Dance With A Vampire for Chapter 27

A huge smile lit up my best friend's face. Becky showed me her ballot. Next to King she'd written with perfect penmanship "Alexander Sterling. " Next to Queen it read "Raven Madison. " "I like the sound of it, " I announced. "But Alexander doesn't attend our school. " We folded our ballots and as the treasurer walked back up the row we stuck them in a homemade aluminum-foil-covered box resembling something children make in elementary school. "We each got one vote, " I said proudly. "Now we just need three hundred ninety-nine more!" My mom was so overjoyed that I'd be attending prom, she ducked out of work early, picked me up from school in her SUV, and drove me to Jack's department store. Jack's department store was originally owned by Jack Patterson's father and was now run by Jack, a handsome crush-worthy guy five years my senior. When I was twelve, I'd snuck into the Mansion for him so he could pass an initiation for his high school buddies. He remembered me ever since and always wore a smile for me when I visited the department store. Jack's sold everything from socks to scooters, Fiestaware to Waterford crystal, and generic wallets to Prada purses. My mom and I entered the store, breezing past the linen department. Designer towels in every color on an artist's palette were neatly stacked on white shelves. Focused on a fashion mission, my mom headed straight for the escalators. "Juniors are on this floor, " I instructed, pointing past Bedding. "We're going to Juniors Boutique, " she said. I'd hardly been in the Juniors, much less Juniors Boutique. We rode the ascending escalator, peering down on shoppers perusing fine jewelry. We reached the second floor, walked past Designer Women's Petites, and arrived at Juniors Boutique. Cashmere sweaters, designer blouses, and jeans were perfectly displayed. Anorexic mannequins flaunted size zero skirts and hundred-dollar tank tops. About a dozen or so girls and their mothers were picking through the rows of dressespink, purple, violet, gray, red, green, lavender, black, some with rhinestones or lace, plunging necklines or conservative ones, sleeveless or strapless, floor-length or knee-length hems. Each daughter was a Xerox copy of her mom. Except for our brunette hair, which my mother regularly colored, my mom and I appeared to be polar opposites. One by one, my mother pulled dresses off the racks until she had two armfuls. One by one, I glanced over dresses and moved to another rack, empty-handed.