Chapter Thirty-Five
One of the things I didn’t get to do when I was Megan’s age was get ready for a party with friends. I knew that such an event
happened, I heard other girls talking about it at school, and I watched countless movies where exactly this occurred. Today,
about fifteen years too late, I finally have my turn.
Megan and her friends Poppy and Lucy are in my bedroom displaying fever-pitch levels of excitement as Rani shows them a selection
of dresses that she has matched with a mask.
“This is the best thing that has ever happened to me,” Poppy says when Rani puts her in a pink beaded fringe dress and little
ankle boots that are definitely giving Taylor Swift.
“I’m almost sorry we invited the boys now,” Lucy says in a natty little silver cocktail dress. “These threads are too good
for them, man.”
“They look like dorks in their prom suits anyway.” Megan laughs, looking so cute in the full-length red backless number, and
Rani has teamed the dress with a pair of ruby-sequined slippers for her.
“We don’t have to talk to them,” Poppy says. “We can just dance with each other and they can thirst after us.”
They collapse in a heap of hysterics on the bed, and Rani and I can’t help smiling at each other.
Rani is already dressed in an emerald green, silver-trimmed sari, and she looks absolutely stunning. I’m still wearing a dressing
gown.
“So,” Megan asks, “what are you going to wear, Ava?”
I look at the four dresses that Rani has put out for me, and still, I can’t decide.
“I don’t know,” I say. “It’s got to be the right one.”
“Any one of them is the right one,” Rani says. “Trust me, babe.”
“No, you don’t understand,” I say. “It’s got to be the right one.”
“What’s going on?” Rani asks. I look pointedly at the tangle of girls on the bed.
“Hey, girls,” Rani says. “I’ve got my whole makeup trolley up for grabs in my room. Go and take a look and use what you like
as long as you treat it with respect.”
“Have you any false lashes?” Lucy asks.
“Honey, I’ve enough lashes of all lengths in there. Go and choose a pair. I’ll be in in a bit, and I’ll help you put them
on.”
The girls scramble off to Rani’s room, and she pushes my bedroom door shut.
“What’s occurring?” she asks.
“I’m kissing Hal at midnight,” I tell her.
“Wow,” Rani says. “Right, are you sure this is what you want? You want your first kiss to be with a robot?”
“He’s not . . .”
“Yes, whatever.” Rani cuts across me. “But he’s not a human, is he?”
“No.” I shake my head. “But he is almost human, and the answer is yes. I do want to kiss him, Rani. It’s just a kiss, and
he makes me feel safe. He’s the perfect man for the job.”
“A kiss is never just a kiss.” Rani looks like she might not entirely agree with me, but she decides to let it go and I’m
grateful. “Okay, well, you know what’s right for you. And we’re talking about a masked ball in a castle, so obviously you
should wear this dress. It has waited seventy-five years for this moment. And you know how the song goes, ‘When you wish upon
a . . . moon, your dreams come true.’”
She sings the last part.
The dress that Rani is talking about is a pale powder-blue gown, with a gorgeous over-the-top ballgown tulle skirt that falls
to just above my knees, boned silk bodice, and a Bardot sweetheart neckline. It really is giving serious Cinderella vibes.
If only I had some friendly mice to do my hair, but anyway. It is, of course, far too much and, at the same time, exactly
the right dress.
Artie would love it, and Forrest would certainly think I have lost my mind. If he has ever thought me even a little bit cool,
that delusion will soon be gone the second he sees me. Why should I care if Forrest thinks I’m cool, anyway? At least it will
make it much easier to concentrate on the really important matter in hand: my perfect midnight first kiss with my brilliant
AI boyfriend.
Also, I kind of want to dress up like a fairy.
“Rani”—Megan sticks her head round the door—“Poppy’s glued her eyelid shut.”
Rani looks at me.
“Okay, this is the one,” I tell her.
“Good choice.” Rani nods. “I want you to know, Ava, that I trust you. I trust you to make the right choices for yourself.”
Why is it that when she says that, I feel that exactly the opposite is true?