It was on Wednesday that I finally remembered Gertrude's offer. I was debating it, it seemed like a good opportunity, but was it really worth it? I mean part of my paycheck would be used traveling to the shop. I did like Gertrude though and it would be good to get some work experience. Plus it was close enough to Tillie's to eat lunch there. In the end I decided to accept the offer. Now Mia can't use her 'ultimate bribery' on me because.

"Mom, Dad, is it okay if I accept a job offer"

"Well that depends, honey, what kind of job is it"

"Oh don't worry it's just at a costume shop called Gertrude's Costumes. I'll be getting about 8 dollars a hour, too."

"I think that's a great idea. What about you Amanda?" Said my dad.

"I agree, John, I think this will be a wonderful opportunity."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

I dialed Gertrude's number and said," Hi, is this Gertrude? This is Dahlia and I was calling about a job I was offered."

"No need to be so formal honey. So have you thought about it? What do you say are you gonna accept it?"

" I am actually. So when do I start."

"That's great! I'm so happy your so excited. You can start on Monday. Can you be there at three."

"I'm not sure about three, four maybe?"

"That's fine too. We'll discuss when you get off on Monday." She said before ending the call.

Phew. That wasn't as bad as I expected. I'm excited now too, instead of just nervous.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Diiiiiiiiing. Diiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing." There goes the horrible screech of my doorbell. That must be here to prepare for the party. Mia knows how much I hate so she tries to ring it as often as possible. "Diiiiiiiii-"

"Just come inside already, Mimi"

"Okay, okay, I'm coming calm down."

"Well I wouldn't need to calm down if you didn't ring my doorbell so much. I'm gonna do that to you next time I come over so you know how it feels."

"Oh, so now its my fault."

"Yes, it is."

"Oh, just sit down and let me work my magic."

"What magic?"

"My makeup magic of course. The Queen of Hearts won't be complete until you have the killer makeup to go it."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

I had to admit I looked pretty nice. Mia went way farther out than I expected but it wasn't too bad. I had red and gold eyeshadow and bright red lips that really popped. It all looked good but I think what really topped it of was the little red heart under my eye.

"Don't you think we both look stunning. If Alex isn't interested than I'm sure you'll have no trouble getting a boyfriend." said Mia. She had a natural look to match her costume. She had a nude lip on and 'natural eyes'. That actually consisted of five different eyeshadow and false eyelashes. She wasn't wrong though she did look stunning.

"We should get going soon. If we don't leave know you'll never be able to find Mark."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

We pulled up to Mark's house and got out of the car. It was a decent house. He lived in the suburbs instead of the city, so it was a lot bigger than my house. It was still quite simple though. A nice two story home(not including the attic) with simple brick walls and a tile roof.

"Come on, Lia, let's go find Mark." Mimi said grabbing my arm and dragging me.

"Don't worry I can walk by myself." I said as I unlatched myself from her (surprisingly strong) grip.

"I know I just can't wait for Mark to see our costumes."

"Okay, I get you love him, know please stop sounding like Sarah."

"I don't love him." She said blushing a little and rolling her eyes at the love part.

"Oh, come on we all know that's not true."

"Oh, shut up and help me look for Mark."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Turns out, it isn't as easy to find the host of a party as you think. After about a half hour of searching I just quit and told Mia to find him and come find me when I'm finished. I went to get to get a drink, cause come on I'm not a fit person and walking for a half hour dodging couples and drunk people can tire a girl out. Alright?

I knew this place like the back of my hand since Mark invited the 'group' and their boyfriends over a lot to hang out. It also helped that he's friends with their boyfriends.

So I make my way over to the kitchen and grab a can of soda. I have to admit, there were a lot more people then I was expecting. It also doesn't help that more than half of them are drunk. These people are the friends of Mark or the friends of the friends of Mark, so they can't be that bad. Right? Well I guess I'll just have to wait and see.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Now I don't know if I made her wage accurate but if she works from 4 to 9 with an hour of for dinner where she doesn't get paid (yes my sister has informed me that's not how it works but Gertrude's a nice person, OK.) that's 4 hours so than that's 32 dollars. Now 32 times 5 since she doesn't work on weekends equals 160. Now that times let's say about 4 for the weeks in a month equals 640.

I don't know if that seems reasonable or not but we'll just have to deal with it since google wont tell me the average salary of a high schooler.

From the person who's really sorry for not updating but is too lazy to write or do math (yeah, I just used a calculator),

The Author