Chapter 2: The morning of the party
"More tea, Sierra?"
I wince internally but flash the most enthusiastic smile I can muster "Yes please, Mrs. Hale."
Her tea did not taste nice. Mrs.Hale had diabetes and I'm not sure if she was trying to make sure it didn't happen to us or if she simply forgot to add sugar or if she really thought this was how tea was made.
I hold my cup up as Andrew's grandmother pours the warm liquid from a pretty ornamental tea pot. Andrew looks up from his notes scattered on the floor and smirks at me. I do my best to glare at him, while thanking Mrs. Hale for another scone.
"Oh dear. We're all out of scones" Mrs. Hale glances at the empty plate "Is your girlfriend still coming around, Andrew?"
I grin triumphantly as Andrew quips irritably "Her name's Samara and she's not my girlfriend."
"She'll be here, Mrs. Hale." I promise, flashing the old woman a smile.
"Then I'd better get another batch going on darling." she says slowly getting up and shaking her head "You children! I don't know where you put all this food. Last night, I caught Andrew in the kitchen. The boy was pigging out on a stalk of celery as though his life depended on it. "
I snort as Mrs. Hale walks back into the kitchen "Seriously, Andrew. Celery? What are you? Some kind of rodent?"
Andrew for his part didn't look remotely ashamed "I had a craving for them."
"You're like a pregnant woman"
"Uh-uh" he hums not really paying attention, his eyes glued to his worksheet "Hey, what did you get for question 7?"
I glance down at my scribble "Uh...23.5. "
Andrew frowns down at his own work but before he could respond the door bell chimes, and Sam's voice fill the entrance hall. She walks into the room and has a slightly guilty expression on her face, which I don't immediately account for, until I notice the shopping bag with an expensive label tucked under her arm.
She catches my gaze and quickly puts a hand up "Before you say anything, they're hand me downs. I swear I haven't spend a dime on it!"
Andrew briefly glances up at us, looks around questioningly, spots the shopping bag and goes back to his work, completely uninterested.
"I thought we agreed I wasn't going to wear a dress, Sam." I force out through clenched teeth "We were planning on keeping this casual remember?"
"Yeah, well.." she looked defensive "I only said those things so you'd let me throw you a party. But there's no way I'm going to let you look like a hooligan in front of your mate."
"If he's even going to be there" I snort but immediately feel guilty at the hurt look that filters across Sam's face. I quickly agree to try on the dress to cheer up, and I think I succeeded a tad bit, though there was some stiffness in the way she smiled. Crap.
Sam has quite a touchy spot when it comes to the topic of mates. Werewolves found their mates within a few weeks of turning eighteen. Since there weren't many of us,it was usually a short process, though there were rare exceptions. Sam had her eighteenth birthday in January and now it was December and she still hasn't found her mate. It worried her,I knew and the rumors and snarky comments at school only made it worse for her.
She's never lost hope of course,but I can tell that inside, she's afraid she's going to end up mate less like her mother. I'm afraid of that too.
I choose Andrew's bedroom to change and shut the door behind me. As I hold the paper cover in my arms, I'd be lying if I said I didn't feel a thrill of excitement shoot through me. I gently pry the transparent material and spread the dress across the bedspread.
I'm a bit underwhelmed, actually.
It's simple, perhaps more casual than what I had intended to wear initially. It was a soft material in black, long sleeved and which reached up to the knees. Though it didn't look the least bit used, I assumed it belonged to one of the twins.
I try it on and it's a little loose, but I think that's a good thing. It didn't cling to my body like second skin but was tight enough to show that I wasn't exactly a prude.
I look at myself in the mirror, my heart fluttering in anticipation. Being holed up in the East hostel sucks; you never really have enough money. I could count the number of times I've worn anything this good on one hand.
Again I'm disappointed at the sight. When I put the dress on I had a ridiculous feeling that I'd suddenly look like one of those models that wore it, casual yet sexy.
Instead it was just me, my hair limp and face too pale, in a new dress.
"Are you finished yet?" Andrew hollers from outside.
I take one more look at myself, somehow hoping I've grown prettier in the last few seconds, but there's insultingly no change.
Sam spots the annoyed scowl on my face "Don't worry, darling. No one's naturally beautiful. We just need to highlight a bit of your features and make them pop...Chill Si, I'll make sure you look ravishing."
In spite of myself, I start to feel the annoyance slowly sweep away through my pores. I've seen Sam work her magic before, and I think there's a plausible chance I'll end up looking good this evening.
"Not too ravishing" Andrew warns, entering the room, his phone in hand "I don't want to spend the night pulling boys off you."
Yeah right. I wish.
"All right people" Sam claps her hand enthusiastically "Let's get a move on. The party is in three hours and we still have a lot to do!"
Sam makes me remove the dress, and packs it up carefully, not letting it crease. I collect my notes from the living room floor, careful to leave Andrew's behind. I wasn't going to give him an excuse to not do it.
Sam cocks her head towards my arm "You've finished? What did you get for seven?"
"23.5" I slip past Andrew as he opens the front door.
"That's weird" Sam stops frowning "I got 24.5"
"And I got x" Andrew snaps exasperatedly "Yes, the letter. But you don't see me whining about it. Now get your ass in the car."
I can tell Sam hasn't let it go. She's quite committed to her grades. I try to follow her example and do generally well in class, but I get pissed off often when I realize how little of these things we study are actually going to help us in real life.
"Seat belt on, girls" Andrew instructs us as he revers the car into the road.
"It's like driving with a soccer mom" Sam mutters from the passenger seat.
I chuckle and look out the window.
Though I don't show it, I really am quite excited to meet my mate. Being a former rogue has it's own demerits and though I have Andrew and Sam with me, I know it won't be enough. Sam would most probably meet her mate sometime and Andrew,being human, wasn't constrained in choosing a partner and would meet a girl. Or a guy, I don't know.
I need a person who would care for me unconditionally.
Who would, well not exactly love my flaws, but learn to accept them.
Who would finally make me feel at home.
Because I belong to him and he belongs to me and no one can say otherwise. Because no matter what, we were destined to grow old together, by each others side forever.
I can feel my wolf growing restless. She knows he's somewhere out there.
Maybe even at this party.
I take a deep breath and stare at the green blur passing by. This could essentially be the day that changed my life. Perhaps tomorrow, we'll have a new person sitting with us at lunch.
I glance over at my friends in the front, fighting over the music, and smile slightly. My two special people. They've shown me one form of happiness; sleepovers and movie marathons and putting on face masks and copying off assignments and laughter.
But there's another form of happiness. Something a friend couldn't give. Something only a mate could give you.
Perhaps tomorrow, I'll be as happy as I can be.
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