Chapter 2 – Getting Ready

Sara felt better after talking to Neha and went back to her class. Sara decided to edit some stories and finish the work that she had to do. Ms. Daisy was surprised because she thought that Sara wanted to take a day off.

Ms. Daisy said, “What happened? I thought you wanted to take a day off.”

Sara said with a smiling face, “Yeah, but now I'm fine, and I thought why not finish the work instead of wandering around.”

Ms. Daisy was still worried about Sara. “Are you sure?”

Sara put her hand on top of Ms. Daisy’s hand. “Of course, I am. Don't worry about me; I was just upset about something that wasn't important.”

Ms. Daisy said, “Alright,” and went back to her office to work.

Sara did her work, and after 15 minutes, the bell rang. She went to her next class, which was with Mr. Brooks, who was her biology teacher as well. She had lots of fun in the class because Mr. Brooks made the class very interesting and fun. The class was going to review for their upcoming test as he said in the morning when she went to see Neha. She loved when there was nothing to do in class because she knew everything.

That's the reason she didn't have to study for her tests, and Neha always used to get mad at her because she studied a lot and still didn't get as good grades as Sara. Her teachers appreciated her so much because she was so smart and knew everything. She was really smart in science, and that's why her parents wanted her to major in it.

When she was young, her parents used to make her read a lot, which is why she knew more than her classmates. Also, her parents used to bring upper-level books for her to read and learn as much as she could. For instance, when she was in first grade, her parents already taught her the material ahead of time, so she knew the material before the teachers could teach her.

Kate came from behind her and said, “Hey, are you going to the prom with Johnathan?” She sat beside Sara. Kate liked Johnathan too. She wanted to go to the prom with him and already asked him to go with her, but he refused her.

Sara knew her intentions. “Hmm... I don't think so because I have some other things to do.”

Kate’s smile got wider when Sara told her that she wouldn't go with Johnathan. “Do you think that he'll ask me?”

Sara looked in her bag. “Why don’t you ask him?”

Kate said nervously, “I want to, but I’m scared to ask him. Can you ask him for me? Please?”

Sara looked her in the eye. “Look, Kate, I have lots of other things on my plate right now. Why don't you ask him?” Sara got bored with her questions and wanted to end the conversation.

Kate bit her lip. “I did, but he re—”

The bell rang, and Sara got up immediately. She interrupted Kate. “I have to call my mom. I'll see you later, and I'll talk to Johnathan. Don't worry, okay.”

Sara was so happy now because the half-day was gone. She was very desperate to go to the fashion show. Neha and Sara were in the same class. She was in hurry to talk to Neha about the show and was so excited. Johnathan saw her in the hallway and saw that she was very happy.

Johnathan ran up to her. “Hey, you look very happy now.”

Sara smiled. “Yeah, of course. I just can't wait for tonight.” She was in hurry to go to class. Waving at him, she said, “Got to go, bye.”

Johnathan's face looked confused when Sara turned back to look at him, but he was happy because Sara was happy. He would do anything to bring a smile to her face. Sara entered the class and saw that Neha was already there.

Sara put her hands on her shoulder. “Hey, baby, what's up?”

“My mom just called and said that you can't stay at our place tonight cuz we are going to some stupid party.”

Sara got angry. “What? How could you do that to me? You didn't tell her when I called you last night?”

“I did, but she had it planned before I could ask her.”

Sara put her hand through her hair. “Oh man, shit. Now how are we gonna go to the show?”

Neha laughed. “Chill, I was just kidding.”

“Neha, I'm gonna kill you. Don't ever play this kind of joke on me again, okay?”

Neha gave up. “Alright, I won't. But I must say that your face was worth watching. You looked very scary.” Both of them laughed together, and they didn't realize class started already when Mrs. Peter called their names.

Mrs. Peter looked at them. “Is there something funny, Miss Sara and Miss Neha?”

Sara and Neha replied together, “No, Mrs. Peter. Not at all.”

Both of them were waiting for the class to end because they wanted to go to the fashion show. Mrs. Peter was giving a lecture about the Civil War, but Sara wasn’t listening to her and wrote a note to Neha. She wanted to know if her mother gave them permission to stay at her house or not.

Neha put the note away. “Don't write anything cuz Mrs. Peter will get mad and will get us detention. If my mother finds out, I'll be in trouble. Please, we'll talk at lunch.”

Sara said, “You're a scary cat.”

Neha stuck her tongue out, and Sara started laughing.

Mrs. Peter said in a loud voice, “Pay attention, Sara. Or else you'll fail this test, which is next week.”

“Sorry, ma'am.”

Sara waited for the clock to move faster. She wanted to go up and change the clock, but it wasn't in her hands to change the time. Sara thought that even one minute moved like an hour, and she wanted to escape from the class but couldn't do it.

Neha begged. “Only ten more minutes. Come on, you can do it. Don't worry, we have lots of time to chit chat.”

So, Sara waited for those ten minutes to pass, and after ten minutes, the bell rang. Sara took Neha's hand and left the class immediately. They both went to the cafeteria and stood in the lunch line to get their lunch.

Sara talked while waiting. “So, your mom's okay with me staying there, right?”

Neha replied, “Yeah, baby. Just chill. You know my mom's never upset when you are with me. She thinks that you're so smart, and whenever you are with me, you'll teach me something good. She doesn't know that whenever you are around, you always make me take the bad path.”

Sara squinted. “No, I don't. I just tell you to do whatever your heart says because you always listen to your parents, not your heart.”

Suddenly, Johnathan arrived from nowhere and put his hand on Sara's eyes. He told Neha not to say anything to Sara about whose hands they were.

Sara touched his hands. “Who is it? Neha, tell me. Who is it?”

John nodded his head at Neha, so she wouldn’t tell her. “Guess who?”

Sara heard him. “John. Please, you guys, stop surprising me. First you, and then Neha shocked me this morning.”

John said, “Well, I didn't do anything except ask you to go with me to the Prom, and you promised me that you would ask your parents about it.”

Sara pointed at Neha. “Why don't you go with Neha because I won't be able to go, and I already gave you the reason why?”

John left the lunch line, and Sara tried to stop him, but he didn’t stop.

Neha guessed. “If you like him, why don't you go out with him?”

Sara turned her head and faced Neha. “How many times do I have to explain to you and everybody else? I don't like him in that way. I like him as a friend. You're always telling me to go out with him, and it makes me think that you like him and want to make sure that I don't like him in that way. So, you can go out with him.”

“I don't like him.”

Sara put her hand on her shoulder. “Baby, I can see it on your face. Just go and ask him because I don't like him, and you know that I hate to swear. I don't know what to do to make you believe that I don't like him in that way.”

Neha said, “Are you serious? You don't like him like that?”

Sara asked, “You tell me. Do you want to go to the Prom with him?”

Neha confirmed, “Yeah... but—”

Sara interrupted her, “Alright, then. I promise that he will ask you to go with him to the prom. You love him so much, and I believe that if you love someone so much and if it is true, then nobody can stop you from having true love, not even God.”

Neha made a funny face. “Oh, really? I thought that you didn’t believe in love.”

Sara was caught by Neha because she told everybody that she didn’t believe in love, but in reality, she wanted somebody who would love her more than anything in the world. She didn’t want anybody to know that she was waiting for somebody who was the one.

Sara confirmed, “Yeah, I don’t.” Both of them went back to their classes. Now, Sara was waiting for the day to end.

School ended around 4 pm, and Sara went to the parking lot because she wanted to go home to get her things for the evening. Sara ran to her car and waited for Neha to come, so she could go home. Neha walked so slowly, which made Sara so mad.

Sara shouted from her car, “Neha, hurry up! We got to go home.”

“Wait a minute. John wants to talk to you about something important.” Still standing at the school door, she gave her a wink.

“What?”

Neha called to her, “Just come here.”

Sara talked to herself, “Great, I don't know when I'm gonna leave. Please, God, just make me a ghost. That way I can just stay away from everybody.” Now talking to Neha, she said “I'm coming.” She cut the engine and got out of the car.

Sara asked, “What's up?”

Johnathan looked at her. “So, you're not going with me tomorrow?”

Sara said, “I told you, I can't. I'm so sorry—” John cut her off and said, “It's alright because I asked Neha to go with me, and I wanted to make sure that you don't have any problem with me and Neha going to the Prom together.”

Sara with relief said, “Of course not. I'm so happy for both of you guys. I wanted you to go with Neha because she is the best girl for you—” John cut her off again. “You are still misunderstanding me. We are just going to the prom, and we're not going out. Get it?”

Sara whispered to John in his ear, “Oh... Well, maybe one day, you will ask her out. She's the best girl for you.”

John whispered in her ear back, “But not you.”

Sara told Neha, “Come on, we got to go. We are getting late for the show. I have to go home, and you have to pick a dress for me. There are lots of things we have to do today. We're getting late.”

They left school and went straight to Sara's house. Sara's mother was waiting for her; she wanted to tell her that whatever she did was wrong, she wouldn’t do it again.

Ayesha at the door said, “Hey, sweetheart, I want to tell you something. I'm sorry about whatever happened in the morning.”

“Mom, you're still thinking about that?” Sara took her mother's hand. “It's okay, and I know whatever you do is because you love me so much. I understand your concern.”

Ayesha cried. “No, I need to understand that you need some privacy, and I don't need to treat you as a child because you are a grown-up now.”

Sara wiped her tears. “Thanks, Mom, for understanding me, but it's okay. I wanted to apologize because I was the rude one. You were so nice to me, and I ruined your morning. I'm really sorry, and I mean it from the bottom of my heart.”

Neha pushed them aside. “Now, can both of you stop blaming yourselves?” The three of them laughed together.

Ayesha said, “Hello, Neha. I didn't see you.”

Neha smiled. “It's because you were lost in your daughter.”

“Sorry you had to listen to our mother and daughter conversation. Why don't you girls go to the room, and I'll send the food upstairs?”

Sara hugged her and said, “Thanks, Mom.” Both of them ran for the stairs, and Sara's mother called her again.

Ayesha said, “And Sara, you can stay at Neha's place. I've already spoken to Afsa, and she said that she doesn't have any problem with you staying at their place tonight. I hope you won't give them any trouble.”

“No, I won't. I promise,” Sara said happily and went with Neha to her room.

Sara and Neha dropped their bags and jumped on the bed. They laid down on the bed for five minutes and relaxed.

Neha looked at the ceiling. “I wish whatever you told me today comes true.”

Sara also looked at the ceiling. “It will; trust me. He will come to you one day. I'm 100% positive about that. Now, let's pick some clothes to wear tonight.”

Sara took Neha to her closet and opened her bag of new clothes. Whenever her mother went to the mall, she bought her new clothes and put them in that bag. She had all kinds of dresses like skirts, long dresses, prom dresses, and short dresses. She had so many dresses in the bag, and Sara wanted Neha to wear one of them.

Neha never wore any kind of dress like that one because she was also a Muslim girl, and her parents were really strict about her dressing up. They only allowed her to wear jeans and a shirt, which covered her body. They didn't want her to wear clothes that showed her body. There were dresses in every color, but Neha didn't want to go against her parents.

“I can't wear these kinds of dresses. Please, can you find something appropriate for me?”

Sara shuffled through dresses. “Of course, ma'am. Why don't you wear a Pakistani dress for tonight's show?” They laughed.

Neha and Sara were born in America, but their parents were from Pakistan. They never went to Pakistan after their parents settled in America. Sara had family in Pakistan: grandparents, uncles, aunts, and cousins. She never went to Pakistan to visit them because her parents wanted her to be like an American, which now she was, but now her parents regretted making this decision. They didn’t want their daughter to be spoiled like she was.

Neha's parents were strict with their daughter. They didn't want their daughter to be spoiled like Sara. They allowed her to be around Sara is because she was smart, and she taught a lot to Neha.

Neha told Sara, “Come on, please. Find something appropriate for me?”

Sara replied, “OK, OK.” She picked a long blue dress, which she liked the color of but didn’t want to wear. “How about this long blue dress? I love this color, but it's too long for me.”

Neha said with excitement, “It's very beautiful. I love it! Can I wear this one?”

“Of course, but I have many more dresses if you don't want to wear this one. Just look at more dresses, and if you don't like any of the other ones, then you can wear this one. Just put that one aside.”

“That's a great idea. “

They searched for dresses, and Sara didn't like any dresses that her mother picked for her. She's really beautiful so whatever she wore looked great on her, but she didn’t like any of them. She likes to wear dresses that she thinks don't suit her. Her favorite color is blue, and she wanted to wear something blue. Her mother knocked on the door and came in with a tray of food in hand. She placed the tray on the table.

Ayesha looked at the girls. “What are you girls doing?”

Sara was not looking at her mom and still searching for a good dress. “Mom, we are looking for some dresses to wear tonight.”

Ayesha was confused. “You said you are going to Neha's house, not to a party. Honey?”

Sara then got nervous and replied, “Mom, I forgot to tell you that at 8 o'clock we'll be at the university because of our project, so I thought of wearing something formal. I hope you don't mind.”

“Of course, I don't.” Ayesha still looked confused because she didn't want her daughter to stay out late.

Sara came to her mother and held her hands. “Don't worry, Mom. We'll be home in an hour or two, and we'll be safe.”

Ayesha replied, “Maybe I can help pick the right dress for you. If you don't have any problem with that?”

Sara said, “Yeah, sure.” She didn't want her mother to pick the dress for her, but she didn't want to make her mother more upset.

Her mother looked at many dresses but didn't find the right dress for her. She had like two dozen dresses in that bag but still didn't think that any of those dresses would suit her daughter. So, she thought she might find a good dress in her own closet. She left the room and went to her room because she puts Sara's clothes in her closet too. She brought a really beautiful white dress, like a princess dress, for her, and Sara started laughing.

Ayesha looked at the dress and then at her daughter. “What happened? You don't like the dress?”

Sara answered, “Mom, it's like a princess dress. How can I wear this kind of dress to college? It will look funny. I mean, it's pretty, very pretty, but not appropriate for school. I want a short dress in red. Maybe something like this one.” She held up a short dress to her mother and said, “I think this is the perfect dress for me. What you think, Mother?”

Ayesha didn't want to make her daughter sad, so she agreed. “Yeah, it's perfect for you. Whatever you're gonna wear will look good on you. I'm very lucky that God blessed me with a such beautiful daughter.”

Sara's mother left the room. Sara and Neha sat at the table where her mother placed the food and started eating. Her mother was a good cook, and Sara didn't like anybody else's food except Neha's mother's food. After eating, they went to Neha's house with their dresses and school bag, so no one could doubt them. It was evening already.

When they arrive at Neha's house, her mother was waiting for her. She was going to a party and was waiting for Neha, so she could leave with her father. Neha stepped out of the car.

Neha asked her mother, “What happened? Why are you standing in the doorway?”

Afsa told Neha, “Your father and I are going to a party, and we're gonna be late. If both of you get hungry, there is food in the refrigerator. I know that you girls will be busy studying, but please do eat something. Okay, I think we should leave now.” Neha's parents left the house.

Sara got so happy and looked around the house. “This is the best night ever. I mean, both of us are going to be alone, and if we do come back late, then your parents won't know because they're gonna be late too. I think we should get ready because I don't want to be late for the show.”

Neha responded, “Yeah, I don't want to be late either.” Both were so excited, and they ran inside the house to get ready.

Sara went to Neha's room and started putting her stuff together. She gathered her things that would match her dress. Her dress was a red halter with a gold fabric belt. She really loved the dress and was eager to wear it. Sara and Neha jumped around the room but didn't get anything done. They wanted to get ready, but they were so excited that they didn't know where to start.

Neha took a deep breath. “Okay, wait. I know how we can start. Why don't we take a shower first? And then we can do something else.”

Sara smelled herself. “Yeah, you're right. I think I stink, and you do too.” And both of them started laughing.

Neha told Sara, “I'll go to my parents' room, and you can use my room.”

Both of them took a shower and put their clothes on. When Neha came to her room to check if Sara was ready or not, she saw her friend looking so gorgeous, like a princess. Neha also thought that Sara's the most beautiful girl on earth. She told her so many times that she should participate in the Miss World competition because she was so beautiful, and she would win the competition for sure. Sara got ready, but Neha couldn't get ready because she didn't know how to put make-up on and how to do her hair for parties. Sara always did her make-up and her hair whenever they went to a party.

Sara walked back and forth to ask Neha, “How do I look?”

Neha with big eyes said, “My, my, my. You look fabulous, and I'm sure that everybody will be looking at you, not the models.”

Sara looked very beautiful. She had a perfect body, and the dress looked very pretty on her. She's slim with light skin and light brown curly long hair. She has a dimple on her left cheek, which suited her so much. When she smiled, she looked even more beautiful. She had hazel eyes and people always asked her if they were real. There's another thing about her eyes, which is that whatever clothes she wore, her eyes changed color and that's the reason why nobody could believe that they were her real eyes. She almost looked like an American girl, and nobody could tell that she's from Pakistan. Of course, she was born in America, but children are known by where their ancestors are from. Everybody in her town wanted to go out with her, but she never liked anybody. Students in her school tried to talk to her, but she picked her friends because she believed that friends can't be made just like that; they have to be trustworthy. It took lots of time to become one of her friends. She doesn't have lots of friends, except for Johnathan and Neha, but she talked to everyone in the school.

Sara rolled her eyes. “Yeah, right? You always say that, and look at you. You're still not ready. I thought you must be ready by now.”

Neha sat in front of her vanity table. “You know that I don't know how to put make-up on. You have to help me get me ready.”

Sara opened up the drawer. “Let’s get you ready.”

So, she started putting make-up on Neha and also did her hair. She made her hair curly like hers. Neha always wanted to be like Sara, so whatever style Sara did, Neha wanted her hairstyle to be the same. Neha's not as pretty as Sara, but Sara never cared about Neha not being beautiful. She looked like every other girl. She's a little darker and taller than Sara but as slim as her. Sometimes, Neha felt very bad because whenever they're together, people would praise Sara but not Neha. This thing never lessened their friendship.

“I think you're ready now. Look at yourself in the mirror. What do you think? We both look twins, don't we?” Both of them laughed.

Neha looked in the mirror at both of them. “Yeah, we do almost.”

Sara turned around. “Please, don't start that again. You're the most beautiful person in the whole world, and if you don't believe me, then ask yourself in the mirror. I can lie, but this mirror won't lie to you. Don't you think you look beautiful?”

Neha responded, “Yeah I do. Thank you; it's all because of you. If you don't— Sara cut her off and said, “Shut up now. I think we are ready to go. Shall we?”

“Of course.”

Sara left the room, and Neha took the house keys. They both stepped out of the house, and Neha locked the door.

Sara held her hand. “Wait, I forgot my keys inside.”

Neha stomped her feet. “Shit, man. Why do you always forget things? It’s a very bad habit, and you need to change it.”

Sara quickly said, “Yeah I will, but open the door right now because if you don't open the door, then I won't get the car keys, and we'll be late for the show. It's gonna be your fault then that we're late.”

Neha rolled her eyes. “Blame it on me.”

After a few minutes later, Sara had her keys, and they left the house.