May 2085: dresses

Ocean Michen is 16, Joey McCullough is 15.


Ocean hovered in Joey's peripheral vision, smiling silently, quiet and floaty. She was like a blue jelly fish.

"I know," Joey said. "My sister ditched your brother at the prom. My sister is Satan. It wasn't my fault and I don't care."

Joey's sister was graduating, finally and thank God. Not that Joey ever craved the spotlight, but maybe for once she could exist in this town without being known as "Ruby's little sister".

"I don't care either," Ocean said.



"Oh," Joey said. "Am I in your way or something?"

"Nope."

"Do you need to know what I'm writing about?"

"Not yet."

This was Joey's first year writing for the school newspaper; Ocean took the photographs and served as junior editor. She scanned the spines of the books absently, but she didn't seem the least bit interested in them. "You didn't go to prom," Ocean said.

Joey scoffed at the idea. "I couldn't imagine anything stupider to do with a Saturday night. Did you go?"

"Sure."


Joey turned around. "Really? Did you like, wear a dress and everything?"

"I did," Ocean said.

"Did you dance with anybody?"

"Sadly, I didn't have anyone to dance with." Ocean made a pouty face which Joey found both adorable and infuriating at the same time. She was one of those kind of girls -- just cool, without even having to try. Just likable, even though you tried to hate her.

"What kind of dress did you wear?"

"Lace," Ocean said. "A peachy color, lots of ruffles."

"Sounds pretty," Joey said.

"It was." Ocean winked. Joey found talking to her so weird and intense and unsettling that she couldn't stand it. She laughed, once, awkwardly, and turned back to the books.

"You should have been there," Ocean added. "We could have had fun. Is your mom gonna make you wear a dress for your sister's graduation?"

"I don't know, probably. Why?"

"Because it sounds like something worth seeing."


Joey blushed. "What, Ruby's graduation?"

"No," Ocean said. "You in a dress."