Surviving High School

precise angles to mimic true, movie-quality surround sound—but if I asked him what his relationship with his brother is like, he’d stare at me like I just burped or something.”
    “Yeah,” said Emily. “That’s—too bad.” She loved Kimi, but the girl could be entirely dense sometimes. She hadn’t even considered that Emily might have something important she wanted to talk about. Still, in a way, she appreciated Kimi’s boy-crazy tirades; they were a nice change of pace from all the drama going on in Emily’s own life.
    Kimi emerged from the dressing room in a white shimmering dress that came down just over her knees. Cinched at the waist, it accentuated Kimi’s natural curves. Emily couldn’t believe it. Kimi didn’t just look good. She looked like she’d walked in off the cover of Cosmo —or at least Seventeen.
    “That’s it,” said Emily. “That’s the one.”
    “I knew it!” said Kimi triumphantly. “That’s why I saved it for last.”
    Thanks for that , thought Emily.
    “Now it’s your turn,” said Kimi. “I’ve got a few ideas already!”
    As they walked through the store, Emily pushed a cart that Kimi proceeded to drape with dresses as she updated Emily on her latest dating news.
    “Okay, so, to recap. I broke the bad news to Phil on Wednesday. He took it well and said he still wanted to be friends, which, ironically, made him seem pretty sweet. I put it into his spreadsheet, and it gave him a nice little score boost—but not enough to make me regret dumping him.”
    “You do realize how crazy you sound, right?” asked Emily.
    “Oh, definitely,” said Kimi. “But I’m also the only girl at school guaranteed to have an amazing homecoming date. Present company excluded, of course.”
    “Thanks.”
    Kimi reached into a sale rack full of random dresses, pulled out a short burgundy one, and threw it onto the cart.
    “How did you even see that?” asked Emily.
    “I’m a shopping veteran,” said Kimi. “Plus, my mom taught me everything she knows. I’ve got a sixth sense, a sales sense—kind of like Spidey sense. But for shopping. Swimming is your superpower. This is mine.”
    “So wait,” said Emily. “If you and Phil broke up—”
    “Right! I didn’t finish telling you yet,” said Kimi. “On Thursday, I caught Marcus at his locker and asked him if he’d like to go to homecoming. I talked about how sad I was about the breakup, and how he’d always seemed like a really sweet guy. He said he’d think about it, which basically means yes. Now I’m just waiting for him to call.”
    She pulled another dress off the rack and threw it in the cart.
    “Okay,” she said. “I think that’s enough to get you started.”
    Half an hour later, Emily stood in the dressing room, checking out a long, black sequined gown that Kimi had tossed over the door to her. It sparkled in the overhead lights, even more so when she moved. She turned her body to check herself out in profile. She had to admit, she looked hot. After sixhideous, over-the-top dresses that Kimi had gushed over but Emily had loathed, maybe this was the one.
    “Okay, Kimi,” she called. “I’m coming out!”
    She opened the door, walked outside, and raised her arms.
    “Ta-da!” she said. She had to admit, she was actually starting to have fun.
    “Oooh,” said Kimi. “Very femme fatale. I could totally picture you slipping some poison into James Bond’s drink.”
    “Is that a good thing?”
    “It’s definitely hot,” said Kimi, who had gotten up from the bench and was circling Emily to check her out from multiple angles. “I’m just not sure if it’s you .”
    “Please don’t tell me I have to try on another dress.” Emily’s patience was nearly exhausted.
    “Just one more!” insisted Kimi. “Please, please, please! I think I saw a really good one over on a thirty percent off rack! Go start changing, and I’ll get it for you.”
    As Emily sadly walked back into the dressing room and stripped off the black dress, she thought about all of the other things she could be doing with this time: homework, laps, sleeping. That last one sounded pretty nice. She sat on the small seat in the corner of the dressing room and closed her eyes, feeling on the edge of dozing off.
    So it was no coincidence that the blue dress’s appearance felt like something out of a dream. Emily opened her eyes to see the shimmering blue fabric sailing over the fitting-room door. It looked almost like a splash of