a deeper flush spreading across her face, Kendall searched around the room and excused herself.
“Thank you anyway,” Oddily called out knowing Kendall planned to spread some gossip to Starla.
Maxim gazed at Oddily after Kendall left and she was thrilled with his attention. Standing next to him, he appeared to be much taller than she remembered.
“Thanks for what?” Maxim asked.
“Kendall wanted to let me wear one of her dresses tonight.” Then Oddily’s eyes widened. “Should I have taken her up on her offer?”
“I told you not to worry.” Then he bent down and whispered in her ear. “I think you’ll be pleased.”
Maxim took hold of Oddily’s hand, as if doing so was the most natural thing in the world to do, and guided her to the front door. Her quick hazel eyes missed nothing as she sensed every girl in sight wishing they were the one by his side. Oddily spotted Starla ditching Paul and Kendall to go off and huddle with Kip. Who were they talking about? What were they up to? A cold chill crept up her spine when Kip glanced over at her. He had his usual awful expression on his face—a grimace now burned into her memory.
Outside in the parking lot, where Maxim had parked his black BMW, Oddily waited for him to open the trunk. He pulled out a pretty pink garment bag along with another smaller sack and asked her to take him to the girl's room. To her surprise, he walked right into the lavatory with her.
“Oh no, you shouldn’t be in here,” her eyes conveyed surprise. “You’ll have to wait out in the hallway.”
“I understand; but before I do, I want to see your reaction to the dress.”
His statement puzzled her but Oddily went ahead and opened the garment bag. She pulled out a spaghetti strap dress made of green chiffon, and a solid beige underlining peeked out from under the chiffon. The style was suitable for
her flat chest.
“It’s so beautiful, but how did you know my size?”
Maxim had checked the size of the dress he still had from her shoplifting excursion, but he wasn’t going to tell her.
“Just a lucky guess,” he diverted his eyes for a moment before changing the subject. “Please…put it on.”
“You will wait a long time if you don’t go outside?”
Maxim smiled and left Oddily to herself. He had experienced immense pleasure while watching her face light up. She reminded him of a kid on Christmas morning when she opened the garment bag.
Oddily modeled the dress for him, as he requested, if you want to call standing stiff as a board in front of him modeling. The dress was similar to the one she took from the department store only this one was a richer, brighter shade of green with a subtle floral design. Incredibly, the color of her large eyes altered to match the green of her dress.
“You didn’t like the shoes?” he asked when she stepped out of the bathroom still wearing her old brown boots.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I forgot about the other bag.” Oddily scurried back into the girl's room and after a few moments came back out wearing feminine looking pale peach sandals.
“I’m impressed!” he smiled, surprised that Oddily could walk without stumbling. “You have worn high heels before.”
Oddily beamed her crooked grin at him. “I adore high heels. I used to sneak into Starla’s closet and practice walking in her heels all the time, even if they were too big. These here are wonderful because they actually fit me.”
Suddenly she frowned. “My feet are accustomed to the feel of my old boots or the warm earth when I’m not in school, so I’m sure they will protest loudly as the night moves on.”
Maxim couldn’t help himself. He had to laugh out loud because of her undeniable honesty. She was so refreshing to be around and Maxim found he couldn’t get enough of her pure, innocent ways.
“I have one more thing for you.” Maxim reached into his pocket, pulled out a small box and handed it to her. Oddily took off the lid, eyeing a necklace with a delicate, pale peach rose.
“How lovely, Maxim. And the color matches my shoes!”
“Allow me to help you with that.”
Oddily’s hand trembled as she handed the box to him and turned around. His fingers felt warm against her neck while he fastened the clasp.
“You look beautiful,” he whispered.
The word ‘beautiful’ stuck in her mind as though it were glued there permanently. No one had ever equated that word with reference to her before, except for the virtual Lucas from the Steam of Dreams game, but that didn’t count.
“Hello guys!” The voice brought Oddily out of her reverie. Her tall, skinny tormenter obviously had hunted her down for Starla.
Kip came up and dropped a thin strong arm over Oddily’s shoulder, leaning on her body and nearly collapsing her to her knees from his weight. His keen secretive dark gray eyes, fixed on Maxim for a minute then on her.
“I dig your dress.” Kip seemed satisfied with what she had on because his mouth had a pleasant twist that became sarcastic, or teasing, or charming, as he willed. “It’s perfect!”
“Thank you,” she whispered modestly, wishing he would leave her alone.
“We’ll see you inside the dance,” Maxim said with a straight face as he pulled Oddily away from under Kip’s arm, and held her protectively by his side.
Thankfully, a clicking sound came down the hallway of lockers. A ‘high school’ sophomore named Jenessa made the sound with her high heel shoes as she approached.
“Hi Kip,” she smiled flirtatiously at him and gave Maxim a gawking once-over while she wiggled past them into the girl's room.
Kip smiled, not missing the warning still displayed in Maxim’s eyes, or the awkwardness that fell between the three of them until Oddily’s sweet voice broke the silence.
“I’ll be ready in a minute,” her eyes focused solely on Maxim.
“In a minute,” he repeated, his eyes never wavering from Kips.
After edging away, Oddily hurried into the girl's room. The tension between the two guys became too intense for comfort.
“What’s all this?” Jenessa waved her arm to cover the discarded clothing and empty sacks. “Is this your stuff?”
After shrugging in embarrassment, Oddily stepped over to her old brown boots and kicked them under one of the stall doors.
“I’ve never seen you around here before. Do you go to school here or are you an outside date?”
Oddily’s mouth gaped open in surprise. “It’s me…Oddily!”
Jenessa squinted while studying Oddily’s hair and face. “Geeez, it really is you! You look so…different.”
“Yeah, that’s what I’ve been told.”
“Wow, I would have never guessed. Have you jumped his bones yet?”
“What do you mean?”
Jenessa wasn’t surprised by Oddily’s innocence. “You know—a girl, plus a gorgeous boy, equals sex.”
“Oh,” Oddily’s eyes widened with the thought. “No, I haven’t.”
Jenessa’s attention went back to the mirror while she applied a pretty shade of lip-gloss on her thin lips. Then she said, “If you don’t mind my mentioning it, you could use a little lip gloss yourself.”
Oddily’s hand involuntarily came up to her lips. “I suppose you’re right, but I don’t have any.”
“No problem.” Jenessa took a paper towel from the towel vendor and smudged some of the lip-gloss on it. “Here, this should be enough.”
Oddily dabbed her finger into the pretty hued, sticky stuff and smeared it on her pouting lips. “Mmmm—it tastes good.”
“It’s called, Tangerine.”
Oddily followed Jenessa out of the bathroom, and was pleased to see Maxim still waiting for her…alone. Her eyes shifted up and down the hallway just to make sure.
“He’s gone,” Maxim volunteered as if reading her mind.
“Look at my lips,” she held her face up to his, so he had a better view. “I’m wearing lip-gloss, and its tangerine flavor.”
Maxim casually bent down and kissed her, then licked the residue on his lips. “This gooey stuff is an interesting invention. We’ll have to get you some so you can wear it more often.”
When no response came from Oddily, he glanced at her and stared in wonderment when she appeared to be frozen as though time had come to a stop. He waved his hand in front of her face. “Are you all right?”
Oddily blinked hard and nodded her head.
“Are you sure?” Maxim noticed her normally pale skin grow paler… ghostly.
Oddily didn’t respond. She was kissed! Her first kiss ever, even though technically it wasn’t a kiss, but a way for him to taste the lip gloss. Who cared what the reason was as long as the effect on her was the same. She refused to move. She didn’t want this moment to end. She needed time to replay the kiss repeatedly in her mind; but the flash in time passed, and it became a new moment.
Oddily was now heading for the gymnasium with this inhumanly handsome stranger as her date. Despite the impossibility of this situation, her heart swelled with excitement.
Maxim’s eyes danced humorously above smiling lips when he overheard Oddily’s breath coming in short spurts. Surprisingly, he didn’t escape the kiss without incident himself.
CHAPTER 21
Once inside the dance, girl’s continued to check out Maxim with interest. Many of those curious eyes drifted to Oddily, still not recognizing her with her new look. She felt as ugly as usual so it didn’t matter much, one way or the other, who they thought she was.
As Oddily glanced around the room, her eyes locked with Paul’s. He danced with Kendall but his attention was on her. When she stared back at him, his warm brown eyes didn’t waver from her. Oddily squirmed, uncomfortable with the sudden interest. Was it possible she did look pretty wearing her new dress?
After the song had ended, Paul excused himself and headed in
her direction. Oddily’s eyes grew wide with anticipation while he approached. She glanced up at Maxim to see whether he was aware of what was happening, but his face remained expressionless while he studied the crowd of students as if they were some type of science project.
“Hi Oddily.” Paul stood directly in front of her. “You look amazing!”
“Thank you.” She gave him a sweet smile after blushing from the compliment.
“Maxim, this is Paul, a good friend of my foster sister.”
Still busily inspecting the crowd, Maxim didn’t seem to hear her.
“Maxim?” He still didn’t respond.
“Hey,” Oddily touched his arm, laughing at him a little.
Maxim sensed Oddily’s gentle touch and glanced down at her, then to the guy standing in front of them.
“Hi, I’m Paul.” Paul stuck his hand out for a proper greeting.
“Yes…hello,” Maxim took the extended hand, chiding himself for his distraction. After all, if he intended on being Oddily’s date, he needed to pay attention and not stand around like a fool.
“Would you mind if I steal your girl away for the next dance?”
“You need to ask Oddily.”
Oddily tugged at Maxim’s arm and stared up into his face with pleading eyes. “I think I ought to, but I don’t know how to dance. What should I do?”
Maxim bent over and whispered in her ear. “Just move to the music.”
“But how?” she began to sound frantic.
“Try this.” Maxim shifted his body back and forth from one foot to the other with a little bounce, all the while trying to be inconspicuous. His silliness put a grin on her face.
Paul watched the two exchange an intimate moment and felt worse than ever for Oddily, knowing what was about to happen.
“It’s fine with me.” Oddily cleared her throat when her words came out sounding like a high pitched croak, and grinned nervously before stepping out onto the dance floor. She still thought of him as the hottest guy in school and experienced butterflies being so close to him; but the emotion was nothing compared to what Maxim did to her. Maxim made her heart beat so fast, she felt weak in the knees.