Page 33 of Ella and the Enchanted Bookshop

There weren’t very many stores that carried costumes or costume dresses, and I could only afford a few of them. I’d told Jaelyne to bring her spending money as well, and for once, she didn’t whine about having to buy something on her own.

“So, what do you want to be at the ball?” I asked her as we made our way into the first department store.

“I want to be Kelsie from the Pretty Pirates,” she answered without even pausing to think.

I nodded and smiled. Every girl I’d seen that year was planning on being the same character from the popular TV series. But I wasn’t about to rain on her parade.

“What about you?” she asked. “What do you want to be?”

I thought about my tiara. “I’m going to be a princess,” I said.

She made a face. “That’s a little cliché, don’t you think?”

“Hey.” I poked her. “There’s nothing wrong with the classics!”

She rolled her eyes, but by that time, we’d reached the costume section of the store. Within ten minutes, my arms had been loaded down not only with Jaelyne’s prospective costume, but several others she wanted to try on, as well as no less than five princess dresses she’d found for me.

“For making fun of my costume idea, you’re sure getting into this,” I said as we headed to the dressing rooms.

She shrugged. “If you’re going to do something cliché, you might as well make it good.”

I laughed and shook my head. “Okay, kiddo. Try your favorite one on first.”

She did. And absolutely loved it. And insisted that I take at least five pictures of her in various poses. But then she also had to try on the pirate costume, a pop princess set, goth butterfly wings, and an outfit that looked suspiciously like it was from the decade of my childhood.

“How is this even a costume?” I frowned at the costume’s packaging.

But Jaelyne snatched the plastic package out of my hands. “Okay, now it’s your turn, Ella!”

I shook my head and laughed. “I know which dress I’m getting. The blue princess dress.”

She rolled her eyes and sighed like she might die. “What fun is it to costume shop if you won’t at least try your costume on?”

She had a point there.

So I obediently headed into the dressing room, and then promptly came out two minutes later. “See? It fits. Happy?” I twirled in a circle in front of her.

But Jaelyne was hardly impressed. “The other blue one would be much better. That one looks cheap.”

“That’s because it is cheap.” I looked down and fingered the fake silk. “The other one costs too much money.”

A wicked smile spread across her face. “I bet Asher would want you to get the pretty one!”

I put my hands on my hips. “Well, Asher’s not here, and I have to pay for my own dress.”

“At least pose.” She held up her phone.

I rolled my eyes like she had done but complied.

“Perfect.” She took the picture, then began tapping away at her phone.

“What are you doing?” I asked. But she yanked her phone away from me.

“Nothing. Except sending this to Asher.”

I froze. “How did you get his number?”

She gave me a look like I must be the dumbest person on the planet. “Ella, you leave your phone unlocked all the time! I copied his number and texted him to let him know it’s me.” She gave her phone another evil grin. “Now I’m asking him which one he thinks you should get.”