“I’m not so sure about that.”
JESSICA
Sweet Dreams by Eurythmics
Ayawn slips past my lips as I make my way towards the mall entrance. Annoyed at the fact that I’m being thrown into a prom committee I simply want no part of. The mall smells like pretzels and cheap perfume. It’s also freezing here. I much prefer to be too hot than too cold.
There’s nothing fancy about this place, and the fluorescent lights buzz overhead, flickering just enough to make my skin itch. It’s like everything here is frozen in a permanent state of trying. Mannequins wear outdated fashion with tacky colors and large shoulder pads. Storefronts all blast the same kind of music, and then I see them.
The bitches… I’m up against.
I didn’t care about prom. Or being a prom queen, yet somethingabout winning the crown over Stacey made me consider my attitude. The girls continue to work on their posters,PROM NIGHTwritten in bold on every single one. Stacey is the first one to look up, her emerald gaze landing on me and a smirk appears on her lips.
“Jessica,” Lacey chimes. “It’s nice of you to join us.”
Is it though? Her words are inviting, but something about the way she looks at me gives me uncanny vibes. Maybe it’s just me. “Hi,” I mutter as I pull out a blue plastic chair and take a seat. “I’m here, what now?”
“You work on posters, of course,” Stacey replies before turning her attention back to her pinked out poster. Seriously, it’s like she took every shade of the color and used it. That should be a crime on its own.
“We’re going dress shopping as soon as we finish these,” some girl who’s name I haven’t even bothered to learn says with a smile. She looks just like the rest of them—blue frosted eyeshadow, acrylic nails, teased hair. Copy and fucking paste.
“I picked mine out weeks ago,” Lacey says with a sigh of longing. “But I need Stacey to approve, of course.”
“You need Stacey to approve your dress?” I ask as I reach across the table to grab a marker. I opt for darker colors, the ones forgotten on the corner of the table. Stacey glares at me, pure venom swirling in her emerald eyes.
“What are you doing?” Lacey asks, her left brow arching with a silent gesture.
I look down at the black marker in my hand and flatly respond, “Grabbing a marker.”
She looks appalled, her eyes widening. “No, we have a color code. It has to be purple or blue.”
I squint my eyes at her. “Why?”
Stacey snickers besides her. “Because, it’s the theme. There’s no black goth shit under the sea.”
I don’t argue, and I don’t pick up another marker. Ignoring the theme, I work on my own poster as they drone on about prom and dresses. Who will hook up with who? Nothing that I care about listening to. I try my best to tune them out and, by the looks of it, they are pretending that I’m no longer here.
“Baby blue or silver?” Lacey asks as she brings her poster up in the air. I look up and it looks exactly like the one Stacey is working on but in blue.
“Either,” I say with a shrug. “Or do both. I don’t care.”
Stacey slams her marker on the table, the sound startling me. Neither of them laugh as they look at me with disdain. “You should. Prom is important in this town.”
“I don’t care,” is all I respond before I shift my attention to my watch. We’ve been here for about an hour, and I’m already bored enough to commit a felony. My knee bounces under the table as I scan the mall, desperate for anything more interesting than this.
Then I see it.
An old arcade, tucked between a closed photo booth and adarkened shoe store. For a place called Sunnyvale Mall, everything is so gloomy. The game joint looks like it hasn’t been updated since Carter was in office. Noticing that the metal gate is only half way down, I decide that I’ve found something more interesting and will explore while these sheep look at dresses.
“I think maybe just a tiny bit more glitter glue, and we should be good!” Lacey states. The girls all giggle like idiots.
She didn’t even say anything funny. I need to get the fuck out of here.
“I’ll meet you guys at the store. I need to pee,” I tell them as I stand and push away from the table to walk towards the handpainted sign that hangs crookedly in the window. It’s like a beacon of light daring me to get close. My heart picks up its pace, the anticipation of breaking in has my body harping with nerves and excitement bubbling in my belly. Now this is what I’m talking about.
I ignore the sign that tells me the place is closed for renovation. Quickly, I make sure no one is watching before I duck down and step into the arcade. My Chucks echo against the tile floor as I step inside. It takes a second for my vision to adjust, it’s dark and quiet aside from the sounds that drift from the food court and nearby stores. The machines are all full of dust and taped up with ‘Out of Order’ signs. The deeper I get into the arcade, the quieter it becomes. It’s a bummer that nothing seems to be in service.
Disappointment overpowers my curiosity. Just as I decide to cut my losses, and head back to the front of the arcade, the sound of themetal gate rattling, startles me. I spin on my heel.
