Free Katy's Homecoming by Kim Vogel Sawyer Page A

looking so innocent, and then saying Jewel was
dissing
you.” Trisha giggled again. “The word just doesn’t fit you, Katy.”
    Katy sighed. “And being the attendant doesn’t fit me, either.” She thought about the lavender organdy waiting in Aunt Rebecca’s shop. As much as she loved the shimmery fabric, she was foolish to think it would be enough to transform her into royalty. Tears pricked, irritating her with their presence. What was wrong with her lately? She always wanted to cry.
    She squinted to hold back the tears. “Jewel said it would look stupid to have Michael standing up there alone. But how much more stupid will it look to have me standing there in my — as Jewel calls it — grandma dress and cap? No matter what I do, it’ll be wrong!”
    The buzzer rang, and students swarmed toward the doors. Katy, Trisha, and Cora joined the throng. Trisha got swept ahead, but Cora linked arms with Katy. She tipped her head and spoke directly into Katy’s ear. “I have anidea. Make sure you meet me for lunch, and I’ll tell you all about it.” She scurried off to her locker.
    Katy headed to her first-hour class. She had no clue what Cora would suggest, but she was open to anything that might solve her dilemma. For the first time in days, hope flickered in her heart. But when she sat down at the table at noon and heard Cora’s idea, the hope sputtered and died.
    “That’s
your idea?”
    Cora’s face sagged. She looked so defeated that Katy felt bad. Katy immediately apologized. Cora shrugged and sipped her milk, her eyes aimed off to the side. Her feelings were still hurt.
    Trisha picked up a fish stick and waved it at Katy. “Actually, it’s not a bad idea at all. I mean, think about it.” She used the fish stick to trace tally marks in the air. “Number one, the sophomore class has to be represented and that representative has to be you; number two, your dad won’t let you buy a dress and what you have will
not
do; number three, Cora, Shelby, and I each have at least one perfectly good dress hanging in the closet just begging to be worn again; number four, you’re staying with Shelby homecoming weekend, so it’d be really simple for us to get the dresses to you; and five” — she made a triumphant slash with the fish stick, sending little crumbs through the air — “wearing one of our dresses, you’ll look like any other high school girl on homecoming night.”
    “And,”
Cora added, setting aside her pout,“you’ll be all dressed and ready for the dance.”
    A little shiver of excitement wiggled down Katy’s spine when she thought about the dance. She scanned thelunchroom and spotted Bryce two tables over, sitting with his usual group of guy friends. He glanced up, caught her looking, and smiled. She smiled back then quickly looked away. Her heart fluttered in her chest. What would Bryce think if he saw her in a dress other than her typical Mennonite dresses? He seemed to like her, but he’d never told her she was pretty. Would he tell her so if she wore clothes like the other girls?
    And since when is being pretty so important, Katy?
She pushed the inner reprimand aside and said,“I’ll have to think about it.”
    Trisha munched a fish stick, her brow puckered in thought. She went on as if Katy hadn’t spoken. “Cora’s dresses will probably fit you better since you’re closer to the same size — both of you are really short.”
    “Hey!” Cora protested.
    Trisha laughed. “But I still love ya,
shorty.”
She laughed again at Cora’s sour face and then said,“You’ll need to wear high-heeled shoes no matter which dress you choose.” She peeked under the table. “But you have really little feet. Mine won’t fit you. What size do you wear, anyway?”
    “Six and a half.”
    Cora paused in carrying a forkful of macaroni and cheese to her mouth. “Are you kidding me? I haven’t worn shoes that small since I was in sixth grade!” She looked at Trisha. “Shoes might be a