Before the Boys Say No Read online

  Suddenly, I caught my breath. A long black and white dress hung on the end of a shelf as a display. It had spaghetti straps and fell in silky soft layers of black and white material. As hard as it was for me to admit, it was beautiful. Something inside told me to try it on.

  I didn’t think twice. I headed to the dressing room and waited behind a woman and a child. Jared still had not come out of the dressing room. The woman took the other room when it was free. I knocked on Jared’s door.

  “How’s it going in there?” I asked loudly.

  He flung open the door and struck a pose. “What do you think?”

  The white tuxedo was a little big in the shoulders and long in the pants, but was a good possibility. “You can take it to a tailor to have it fitted,” I said with a nod of approval.

  “Take it to a tailor?” Jared asked loudly. “Are you crazy, Beatrice. Do you know how much tailors cost? Besides, the tuxedo is already ten dollars.”

  I rolled my eyes and pushed past him into the dressing room, slamming the door on his objections. I heard him knock.

  “My stuff is still in there, Beatrice. I’m not done yet.”

  “I just want to try this on really quick, Jared,” I yelled back. “I’ll be right out.”

  I pulled off my clothes and carefully slipped the dress over my head. Before I looked in the mirror I knew I had found my prom dress. It fit me perfectly. Looking at the way it fit the shape of my body, I realized Mom was right. My figure may be generous, but it is proportionate. I got chills just thinking of wearing the dress to prom. Of course, Mom wouldn’t be happy that I found a dress without her. And that I found it at a thrift store. And that it only cost seven dollars. I had to look twice at the price. Yep, seven dollars. I laughed out loud, making Jared ask through the door if I was all right.

  I got my dress and Jared got his tuxedo. From a thrift store. Who would have thought? I threatened Jared within an inch of his life if he ever told anyone where I got the dress. He held up his hand in a boy scouts vow.

  I called it right. Mom was not too happy, but she couldn’t deny how well it fit me. I had her stamp of approval. Even Marge was impressed. She kept asking if I was telling the truth about getting it from a thrift store. I finally showed her the receipt to shut her up.

  Now, back to that date thing for Jared. I figured my best bet at getting a date for him would be at a cowboy event. So I dragged Brody with me to a rodeo. We stuck out like sore thumbs. We were probably the only two not wearing cowboy hats or boots.

  I saw Dickie there with a group of his friends. He spotted me and turned and walked away as fast as he could in the opposite direction. I was glad because it would have been pretty awkward for me too.

  I had to let Brody in on my plan. He thought it was pretty far fetched, but pointed out several prospects for a date. I finally got up the nerve to approach a couple of the girls. Let’s just say I’m glad they don’t go to my school. None of them was interested. Not one little bit.

  After two hours of walking around the dirty rodeo grounds, I had given up hope. Brody had become silent and I sensed he was ready to leave. We were walking out of the arena when I saw her. A female Jared. She was skinny with pimples and dirty brown hair in two braids that stuck out under her cowboy hat.

  I didn’t think twice. I walked right up to her and just started telling her about Jared and how I saw her and thought she would make a great date for him. She was startled at first and kept throwing looks at Brody who was waiting for me with his hands jammed into his jean pockets.

  “Is that Jared?” she asked breathlessly, pointing to Brody.

  “No, that’s my boyfriend,” I said with a slight frown.

  She looked disappointed. “I can’t date yet,” she said in her tiny voice. “Not till next year.”

  “Surely your parents will let you go to a prom?” I asked. She shook her head no. “What if they went with you? You know, to chaperone.”

  Her eyes lit up. “That might not be a bad idea,” she said thoughtfully. “But, is this guy cute?”

  “Jared?” I asked, hearing the squeak in my voice. “You’re gonna love him. You’ll have a great time. I promise you.”

  The girl, Shay, gave me her phone number and told me to call her parents. It was the only bit of hope I had. Did I want to call her parents? Not at all. Was I going to? You bet. I needed a debate partner for the state tournament.

  And then Mr. Robarb threw me a curve ball. He had Leslie and me stay after class one day. I could tell he had formed a plan. Curious I slipped into a seat beside Leslie at the front of the room. He rubbed his hands together like some mad genius.

  “I’ve been giving this some thought,” he said in a low voice, “and I think I’ve come up with a plan to help all of us.”

  He paused for dramatic effect. I looked over at Leslie with a frown, wondering if she knew anything about his plan. She looked as clueless as me.

  “Beatrice, you don’t have a solid partner yet, right?” I shrugged my shoulders. “And Leslie, you’re a great debater, but you haven’t had a chance to debate with someone on your level. Wouldn’t you both like to leave senior year with a bang? Two strong female debaters taking state?

  I stared at him in silence for a long moment. Leslie was squirming in her seat. I could read the conflict on her face. She would love to have a winning trophy at state, but she didn’t want to be my debate partner. Poor Leslie. She had played second fiddle to me all four years of high school. Even Jared had more trophies than she had.

  “I don’t think that would work out,” I said with an expressionless face.

  Leslie whirled and looked at me with surprise. “Are you being serious? You might not even have a partner, Beatrice. I would be the best thing that could happen to you.”

  “Correction,” I said, “I would be the best thing that could happen to you.”

  “Oh, please,” she said cooly, turning her nose up in the air and facing Mr. Robarb again. “You’ve gotten lucky, Beatrice. Pure luck.”

  I stood up and grabbed my backpack. “You know what, Mr. Robarb, this is exactly why it wouldn’t work out. I would rather not go to state because I don’t have a debate partner than to be teamed up with Leslie.”

  I didn’t even give him time to react as I strode to the door and slammed it behind me. I strengthened my resolve to find Jared a prom date. Leslie made me so angry I could just spit. So I did. I leaned over and spit on the ground. Only it wasn’t on the ground. It was on Lanie’s shoes. I heard her gasp at the same time I looked up and opened my mouth to apologize.

  She was wearing her cheerleading uniform and was leading a parade of other cheerleaders. This was definitely not the time for me to run into Lanie. Especially since I had just spit on her shoe.

  “You are so gross,” she shouted, pulling her shoe off and wiping it on the grass. “I don’t know how Brody can go out with someone as--fat and gross as you.”

  Something inside me snapped. Call it what you will, but just then Lanie didn’t scare me anymore. Maybe it was the confidence I had gotten from my dance off or from dating Brody; I don’t know. What I do know is my Italian blood started boiling.

  I stuck out my boobs proudly and placed my hands on my hips defiantly. “Oh, I’m not fat, Lanie. Ask Brody. He thinks I’m quite sexy. As for being gross. I only spit on dirt. And you, Lanie, are dirt beneath my feet.”

  With that, I turned and walked away. Not one girl snickered behind my back. I had rendered them all speechless. No way was I going to spend another minute of my life being scared of beautiful people. Maybe the fear went away when I realized how beautiful I was through Brody’s eyes. I mean, it’s one thing for your parents to tell you you’re beautiful. That’s to be expected. But when a guy as cute as Brody tells you that, it changes things.

  As soon as I got home, I called Shay, the girl from the rodeo. Her mom answered the phone, so I went over my conversation with her that I’d had with Shay. I understood her hesitation. I mean, there are a lot o
f sickos out there. I think she got on board when I assured her she and her husband could chaperone them. Of course, Jared didn’t take that piece of news too well.

  “Are you crazy, Beatrice?” he yelled at me. “I’ll be the only one at prom with a date--and her parents.”

  I tried to calm him down, but his face was red. The yellow infection in his pimples looked kind of like neon fireflies had landed on it.

  “I know it sounds crazy when you first hear it, Jared, but I think there’s a way to work around it. I’ll tell the them to sit with the teachers so no one will even know they’re your date’s parents.”

  He ran his hands through his hair, pondering the situation. “I don’t know, Beatrice. Can’t you find me someone else?”

  “It’s last minute, Jared. All the girls I know already have prom dates.”

  “All right,” he said grudgingly. “Go ahead and set it it up.”

  Date for Jared? Check. State debate partner? Check. Some things are worth a little effort, you know?

  Especially getting ready for the biggest date of your life.

  Mom made me take a shower four hours before Brody was supposed to pick me up. She said Marge and her would need that much time to get me ready. You have to understand. In my big fat Italian family, this date is not just my personal affair. The whole family gets involved. Even Dad stayed home to help out as Mom needed.

  As soon as I was out of the shower, Mom wrapped me in a robe and pushed me down on a stool in her bathroom. Marge started putting hair creams and mousses in my red, tangled mess. Aunt Roma crowded into the bathroom carrying rollers.

  “Hey, why aren’t you at the restaurant?” I asked her.

  “Didn’t you know? Your dad closed it early. It’s not every day his little princess goes to the prom.”

  I tried to sit still as they dried my hair, then brushed it till my scalp ached. Finally, Mom and Marge put large hot rollers in it. I felt a headache coming on. Mom yelled out for ibuprofen. It wasn’t long before Uncle Ernie popped his head around the door with a bottle of it. Yes, even Uncle Ernie got in on this ordeal.

  They let me take a break to stand and stretch before forcing me back onto the stool for makeup. I kept telling them to keep it toned down. I mean, Marge puts bright blue eyeshadow on her lids and wears the deepest red lipstick she can find. And no way was I going to wear the gargantuous false eyelashes she wore.

  They powdered and applied and pulled and smoothed my skin until finally, they were finished. Mom had turned me around on the stool so I couldn’t see myself in the mirror. I worried that the makeup looked too heavy. I couldn’t see the colors they had used, but Marge had led their makeover and that worried me.

  I checked the time. Two hours before Brody was to pick me up. Aunt Roma gently took the rollers out of my hair and placed a kiss on top of my head. I loved Aunt Roma. She was always gentle with me.

  After they finger combed my hair and teased it here and there and spritzed hair spray and teased it some more, the three of them stood back to look at me. Mom nodded her approval. She yelled for the dress. Dean brought it into the bathroom. Yep. My brother was involved, too. He grinned when he saw me.

  “Is that a ha ha smile?” I asked. He didn’t answer, which concerned me even more. Mom pushed him back out of the room.

  Marge handed me a black garment. I held it up with a frown and just looked at her. “What am I supposed to do with this?” I asked.

  “It’s a girdle,” she replied.

  “What’s a girdle?”

  “Oh, honey,” she gushed, “I am introducing you to one of the most important contributions to female garments. The girdle has been around for years.”

  “I think they call them body shapers now,” Aunt Roma piped in.

  “This little item will suck and tuck and lift your butt,” Marge crooned. “Try it on.”

  They all watched while I tried to slide the tight piece of spandex over my thighs. I looked helplessly at them. “It doesn’t fit.”

  “Oh, it fits all right,” Marge assured me. “Trust me, I wear these all the time.”

  Marge and Mom got on either side of me and tugged and pulled the body shaper up over my hips. I tried to object, but they wouldn’t even let me talk. Aunt Roma helped me slide the dress over my head. Voila! I was done.

  Mom’s eyes filled with tears as she looked at me. Aunt Roma held her hand over her heart and stared. Marge nodded her head and smiled great big. They finally turned me around. I couldn’t believe that was me staring back out of the mirror. The body shaper had definitely taken my hips down some to make the dress fall softly to the floor. My makeup looked surprisingly natural after all the stuff they had applied to it. And my hair. I had never seen it look so silky and gorgeous, even at the salon.

  “Beautiful,” Dad said from the doorway.

  “I feel like a princess,” I said softly.

  “Let’s take pictures,” Mom yelled. “Ernie, grab the camera.”

  No wonder she wanted me to get ready so early. I had to pose for pictures for almost an hour. And then Brody came an hour early. There was a reason for that. He wanted to take me back to his house so his parents could take pictures.

  Brody literally gasped when he saw me walk out to meet him. He couldn’t take his eyes off me. Of course, my parents had to snap more pictures with the two of us. Then we were settled into the limousine Brody had rented for the evening. I had never been in a limousine before. There had never been any occasion to ride in one before now.

  I held Brody’s hand and we stared into each other’s eyes the whole way to his house. He kept whispering sweet things to me about how beautiful I looked.

  If you want to know the truth, I would have preferred not to stop at Brody’s house. His mom didn’t like me and I didn’t want her to spoil my evening. When the limo pulled up, his parents came out to greet us.

  His dad grinned when Brody helped me out of the limo. His mom literally stopped in her tracks and just stared at me. Brody gave me a small wink and I smiled up at him. He looked so handsome in his black tuxedo.

  “Let’s get some pictures of you two,” Jim said cheerfully.

  Brody’s mom didn’t say much, but I could tell she thought I looked pretty. She kept throwing glances at me when she thought I wouldn’t notice. I suffered through another twenty minutes of pictures before Brody insisted we leave for the prom.

  We were going to be late. I hated being late for anything, so I had to take a couple of deep breaths to calm down. Thankfully, Brody understood. He just grinned and stroked my arm softly as the limo pulled up to the event center.

  The limo driver came around and opened the door. Brody stepped out and held his hand to help me. It was crazy. A lot of couples were arriving late. Probably wanting to make a grand entrance.

  When Brody and I walked in, I knew it was going to be a special night. The lights were low and stars and streamers were everywhere. A long table was set up with food and drinks on the other side of the large room. That’s where the teachers were hanging out. Music filled the air and couples were already dancing. We skipped the photographer set up at the entrance because our parents had already worn us out with pictures.

  I received so many compliments, even from Brody’s friends who kept coming up to give him high fives. I wanted to find Johanna. We hadn’t seen each other’s dresses yet. It was several minutes before I saw her with Steven at the other end of the room. She turned and saw me at almost the same moment and we both squealed. She was wearing the lavender dress she hadn’t had a chance to wear at Winter Formal. We dragged our dates to meet each other half way.

  “You look--wow!” Johanna said when we hugged.

  “You look gorgeous,” I said.

  We stood talking for a few minutes. Then Johanna frowned and looked over my shoulder. “Isn’t that your debate partner?” she whispered.

  I turned around to see Jared making a bee line straight for me. He had his date by the hand and was dragging her behind him as he walk
ed as fast as he could. Right behind them were her parents. Her father wore jeans and boots and her mother wore a long sequined gown.

  “Help,” Jared mouthed when he got close.

  What could I do? I knew I had to help him somehow. I smiled at Shay’s parents and introduced myself. “All the parents need to stand by the food and drink table,” I told them.

  “Oh, we’re fine,” Shay’s mother said quickly.

  “But it’s the rules,” I responded.

  They looked at each other and nodded. Jared’s face brightened as they made their way to the teachers. They both stood at the edge of the group with their arms crossed to keep a watchful eye on their daughter.

  “Let’s dance,” Brody whispered in my ear when a slow song started.

  I moved with him to the center of the room where the couples were dancing. I didn’t want the song to end as I rested my head on his shoulder and relished his arms around me, holding me close as we slowly moved to the music.

  Of course, the fairy tale had to be popped by an evil, sinister plot. Just when things were going great, a girl tapped me on the arm and motioned for me to follow her. Curious, I moved with her to a corner of the room as Brody talked with some friends.

  “Look, you don’t know me, but I’m on the prom committee with Lanie,” she said, her eyes darting around the room to make sure no one had seen us together. “Lanie has convinced everyone to vote for you for prom queen.”

  “But I told her I didn’t want to be nominated.”

  “It doesn’t matter. She had them write your name on the ballot.”

  “Why?” I asked. “I don’t care to be prom queen.”

  “She doesn’t like you for some reason. She had us alter the crown that will be placed on your head. There’s red and purple dye inside the combs that will run onto your hair and get on your skin.”

  “I don’t get it. Why would she do that? And why would everyone agree to that?”