Me, You, & The Party Rock Crew

“You change your mind like a girl changes clothes.” – Katy Perry, Hot N Cold, 2008.

“Oh, I absolutely refuse to even be caught dead wearing the same dress as Sammi of all people, are you kidding me?!” Izzie shrieked when Hattie revealed a beautiful, vibrant, emerald dress from the rack.

“Iz, you are being one hell of a picky bitch right now, it’s annoying,” Hattie sighed, almost defeatedly.

It was true that Izzie was picky about her dresses, but she had a vision, and that vision did not include looking anything like Sammi Ellerson, who was masquerading as a dollar store Poison Ivy. 

“Have you seen Sammi’s post? It’s the same dress, fuuuuck that!” Izzie loudly drawled out, earring a few side-eyes from other shoppers. 

Hattie rolled her eyes, but pulled out her phone to check MySpace. Sure enough, there was Sammi, standing perfectly poised–more statue than model–in the exact same dress. Hattie cringed.

“Oh.”

“Yeah, exactly,” Izzie shook her head in triumph. 

“Mmkay, I stand corrected. Back to the drawing board I go,” Hattie huffed disappearing into the racks to find something else. 

“Izzie! Hey!”

She whipped around to see Carolina looking sun-kissed and bright as she usually did.

“Carolina?! What the hell are you still doing here? Don’t you have a flight to catch?” Izzie called out.

“Is that Carolina?!” Hattie yelled from across the store. 

“Yeah, it’s me!” Carolina laughed in response. “My snowboarding competition got postponed until the end of the month. And before anyone asks where Daisy is–she says she’s not feeling well but let’s be honest…”

“She’s bailing, isn’t she?” Izzie sighed, shaking her head.

“That’s fine. More fun for the rest of us!” Carolina shrugged.

Daisy was the more introverted of the group. She enjoyed curling up with a good book and hot chocolate, and homecoming was the complete opposite of a cozy night in. Izzie understood, even if she lived the complete opposite life. 

“Okay, but, what about this dress?” Hattie reappeared, her bright smile widening as she held up another gown. It was navy blue and glittered like the night sky. 

Carolina’s jaw dropped. 

“Oh, she is a beauty!” Izzie breathed, eyes widening in awe. 

“You have to try her on…” Carolina nudged her with a knowing smirk.

“It’s not gonna walk over to you, come on!” Hattie teased, coaxing Izzie to follow her toward the dressing room.

And just like that, Carolina and Hattie were more than thrilled to find a dress for Izzie, and Izzie was more than ecstatic to dance the night away in a dress like that.

Once Izzie emerged, both girls exchanged nods of approval. Completely enamored by the dress. This is how she knew she had picked the right dress. 

However, when she turned around, there stood a brunette, wearing the same dress. The color washed her out rather than complemented her pale skin, but Izzie flashed a smile regardless. 

“It looks really pretty on you,” she offered. 

The brunette blushed and let out a huff. “Oh, I’m totally not wearing this to my dance,” she muttered. 

Hattie, Carolina, and Izzie all exchanged a weird look. 

“The hell’s her problem?” Izzie muttered to her friends. 

“Elaine Anderson, she’s an 8th grader. We have another year until we have to worry about her, if that,” Hattie rolled her eyes and waved her off. “She’s always trying to one-up someone.”