Fashion Diva

"Where are the others?" Caterina asked after entering the suite with Kaitlin and Yumi.

"Lacey's down in Mr. Diamond's bathroom getting changed, and Whitney is in her room with Dr. Tarver and Sean," Ramsey informed. "Oh, uh, Skye is in the other bedroom getting changed as well, I think."

"Who's Skye?" Yumi queried.

"The woman that Donatello chose to make his new star. She's the one from the pictures going around town that Whitney is in." Kaitlin reminded. "I guess a bunch of boys from school follow her."

"Follow her where? Is she a tour guide?"

"On social media! Sometimes I worry about you, Yumi," Cat muttered the last part.

CLAP

"Really? I worry about you all the time," Yumi revealed joyfully, causing Kaitlin to snicker.

"Are they here?" Lacey called out, peeking from behind the master bedroom door. "Katie, can you give me a hand?"

The brunette said sure and disappeared as another knock at the door sounded. That caused Ramsey to grumble and mutter under her breath about turning into a servant. Still, she opened the door to find Aurora and Roxanne.

"Hi! Love the dress, Roxy," the strawberry blonde commented upon seeing the cheerleader.

Roxanne wore a blush pink A-Line sleeveless gown with a halter-style neck. Ramsey appreciated that the skirt didn't flash much skin at all as it ended midway between the cheerleader's ankles and knees. Nor did the loose gown cling to her curves like some of her teammates' dresses.

"Thank you, and I love your robe," Roxy chuckled, causing Ramsey to excuse herself to finish getting dressed.

"You look beautiful, Rory!" Yumi squealed.

"Couldn't either of you show your legs? It's not the 1950s anymore," Cat remarked sarcastically.

"Ooh! Are you catplaying a famous actress?" the ditzy cheerleader inquired.

"It's called cosplaying, and no, I'm not," Aurora replied with a wide smile. She tried her hardest not to laugh at Yumi's goofy questions or comments. "But I thought this looked nice for tonight."

"It sure does. Give the girls a spin," Roxy ordered.

The nicer half of the Rusk twins did that, causing the lower half of her free-flowing gown to float slightly in the air. Yumi clapped as she continued to gush over the black, off-the-shoulder evening gown. Reaching down to the floor, it contained several large floral patterns.

"Damn, I heard these suites were nice, but this is even more opulent than I expected," Roxanne remarked, scanning the front section of the sitting area.

"You never been up here before?" Cat questioned incredulously. "Not even after prom or homecoming? Well, let me give you a quick tour. Wait until you see the hot tub that overlooks the city's skyline. Things got wild in there after homecoming."

Rory shook her head as Cat grabbed Roxy's hand, dragging the now concerned girl away. Every senior cheerleader except Yumi knew that Cat had tried to corrupt the squad's good girl for the last couple of years. However, Roxanne continually managed to escape their co-captain's clutches.

"No, I was not checking you out. Gawd, Rammy, calm down," Lacey yelled back into the bedroom as she and Kaitlin exited.

"What's up her butt? Well, more than usual," Kaitlin queried.

"Nothing. It's, uh, just been a stressful trip," the petite redhead replied. Walking over to the other bedroom door, she knocked several times. "Hey, everyone else is here."

"Lace, you look adorable," Rory commented.

The petite redhead gave a little spin and curtsey to show off her cute dress. She wore a periwinkle halter-style sleeveless dress that came down to her knees. It featured a large tied belt of the same color and material.

"Are you searching for a midnight snack?" Yumi questioned.

"A what?" Lacey and Rory repeated.

"It's what Cat said earlier," Kaitlin explained.

"Yeah, she picked her dress to find the tastiest snack for tonight. Is my dress good for that?" Yumi asked.

"No, and you don't want to act like Cat," Rory replied. "And Lacey isn't looking for a guy. She's dating my dumbass brother."

"How can a guy be a snack?" Yumi wondered. Her face cringed in distaste as Kaitlin whispered a G-rated explanation.

The girls all turned as the bedroom door opened. Whitney slipped out while still talking.

"It's not my fault that he gets all gaga over me. Look, I'll just catch up with the girls while he finishes, and then I can put on my dress," Whitney informed Bridget. Then, turning around, she whistled as she caught sight of a dress. "Damn, Katie, that's what I'm talking about. I didn't expect you to go all-out tonight."

The cheerleader captain nodded in appreciation and approval at her friend's wine-colored mini-dress. It barely reached mid-thigh and flaunted an abundance of cleavage.

"Nice, huh? I figured a while back that I should start the new year with a bang."

"But you just bought it yesterday," Yumi pointed out.

"No, I didn't. You must be mistaken."

"It wasn't yesterday that we went?" Yumi questioned, scrunching up her face as she recalled their trip to the dress shop. "But you said it was because of your fight with Palmer."

"That's not true...and anyone's business," the brunette said, glaring at her friend.

"It doesn't matter, Yums. They fight all the time," Whitney teased. "Still, that dress might put a scare into Palmer. No taking my girl for granted."

"I thought you said he always takes her for granted."

"Let's try to be quiet tonight, okay?" Lacey hinted at her fellow cheerleader.

"Yeah, Yumi, why--What in thee hell are you wearing?" Whitney finally turned to face the other girl, questioning.

"My New Year's dress!"

"You look like a princess."

"I know!"

"From a cartoon."

"I know!"

"I think it's the perfect dress for her," Rory stated. "It's cute."

"It's poofy," Whitney replied. Shaking her head, the blonde queen bee knew that she should've made a group outing to pick dresses. Their choices reflect on the squad and me!

"Is something wrong with my dress?" Yumi questioned, her lips starting to quiver.

"Not at all!" Lacey rushed to reassure her. "It's even cuter than mine. And like Rory said: It's totally you."

"It is," the reassured girl nodded, glancing down at herself.

Whitney was right. The skirt was poofy, but not in a Disney princess sort of way, as it only came down to her knees. Still, the pink lace dress had plenty going on with its embroidered flowers. At first glance, it appeared to be an off-the-shoulder dress, yet on closer inspection, one could see the two straps from an underlayer.

"Oh, Jesus Christ!" Whitney exclaimed as her night grew worse.

"What?" Ramsey asked, walking into the room. She wore a mint-green A-line sundress with red, white, and green floral patterns. Sleeveless and stopping at her knees, it looked like an outfit from a different era.

"Wow. That's something," Kaitlin remarked.

"I knew this was coming," Lacey muttered, causing Yumi to nod even if she didn't know why.

"Rammy...My gawd."

"What? Oh, you don't like my dress, is that it?"

"Don't get defensive with me. Y-You look like a 1950s housewife!" Whitney screeched.

"It's called a retro look," Ramsey countered.

"Like a time machine?!"

"Hush, sweetie. Best to stay out of this one," Lacey whispered to Yumi.

"And that color!"

"What's wrong with the color?"

"It looks like mint toothpaste exploded over your grandma's dress," Whitney remarked. Then, cupping her forehead, she considered her next comment. "Look, you're one of my oldest, bestest friends, so I mean this with love. How about you try to wear something that makes you look hot?"

"I think I look pretty. Don't I, girls?" Ramsey challenged.

Kaitlin's head danced slightly from side to side as she avoided answering.

"It's a vintage look," Aurora remarked neutrally.

"It's very unique," Lacey said politely.

"I love it!" Yumi expressed.

"Of course you do," Whitney responded. "Hey, I'm not trying to be a fashion diva, okay. It's just that tonight is not only New Year's Eve, but we're at a ball. We should be dressing sexy, not cute."

"Tell me about it," Caterina remarked, entering the room with Roxanne behind her. Pointing down, she added, "I brought the sexiness."

Placing both hands on her face, Whitney bent over into a crouch as she mumbled to herself. After several seconds, she straightened up. "I swear, for prom, we're making it a group shopping trip. And I get veto power."

KNOCK KNOCK

"What's wrong with my dress?" her co-captain challenged. "I look sexy as fuck!"

Caterina wore a metallic dark-silver ruched bodycon mini-dress. It barely covered her ass and struggled to contain her breasts. Topping it off, she wore a silver rhinestone choker around her neck.

"An event such as the ball tonight calls for sexy and elegant. You practically scream escort hitting the club," Whitney critiqued. "Rory brought the elegance while Katie is sexy in a more tasteful way."

"I don't care. I look fucking fantastic and will be fucking the man of my choice tonight. Maybe I'll even fuck him in this suite," Cat vowed with a twinkle in her eye.

"Not in my bed, you won't," Whitney responded heatedly.

"Wanna bet?"

BANG BANG BANG

"Can someone please get the damn door?" Whitney hissed before turning her attention back to her co-captain. "I swear, you better not look trashier than any Sugarbee tonight."

"That's if any show up," Kaitlin remarked.

"Bianca will be here for sure. Her family never misses the big social events," Lacey commented.

"And Yelena will be at her side," Roxanne added.

"I bet Delilah will be here too!" Yumi chimed in.

"Lilah doesn't count, and she's already here with Beyza," Rory reminded, remembering to hold her tongue at her squadmate's ditziness.

"Who's at the door?" Whitney yelled over at Ramsey.

"I don't know. It's a girl with an armful of boxes."

"What girl?"

"It's Chastity!"

---

"So all these boxes contain party favors for tonight?"

"Goodness gracious no! The smaller ones do," Chastity replied.

"Um, that's thoughtful of you, but the hotel provides New Year's party favors," Whitney explained, worried about disappointing the excited young woman.

"Don't I know! These are special ones," the bubbly blonde hinted mysteriously. "I made sure to get gold and black."

"Our school colors?" Aurora questioned.

"Frapsolutely! I also got pumpkin orange because Whitney is Mr. Harvey's little pumpkin."

"Um, why?"

"Leaping lizards! To celebrate that you're alive!"

Whitney paused as her lip quivered before recovering. Then, springing forward, she hugged her family company's receptionist.

"You're such a sweetheart, Chas."

"So what's in the bigger boxes?" Lacey questioned after nudging one with her foot. She wouldn't put it past Chastity to buy Whitney an actual pumpkin or animal.

"Raspberries! You're gonna love it."

"Yummy, I love raspberries," Yumi responded.

"No, that's one of her sayings," Whitney explained as Chastity tilted her head to study Yumi.

"I love raspberries too, but this is even better. So yesterday, while I was babysitting Sean — well, after your mother showed up and started the food fight. I had--"

"Your mom did what?" Caterina asked for everyone else in the room.

"Don't worry about that right now," Whitney brushed off, motioning for Chastity to continue.

"--a lightning bolt struck me!"

"You electrocuted yourself?!" Ramsey questioned in shock.

"No, she means like a light bulb went off in her head," Whitney translated again.

"Fraggle Rock, yes! If Ms. Cassandra's charity is about books, then we have a local book writer."

"Webster Whelan, the children's author," Lacey supplied.

"Yes!"

"I love his Nat the Ant books," Yumi announced.

"My mom loves to use his Milo and Whiskers series to teach her classes that if a cat and mouse could get along, then they could too," Lacey revealed.

"I love both of those!" Chastity declared. "So while Sean took his nap on my bosom, I recalled that Webster Whelan was on the guest list for tonight."

"How did you know he was on the guest list?" Ramsey questioned.

"I'm more curious about Tarver sleeping on her chest," Kaitlin remarked, but Lacey shushed her.

"Little birdies sometimes fly into my window and tell me stories," Chastity said, causing some alarm in the room.

"Um, what?"

"You don't honestly talk to birds, do you?"

"Silly goose! I'm teasing. Mrs. Oaks had a copy at work and let me look at it," Chastity recounted.

The bedroom door opened as Bridget slipped out. With a quick wave and greeting to everyone, she asked the question that brought her out.

"Did you say Webster Whelan?" After getting several affirmative responses, she continued, "Webb's an old family friend. His older sister, Wrenn, rounded out Brandy and Fawn's trio as they grew up. As a little kid, Webb was a regular at the library for Cassie's storytime readings. He's often said that how she brought the stories alive inspired his love of reading."

"I know! I mean, he's said that a few times, but I re-learned it this morning, Dr. Tarver," Chastity said.

"I think you can call me Bridget after everything. And how did you learn about that?"

"Okey dokey, Dr. Bridget," the bubbly blonde responded, earning a few giggles from the girls.

Launching into her own story, Chastity revealed how she attempted to contact Whelan's publisher. Unfortunately, that proved difficult because most employees were on holiday. Those she did manage to reach turned out to be quite rude. Especially so when Chastity asked for the home numbers of employees who could help her. Unfortunately, she wasn't able to get any emergency contact numbers.

The naive blonde admitted that she considered hiring a private detective. However, when she spoke with Shenai last night about picking up Whitney's stuffed bear gift, the former personal assistant to Harvey Diamond talked her out of the idea. Shenai also suggested that Chastity obtain permission from someone involved with the charity.

"You went to see Cassie's parents this morning?" Bridget repeated in surprise.

"Dilly-definitely. I hope they are healthy," Chastity said diplomatically. "Grandpa Bank seemed confused by who I was, but then I showed him pictures I had from the last few days with you, Finn, Peyton, and Sean. After that, I had a blast with Grandma Bank. We had tea and cookies while she showed me several old photo albums. I made sure to be polite and not tell her that I already saw most of the pictures at the cabin the other day."

"That was kind of you," Bridget remarked. She held in a smile as she imagined the ditzy blonde chatting with Cassie's mom while her dad probably peeked in every so often to check out the buxom blonde.

After receiving permission, Chastity explained how she drove directly to The Worm Bookery, an independent bookstore located downtown. Buying up all the Webster Whelan books in stock, she next went around the corner to a small toy store that also carried children's books. The chatty blonde sheepishly admitted that she spent way too long talking to the employees and owners of the two stores. With time running out, she rushed off to one chain bookstore while calling the other. The store she didn't have time to reach turned out to be willing to deliver the books to the Witzler.

KNOCK KNOCK

"Ooh! That's probably Tamsin with those boxes," Chastity announced.

Her assumption proved correct as Graham Diamond's personal assistant entered, carrying the two boxes and a dress bag. While several girls gushed over the brunette's lemon pencil dress, Whitney put two and two together.

"You forgot your dress?!"

"Tarter sauce, I did. Mom dropped it off earlier," Chastity admitted.

"You're an absolute doll, you know that? Racing around town, buying up books, and all for a charity for a woman that you never met," Whitney commented. "You're a treasure, Chastity Kupp."

While the beaming Chastity's eyes welled up with moisture, Bridget noted the sheer number of books in the boxes. Tamsin made eye contact and nodded at the unspoken comment.

"Chastity, this is a lot of books and money. How much did you spend?" Bridget questioned.

"It's okay. I don't mind spending money for a good cause."

"Don't worry, Bridget. My dad will pay her back," Whitney announced.

"Great Scott! Mr. Harvey doesn't need to spend any more money on me. He already pays me for working a job that I love."

"That's not necessary, Whitney," Bridget said. "Chastity, I want you to give me the receipts--all of them--, and I'll pay you for these. No, don't argue. I know that your job doesn't pay you anywhere near enough to do this."

"Nooo! I'll be fine. I'll just need to cut back on--"

"I'm insisting. Cassie was one of my best friends. I want to do this, and I should've had this idea when we first discussed starting the literary charity," Bridget admitted. "But, I will see if Webb will autograph a few books for you."

"Shut the front door!" Chastity squealed in delight. "I-I should drive home and get my copies."

"You're not doing that," Tamsin declared before swiftly thinking up a reason. "You should focus on what you're going to say when you meet Whelan."

"Oh, I've already met him at book signings. Three times!"

"Actually, you can't disappear, dear. I'm going to introduce you to Fiona Wynwick. She, Rachel, and Finn need to find you a role in this charity. I think you'll be invaluable," Bridget suggested

"Holy Smokes! Me in a...Wynwick?" Chastity's excitement drained as she whispered her following words. "Aren't they evil?"

"No, the Wynwicks are not evil," Bridget stated.

"Yes, they are," Whitney mouthed at the bubbly blonde.

"No, they are not. And don't think you can run around while Chastity is distracted. Dr. Mayfield should be arriving soon. And your father and I agreed that one, if not two, chaperones will be watching you at all times."

"Aw, c'mon, Bridget!"

"You have chaperones for tonight?" Cat asked, her face showing the horror she felt.

"Now, are you girls still insisting that no boys see you in your dresses before you make your grand entrances?" Bridget questioned, getting multiple nods in reply. "Then, you'd better disappear for a minute. I'm wheeling Sean downstairs."

---

Once we meet more characters, I'll add a few batches of pictures of the dresses to help visualize them.