Then Mrs. Tilmot spotted me.
Lila gasped when she saw me.
***
She came toward me with a champagne flute in one hand and that familiar expression on her face, the one that always looked like she’d smelled something bad and decided it was me.
She stopped right in front of me and looked me up and down slowly.
I went cold.
Then she said, loud enough for half the room to hear, “Well. I suppose if the theme was attic clearance, you’ve nailed it.”
The people nearest us went quiet.
I went cold.
She tilted her head. “Did you really think you could compete for prom queen in that, Sydney? It looks like somebody turned old curtains into a home economics project.”
My whole body locked up.
I heard someone inhale sharply behind me.
Lila said, “Mrs. Tilmot…”
But the teacher laughed.
She reached toward the blue flowers on my shoulder like she had some right to touch them.
My whole body locked up.
“What are these?” she said. “Hand-stitched pity?”
“Mrs. Tilmot?” a man’s voice said from behind her.
