Biana said that even if I didn't want a Winnowing Gala, I would want one as soon as I saw the dresses she had picked out for me. 

I saw the dresses, and I did not suddenly have a mind flip and want a Winnowing Gala. In fact, seeing the dresses just suddenly made the whole thing seem a whole lot more real. I clutched the fabric of the formal one to my chest and slid down onto the bench in the changing room. 

My mind felt like it was swirling. What was I supposed to do at the Gala? I didn't even know how to dance for gods sake. How was I supposed to balance in heels? Was I supposed to dance with every single person that came? What if nobody came to my Gala? What if too many people came? 

I heard a soft knock on the door and I opened it. Biana's chocolate brown hair swung through the door opening and she stared down at my normal beige tunic and black pants. 

"That's not what I picked out for you," she said, hands on her hips, head tilted slightly. She stared at my face for a while, then her eyes drifted down to the floor where she saw small eyelash hairs all over the ground. 

Biana sighed and sat down on the bench besides me. "What's wrong Sophie?" 

How did she always know? Biana knew me so well. I sighed. "I don't know about this Winnowing Gala stuff. I never liked it, and now I'm really stressed over it. What if bad things happen? What if I ruin my friendships during it? What if-" 

Biana sighed and put a hand on my shoulder. "Listen Soph, nothing bad is going to happen! You will find a great match for you during this, and thousands, no millions of elves have done this and nothing extremely bad ever happens! You'll be fine!" 

"Well, I'm the only elf with brown eyes and I'm a freak-" 

"You are NOT a freak Sophie, you are amazing and powerful and wicked smart, just with a little bit of difference from the rest of us. That makes you special, not a freak," Biana said firmly. "Now, go try on your dresses, because the rest of us are waiting!" 

Biana shoved me gently toward the door of the changing room, hung the two red dresses back on the rack after she desperately smoothed them out from all of my wringing and shut the door behind her. I waited for a moment and a pair of heels slid under the door. 

There was a hastily scribbled note on it, but I could tell it was Biana's handwriting because it managed to still look elegant. 

Already paid for them, they're yours now. I expect you to wear them!  No, they aren't that tall Sophie stop worrying, they're only 3 inches, and besides, they go great with your dress! 

I glanced down at the heels and sighed before slipping on my formal dress. It was supposed to be skin tight, but thankfully Biana, knowing that I hate skin tight dresses had bought it a size bigger for me. There were pearls around the neckline and around the waist, and the hem of the gown swept the floor in an elegant way that I would probably ruin with my clumsiness. 

I slipped on the heels that Biana had found me, and found that they were actually not that bad, which was a first for heels, and I walked out of the changing room for my friends to see. Biana clapped her hands enthusiastically, a smile on her face and Linh and Marella grinned excitedly for me. 

Marella then checked the time on the clock above our heads and said, "Quickly Sophie, if we wanna get the boys, we have to move fast! They'll be coming out of the store soon!" 

I nodded and hurriedly changed back into my clothes, not even putting on my casual dress for them to see. Biana frowned a little at that, but when I explained I would put it on later and we had to hurry to the shop so we could pull our plan, she nodded and grinned evilly as she thought about it. 

(For those who wanna see Sophie's casual dress here it is) 

Della finally arrived down from the fourth floor carrying four bags of shoes that she was levitating behind her. She had also managed to pick up what looked like several pouches of jewelry. 

"Have you got everything?" Della asked us, as she looked down at what we were carrying. "Here hand them over, I'll pay for them and then we can go down to the shop the boys are at. We planned to meet them there." 

We handed the dresses over to Della and she walked over to a smiling female elf and handed over the currency for our outfits. Then, she herded us back into the large carriage that we were in, took the small carriage, and then gently placed all of the results from our shopping day in the third carriage behind her. 

In our carriage we quickly reviewed the plan. 

"Ok, so what do all the boys pride the most on?" Biana asked, the evil smile back on her face. 

"The hair!" we all chorused. 

"So what do we attack?" Biana asked again more enthusiastically. 

"The hair!" we repeated, large grins on our faces. 

"But wait," Marella said. "Dex doesn't care that much about his hair." 

The rest of us let that sink in for a moment, but then Biana shrugged. "It's three out of four, which is pretty good already, and besides, even if he doesn't care that much, nobody would like their hair to become that spoiled and ruined and stinky!" 

"True!" Marella said, the grin back on her face. 

"Where do we enter again?" Linh asked. 

"There's a secret way that leads to the roof," Biana replied. "Me and Fitz found it while we were exploring before I knew any of you guys. It's meant to be an exit in case of emergencies, but they've stopped using it. It's in the fountain, and it'll be even easier now that we've got Linh who can control water!" 

"Ok," I said. "I'll tell Della that we need to stop the carriages, and then Marella and Biana will run off and gather the supplies from the store. Linh will stay here and be a distraction." 

They all gave me a thumbs up and I stuck my head out the carriage and called back to Della. "Della, I need to use the restroom!" 

Della signaled the carriages to be stopped and I stepped out. However, Marella and Biana also stepped out, as Biana had vanished herself and Marella when I grabbed onto her and enhanced her Vanishing skills. 

I went to the restroom in the shop Biana and Marella went in, and I felt a knock on the stall door, and I opened it to find Marella and Biana holding four separate bottles. They all bubbled ominously, and Marella winked deviously swirling her two bottles. One was glowing an unattractive neon green and had the most bubbles I'd ever seen floating on top of the liquid. The other one was a black liquid that was much more solid than the other one, and smelled like poop that's been on the sidewalk for too long. Biana was holding hers at an arms length distance, being very careful not to shatter them. One was plain blue and looked a lot like sparkling water and the other seemed about to float away, like gas and was clear and shimmered in a mysterious way. She also had a piece of blond messy hair in between her fingers. 

"Isn't that Keefe's?" I asked, recognizing it instantly. 

Marella raised in eyebrow at me. "How did you know?"

 I drew back and shook my head, eyes wide. Marella smirked at me, and I could feel my cheeks reddening into their characteristic red. Biana pretended not to smile, but I could see the corner of her mouth lifting up. 

"It's for Tam's," Biana explained, lifting up the plain blue one that looked like water. "We're gonna make his hair look like Keefe's by putting his hair in here." 

"Which one's Keefe's?" I asked Marella. 

"The neon green one," Marella said evilly. "He loves his great Gulon incident so much, we thought, why not re create it in his hair? The black one's is Dex's, and it's gonna make his hair smell as bad as this. It's also gonna make it freeze up, so it's gonna be stuck in one position forever, or at least until we give the antidote. The translucent one is Fitz's, and it's gonna make his hair disappear completely! This is gonna be great!" 

"Let's go," I said. I took one of the potions from Biana so she could use her free hand and grab onto Marella, vanishing her. We walked back to the carriage and Linh took the bottles as we got in. Perfect timing as Della stuck her head out the window of the one behind us. "You guys ready?" she asked. 

I gave her the thumbs up symbol and the carriage moved forward, the four of us giggling as we imagined the boys faces. 

Sorry that that one was so boring guys! I didn't have a good idea! 

Thanks for Reading!
Luna