Melody

That night, I sat down with my family at dinner hiding my giddiness until the food was served. We had pesto pasta and pork tenderloins, but I was sticking with the salad. I looked around to make sure no one was ready to speak before sharing my news.

"So, that last go-see I went to..." I started quietly. All eyes were drawn to me, my father's with interest, Mia's mild interest and Margot looked like she wanted me to just stop talking. "It was for the company Scarlett Noir and well, I got it! I'm going to be in their next campaign."

"Seriously?" Mia exclaimed cutting through the shocked silence that seemed to settle in the room. I couldn't quite read her face. Was that a hint of excitement? A glimmer of envy? Or maybe just shock?

"Yeah, I shoot next week Thursday," I said with a grin.

"Will it actually be in magazines or on websites this time?" Margot asked.

"What do you have to wear?" Mia asked. "It better not be that kind of fashion that actually just looks like trash bags but they try to pass it off as couture."

"I don't know, I just found out," I replied.

"Well, we're all happy for you," my dad smiled.

"Make sure you are home tomorrow after school so we can go shopping for the Christmas banquet this Sunday. You need a dress," Margot said dropping the topic.

"I have lots of dresses," I said quietly. The idea of shopping with Margot and Mia grew more and more daunting with each passing year. It always left me feeling hideous and sad.

"You need a nice, new dress," Margot smiled, thought her eyes were hard and pointed towards me. I didn't miss the emphasis on 'nice' either. My dad seemed to though.

"Go, it'll be lots of fun!" he said. I smiled and nodded, knowing I could not escape my sentence no matter how hard I tried.

***

I waited a month but had to make the account.

Check @MelodyWinters on Instagram.

Your page is up, and I'll text you the password.

Gavin LeBlanc; 6:03am

I used my mother's last name in modelling as it made me feel connected to her as well as kept me a little more anonymous from my schoolmates... not that it really mattered anymore.

Okay, thanks!

Melody Reese; 7:10am

While waiting for Carson to pick me up, I opened the app on my phone and typed in the username. A profile appeared with a single photo. One from a portfolio shoot. I smiled seeing a faint resemblance to my mother in the way my hair looked and in my facial expression.

I saw Carson's car outside the window and pulled on my jacket before dashing out the door. I slid into the car and gave Carson a quick kiss.

"Good morning," I said with a smile.

"You look like you have exciting news," Carson replied putting the car into drive.

"Oh, it's not that important..." I replied shyly.

"I always want to hear your news." It was soft, like he second-guessed saying it out loud, but it slipped passed his lips anyways.

"Really?"

"Always," Carson repeated. A grin made its way across my lips.

"Okay," I said softly. We were quiet for a little before Carson spoke again.

"So, what's the news?"

"Right! So, my manager set up an Instagram account for, and there's a picture on it..." I said with a small smile.

"Well, what is it?" The excitement in Carson's voice made my heart race happily. I held up the picture on my phone as he stopped at the red light and heard him suck in a breath. His eyes widened and a wide grin spread across his face. It made insides feel warm. "Melody!"

"Mhm?"

"This is– wow." My lips curved upwards and my cheeks grew as warmer by the second. I watched as his cheeks turned slightly pink.

"You think?"

"Of course," Carson replied, the amazement still written across his face. "I-I– wow."

"Shh," I giggled, my cheeks now boiling hot with blush. "It's a result of tons of makeup and great fashion."

"You'd be perfect with or without the makeup and in sweatpants or a ball gown," Carson said squeezing my hand as we took off from the light. I stared out the window wondering how it was possible that I could be with someone so sweet.

***

The school day passed without much commotion, but I felt dread tied up in my stomach when I thought about going shopping with Margot and Mia later on. I knew how it would go and I wasn't excited to be the board that they threw their darts of insults at.

On the way home, Carson even noticed my growing silence as I watched the houses go by, a brick-clad countdown until we got to mine. He squeezed my hand and told me not to let my stepfamily get to me as I got out of the car.

I walked up the stairs and opened the front door to see Margot and Mia pulling their jackets on. They looked me up and down and when they decided that my skirt and boots were decent enough to go to the mall in.

"That'll do... I guess," Margot said. "Let's go."

With that, we were out the door and into Margot's car. The car ride consisted of constant mother-daughter bonding in the front seat, while I sat silently in the back seat as we drove down the highway. We weren't going to the mall that I went to with my friends, as Mia didn't want anyone from our high school to even catch a glimpse of us together. It had been that way since she switched schools, and she begged to go to a mall forty-five minutes away. Margot was happy to oblige because it had more of the higher end stores like Gucci and Chanel. It ended up having a special boutique, called Aiglentina, that had gorgeous dresses fancy enough for Margot's book club banquet, so we went every year.

I trailed quietly behind Mia and Margot as they headed into the store.

"Ooh, look at that burgundy one!" Mia exclaimed. I followed her over to it.

"That would look nice on you," Margot said with a smile. She snapped her fingers at a store clerk who briskly walked over and began following us as Margot picked up dresses for Mia as she saw them. She tossed them into his outstretched arms until he couldn't hold anymore before she decided we could go to the dressing rooms.

We then all went to the rooms and watched as Mia tried on each dress.

"Wow, that colour is stunning with your complexion," Margot said. "But, I'm not sure I like the cut of it..."

"I was thinking the same thing," Mia agreed. She disappeared behind the fitting room curtain and came out in another dress.

"That's pretty! But the shade of green is not bright enough," Margot said, which lead Mia back into the room to try on another bunch of dresses.

Eventually Mia came out in this light blue dress that hugged her body and hung loose from her thighs to her feet. It had lighter blue lace on it and spilled out in a train behind her. The dress had a sweetheart neckline but was off the shoulders with short sleeves to hold it up. It was stunning to say the least and I knew that no matter what I wore it wouldn't compare to that dress. That was because Mia always got first dibs on the dresses, and I was always left to try on what she didn't want.

I stood in the change room anyways, trying to keep my composure as I slipped into the first burgundy dress Mia had liked. My shaking hands pulled open the curtain to show them.

"Nope," Mia said. "Not sure why I even picked that dress in the first place."

"Agreed," Margot replied. I went back into the change room and tried on a green one.

"That one makes you look a little... round," Margot said.

"Yeah, I don't like it," Mia agreed.

It went back and forth like that and I grew more and more frustrated.

I went out in a red dress.

"Too slutty."

"Retweet."

I stepped out in a light pink dress.

"Not your colour."

"Yeah, you look sickly," Margot said.

Black dress.

Brown dress.

Dark green dress.

Beige dress.

"Oh! No, no, no."

"That's plain ugly."

"Gross."

"You look pregnant in that."

"I can't do this anymore!" I yelled. "Of course, these dresses suck! You hated them for Mia, why would you like them on me?"

"Would you keep your volume down Melody?" Margot asked. I exhaled loudly and marched out of the fitting room to a rack of dresses and actually looked for myself. I raked through them quickly, finding three dresses that I liked and took them to the fitting room. I tried on the first one and looked at it in the mirror.

"You at least have to come out so we can approve it," Mia called.

I stepped out slowly, in a silver dress that fit a bit tighter than I had hoped it to, but it was pretty. I watched as their eyes narrowed when I stood in front of them.

"That will clash with both the decorations... so no," Margot said.

I tried on this long-sleeved, navy blue one that was looser fitting. I liked the colour and the fit, so I headed out to show them.

"That will clash with my dress... so definitely not," Mia sneered.

"Come on Melody; think!" Margot said.

I rolled my eyes as I entered the dressing room once again. I put on the last option. It was a champagne coloured dress with a plunging neckline to the waist, which was wrapped, holding up silky material that clung to my body. Above it, the dress flared out into material that looked like tulle but was soft and flowed with every move I made. The whole garment was embroidered with white and gold thread into little flowers and vines giving it this slight sparkle that was breathtaking.

I stepped out of the from behind the curtain and watched as Mia's eyes glimmered with envy. Margot's effort to fight her frown was evident on her face but after a moment, she sighed.

"I guess it will do," she muttered.

This dress was my favourite out of the three. I saved it for last, as I knew that they probably would get fed up and pick it.

"It'd probably look good on me too," Mia said. "I have the boobs for it."

"The chest area fits really tight. We wouldn't want any slips if you know what I mean..." I mumbled before disappearing into my fitting room. I grinned as I heard her huff in exasperation. She didn't deserve to get her hands on my dress when she had the first dibs on the whole damn store. For once she could sit at a banquet table while everyone complimented someone else's dress. 

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Author's Note: Yay! Another chapter and you didn't have to wait too long haha! I hope you enjoyed this chapter and hopefully I'll have another one for you soon! Let me know what you think! 

Shoutouts go to: stargrazings and kiyla_b for voting! :) But again, thank you all for reading and voting! 

Here's Mia's dress:

Melody's dress:

Yay! Merry Christmas and happy holidays! :)