Odette was determined to find the perfect dress. If, by any stroke of luck, she was invited by Carl to go to the ball, looks mattered. If she didn’t go with him, she could always dress to impress him. Arriving in anything other than a mind-blowing outfit meant disaster. He dated the most beautiful and sophisticated girls. No matter their attitudes, the girls he was with knew how to turn heads wherever they went. She needed to be just as engaging, if not better, to get his attention.
With her parents away on business, she could focus on the plans to woo Carl. They would have told her to find a man who was into the person she was and not to stop being their nerdy daughter. Advice just as terrible as their belief in fantasy bloodlines. The real world had no time for pretense. She either rose to the occasion or failed. It was terrifying enough to figure out a way to get Carl away from his posse. Beth was working on a solution, but she doubted that even her best friend’s brother would risk social suicide for them.
During that week, Beth had been glad to go shopping for the perfect dress for the ball. They had gone to multiple stores, hunting for their dream gowns. Yet, it seemed that no outfit could make her feel confident or beautiful no matter what Odette tried. Everything looked dowdy when she thought about impressing Carl. The dress would seem perfect on the rack, but she felt like a pretender when she tried it on. The shoes were even worse. Three days went by, and she was sure that the idea of going to the ball had been a huge mistake.
Her bestie didn’t allow her to quit. If the dress had to wait, Beth could, at least, give Odette the perfect makeover. Odette refused anything being done to her hair outside of a professional blowout. Her long, blonde hair might be old-fashioned, but she liked it that way. She cringed when the hairstylist cut off the split ends. Then there was a cute ensemble Beth roped her into buying. A polka dot handkerchief top and a blue pleated skirt that barely passed her knees. She insisted on wearing her pink flats despite protests from her friend. Finally, Beth did her makeup, and Odette was ready to face the world. It was time to call Beth’s brother and find out where Carl was that day.
“What if I mess this up?” Odette followed Beth to the football field.
The team was having weekend practice, and it would be the perfect time to show up when most of her fellow schoolmates were off, enjoying the weekend.
Beth squeezed Odette’s arm and gave her a gentle push. “Stop being such a worrywart. Carl would have to be blind and dumb not to notice you. I bet you’ll be beating off the guys with a stick once they see you.”
What Beth believed to be hilarious was Odette’s worst nightmare. She wanted Carl to notice her, not a bunch of random, horny jocks. Maybe her best friend liked to play the field until a special someone came along, but she had no intention of hooking up with random guys. If anyone besides her target asked for a date, she would probably flee the country and never return.
She took deep breaths and followed Beth, who waved at the tall guy. Squinting, Odette realized it was Keith, Beth’s brother.
“Hey, brother of mine,” Beth cooed at a muscular brunette splashing himself under the broiling heat. “The team’s working hard as usual. I wish you did chores this good, Keith.”
“Har, har, very funny.” Keith rolled his eyes and then focused his attention on Odette. “Who’s that with you? I thought you were bringing along that sad bookworm that always trails behind you everywhere.”
Odette’s face went a deep shade of red.
Was that really how Keith saw her? He had always been friendly when they exchanged a few polite words. Her idea was definitely crazy. Keith was proof of it. If Beth’s jock brother didn’t see her as a good prospect, what chance did she have with Carl?
Beth slapped the side of her brother’s head. Looking absolutely livid and earning her keep as a bestie. “Who else would I bring with me? Stop thinking with your third leg and have some manners.”
Keith went crimson. After stuttering through an apology, he turned and ran off.
So much for introducing them to Carl. The only way things could get worse was a fainting spell or a rainstorm.
“Forget him. We can do this ourselves.” Beth grabbed Odette’s hand, stomping across the field. There wasn’t a single doubt in the confident girl’s stride as she shoved men five times her size aside. In any other situation, this would seem heroic, but now it screamed insanity.
Odette was too shocked to resist yet felt her heart thumping in her chest. What if Carl thought she was some crazy stalker and dashed off like Keith? Sure, that wasn’t her fault, but that would be mortifying. Talk about being a social pariah straight through to graduation. She had to stop this and go home before things got any worse. Maybe she would find the courage to ask someone else in a decade.
“Beth, we should go.”
“Nonsense, we don’t need a man to help us.” Beth showed her best smile and waved. “Hey, guys! It looks like you’re ready to win the next game. You know me because of my brother, but have you met Odette?” The brunette pushed Odette forward like a human sacrifice to the five beefy guys.
Odette forced a smile. “Um. Hi! You guys really do a great job. Hey, Carl.” She found the courage to look into the eyes of the raven-haired male hanging out in the back.
Carl O’Brien looked up when his name was called. He had creamy tanned skin, a wavy dark hair head, and brown eyes. Just over six feet tall, the football player easily towered over her. There was no doubt he could get any girl with just a wink and a grin.
He moved closer. “Hey. Do I know you from class? Beth usually hangs out with that other homely chick, Charming.”
Odette froze at the term. Homely? Was that how he saw her? She knew her old self was no big beauty, but that word stung. Perhaps changing herself this much was a mistake. If Carl was going to fall for her, it had to be real. She had no intention of pretending forever that these were the kind of clothes she liked to wear.
Faking a smile, she said, “Beth hangs out with some nice/great people.”
“Sure, but some of them are kind of ugly,” another player joked.
Soon, the guys were laughing and pushing at each other.
Odette’s heart sank to her feet. The team saw her as another random, pretty face, which was probably for the best. Hopefully, things couldn’t get any worse.
“I think I left something in the car. Right, my sunglasses.” She came up with the perfect getaway.
Without her glasses, she could only see a few feet ahead clearly. The contact lenses they ordered didn’t arrive in time, so she risked going without them. Now she wanted to leave before anything more disastrous happened. Her stomach was in knots.
Grabbing her friend’s arm, Odette pleaded with Beth with her eyes. “Come on, let’s go.”
“Odette, look out!” her friend screamed too late.
The mascot had been running forward with a tray of energy drinks, but the blonde completely missed seeing him. The pair crashed into each other and fell to the ground. It was a huge scene with people from all over running forward. A few started pulling out their camera phones to take pictures.
“Are you okay?” Beth pushed past the crowd as Odette struggled to her feet.
“Charming, are you hurt?” Keith dashed forward and pulled her up. “Guess you do need those glasses,” he noted, giving her a water bottle and a towel.
“Charming?” a random person in the crowd asked.
“Isn’t that the toady-looking girl in class wearing old hand-me-downs?”
“Nah, she’s the blonde chick dressed as she lives in a convent.”
“Is that her hot twin sister?”
“I am so posting this on Instagram!”
The voices swirled around, filling Odette with dread.
Instead of her new look bringing in better opportunities, she was going to be the campus laughingstock. Hell, she might even make the university’s gossip journal since people were already uploading pictures on social media. The day had taken such a turn for the worse that she had whiplash. Or maybe that was from crashing into the innocent mascot and soaking them both.
“You idiot!” Beth kicked at her brother. “You ruined everything. I’ll never forgive you.”
“What did I do? Why wasn’t she wearing her glasses?” Keith countered.
Odette quickly cleaned up as best as she could. “Take me home, Beth. Just forget about this whole thing. It was a dumb idea.” The sooner she got home, the sooner she could curl up into a ball and cry for all eternity. This was what she deserved for messing with the status quo.
“Not so charming now,” a group of cheerleaders taunted as she and Beth walked briskly off the field.