“So I was thinking...why don’t we go to the mall this weekend?” Karen asked.
“What for?” Megan wanted to know. She was all for hanging out, but she wasn’t sure the mall was really the place she wanted to be.
“There’s this new store that just opened that I want to check out. And I want to get a new dress.” Karen told her.
“Ok.” Megan shrugged, deciding it was better to not be difficult.
Megan didn’t particularly like the mall – shopping always seemed pretty boring to her. But this was the first time anyone other than Jen had wanted to hang out with her since she started high school, and she didn’t want to waste the opportunity.
Besides, now that she was actually hanging out with the most popular girls in school, she was starting to feel like maybe her faded jeans and Jr. High t-shirts weren’t really cutting it anymore. And when it came to picking out her new wardrobe, she could probably use the opinion of some people who actually knew something about fashion.
“Wait – you’re going to go? Really?” Jen asked, eyes wide. She casually put her hand over her mouth and Megan knew she was hiding a smirk.
“Sure, why not?” Megan shrugged again. It wasn’t that big a deal – so why was Jen treating it like it was the best joke she’d heard all year?
“I just never thought I’d hear Megan McGowen actually say she’d go to the mall voluntarily.”
“I go sometimes.” she said defensively. True, it was usually when she got a rip in her jeans that was too big to patch, but so what? It wasn’t like she’d never been before.
“Well, if you’re going, I’ll definitely be there.” Jen grinned in a way Megan wasn’t sure she liked. “What time are we going?”
“Great.” Karen said, oblivious to just how excited Jen really was. “How about after school on Friday?”
“Wouldn’t miss it.” Jen told her.
“I’ll meet you guys there.” Stacey broke in. “I’m going to try to meet up with Heath after school.”
She said it in a way that made Megan feel just the slightest bit nauseous, but no one said anything to Stacey about it. Even Megan knew better by now.
“Let us know how that goes.” Tara said. She looked like she was trying not to roll her eyes. Stacey didn’t seem to notice the sarcasm.
Megan spent the rest of the week secretly dreading her group excursion. She tried to play it off like it was no big deal, but inside she was trying to keep from panicking. What if she said something stupid? Or if she only ended up picking out the tackiest clothes? What would her new friends think of her then?
When the last bell finally rang on Friday, Megan met up with her friends at the back of the school before heading to their cars. She really wasn’t looking forward to the trip, but she tried her best not to show it. Instead, she tried to be positive. She was going somewhere with friends, and that was the important thing, right? Hopefully that would keep this whole thing from being too boring.
The first thing Megan’s friends did when they got to the mall was make a beeline for that frilly shop with the dresses displayed in the window – the one Megan made it a habit to avoid at all costs. She’d long ago made the decision to never wear dresses. Same for skirts. She was perfectly happy in her comfortable, somewhat faded jeans. But they hadn’t been in the store five minutes before Danielle was trying to change that.
“You should try that on.” she told Megan, pointing to a deep blue dress with a frilly neckline that was hanging on the wall.
“Uh, I don’t know...” Megan said. She’d been kind of hoping to avoid the whole trying on clothes thing.
“Come on. I bet it looks really good on you.” Danielle persisted. “Besides, what do you have to lose?”
“Well, I mean, it’s just that...” Megan said slowly, trying to come up with some excuse. She really didn’t want to spend the whole time trying on clothes.
“Don’t be such a baby.” Danielle rolled her eyes.
“You don’t have to buy it – just try it on.” Karen cut in. “Besides, you know she won’t stop ’til you do.”
“Fine.” Megan grumbled. She grabbed the dress and stalked off to the dressing rooms.
She pulled the dress down over her head and turned to glare at the mirror. But when she caught sight of her reflection, she stopped short. She had to admit, she did look nice – definitely a step up from her usual look. Maybe it really wouldn’t kill her to get a few new things every once in a while. And despite Megan’s firm intentions when she’d walked into that mall with her new friends, she found herself leaving the store with two huge bags full of clothes.
Danielle had been ecstatic that Megan ended up getting that blue dress after all. She still didn’t know when she’d ever wear it, but Danielle insisted that it was perfect for school. Megan thought it was kind of too nice to wear to chemistry, but she was outvoted. When her friends helpfully let her know just how wrong she was, Megan just shrugged – what did she know anyway? She still didn’t think she’d actually be going along with it any time soon though.
And of course Danielle interpreted the fact that Megan hadn’t immediately put the dress back as permission to be her personal fashion consultant for the rest of the day. It seemed like she made Megan try on almost every piece of clothing in the store. Megan was just relieved when the group finally left. That is, until Danielle grabbed her hand and practically dragged her across the mall. Apparently there was a place on the other side of the food court that had clothes Megan would just love.
Of course, Jen followed them around, grinning the whole time. She even offered to help Megan carry some of her bags, so she’d be able to get more things if she wanted. Megan tried not to glare at her; Jen seemed to be enjoying this whole thing way too much. And it didn’t escape Megan’s notice that Jen had somehow managed to come away with almost no new clothes of her own.
“What about you?” Megan asked as sweetly as she could manage. “I wouldn’t want you to miss out on anything you wanted because you were busy helping me.”
“Oh, I’m fine.” Jen replied, matching Megan’s tone and grinning. “Besides, it looks like you might be in need more than me.”
“Oh, thanks.” Megan grumbled. Somehow, Jen wasn’t quite as supportive as Megan had hoped her best friend would be.
They’d been doing this for over two hours when Megan finally stopped at one of the benches on the outside edge of the walkway. And it wasn’t just the fact that she wanted a break that made her pause. Sure, two hours was about an hour and a half more than she’d ever bothered to spend looking for clothes, but what she really wanted to do was consolidate. She had enough bags by this time that she was starting to feel weird. She wondered if her wardrobe really was that bad after all.
Of course, she couldn’t really ask her friends. They were her friends now, regardless of the magic that had caused it. And since she was popular even with old, less-than-fashionable clothes, she knew they would probably tell her it didn’t matter. But she wondered if it really did matter to them – at least subconsciously. After all, Megan doubted the genie had changed their fashion sense, and she knew none of them would ever be caught dead in the kinds of clothes Megan tended to gravitate to.
Megan tried to push those thoughts from her mind as she quickly rearranged the mountain of clothes her friends had somehow managed to saddle her with. As she struggled to stuff everything from her six bags into just two, Danielle continued talking.
“Where next?” she asked excitedly. “I think there’s a store down at the other side we missed. And if you want, we can hit up some of the stores across the street, but you know how those places are...Or we could–”
“Why don’t we get a soda or something?” Megan asked, cutting her off.
She tried her best to hide it, but she was getting desperate to do anything else. She already hated shopping, and if she had to buy one more thing, she thought she was going to scream.
“Yeah. Let’s take a break.” Tara nodded. Megan sighed with relief.
As they walked towards the food court, Megan’s phone buzzed in her back pocket. She took it out and checked the message.
I’ll be there in about 10 min, Ben had written.
K, Megan responded before slipping her phone back into her pocket. Rescue – that was even better than a soda.
“Oh my God.” Jen said suddenly.
“What?” Megan asked, turning to see Jen staring down the hall, eyes wide.
A couple guys from her school were coming towards them. It only took a minute for Megan to recognize them as Greg Whelan and his friend Kurt.
“Do you think they saw us?” Jen whispered, looking nervous. Megan just started smirking.
Jen had had a crush on Greg since she first noticed him in across the room in English freshman year. But even still, she’d never actually spoken to him; she was always too worried about saying something stupid. As if they knew they were being watched, the boys looked up. When they saw Megan and Jen staring at them, they started making their way over.
“What do I do?” Jen whispered urgently, and Megan’s smile only got wider. She had an idea on how to get back at Jen for all her support tonight.
“Go say hi.” she told Jen.
“Are you insane?” Jen asked. “You know I can’t do that!”
“Sure you can – what’s the worst that could happen?”
“I could make a complete and utter fool of myself?”
“No you won’t – you’re one of the most popular girls in school. You hang out with seniors now, remember?”
“Doesn’t matter.” Jen said, somehow managing to look both panicked and annoyed. Megan’s phone buzzed again.
I’m here, Ben had texted.
“Hey – I gotta go. But good luck with Greg – let me know how it goes.”
“I hate you so much.” Jen muttered.
Megan pretended not to hear as she said goodbye to the rest of her friends and headed out the door.
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