Shimmy by Kari Jones Read Free Book Online

slinky.
    “That’ll look amazing on you,” I say to Eve, who’s standing next to me.
    “On all of us,” she says.
    I nod, but yeah, it’ll look better on her than on anyone else.
    Dana reaches into the bag again and pulls out a piece of cloth that she unravels to reveal a white bra studded with gold threads and beads. Robin and Alex gasp beside me as Dana pulls off her tank top and straps herself into the bra. She shakes her hair out of its elastic and raises her arms to show us the full effect of the bra.
    “We’ll wear gold jewelry to give some color,” she says.
    Eve’s eyes sparkle, and I can see why. She’s got the perfect body for this costume. Slim, tall and busty. The rest of the girls look less excited, and both Alex and Bea have concern in their eyes.
    “It’s pretty skimpy,” I whisper to Robin. She nods without taking her eyes off Dana.
    “What do you think, girls?” Dana asks.
    “Fantastic,” says Eve.
    “I knew you’d like it,” Dana says with a big grin at Eve. “What about the rest of you? Alex, Sam?”
    Alex and Sam both nod and smile, but Bea says, “It’s different than usual.”
    “Indeed. I thought we’d try for a new style. I want us to really stand out this time, and this costume is so flashy,” says Dana.
    “I don’t know if I’ll be able to keep a bra like that up,” says Allie from behind me, and we all laugh. Allie’s flat as a board.
    But Dana says, “We’ll have a bra-making party. Buy yourself a white bra, and we’ll build up from there. We take off all the straps and make our own ties, so they are super adjustable, and we cover the bras in satin and beads and coins so they look flashy. This style can fit everyone. You’re all going to be so beautiful and stylish. We’ll wear hair down and flowing. You’ll see—it’ll look amazing.”
    The costume is beautiful, but my heart races, because it hits me that I will be up onstage in a skimpy bra and a nearly-as-skimpy skirt, and despite what she says, I’m not sure that I am going to be beautiful and stylish. I may look like a lumpy ghost. For a second, I long for both Angela’s dark coloring and Amala’s bright costume. Just for a second.

Eleven
    T hat night I dream of dancing again. This time I’m wearing the right costume, but when I walk onto the stage, the bra snaps open and falls off, and I’m left topless in front of everyone I know. I wake with a start. My sheets are all tangled at the bottom of the bed, and I’m drenched in sweat. My heart is racing. It only takes me a second to scroll down to Angela’s name, but then I stare at my phone for a while before turning it off and lying back down. I want to talk to Angela more than anything. I’m not sure if she’ll want to talk to me.
    In the morning I get up in time to catch the bus, and I sprint to the stop and hop on a second before it pulls away. I make my way down the aisle and wait for Angela to get on at the next stop.
    “What are you studying?” I ask as she pulls out her books. Her stuff spills across the seat, so I have to squish myself in next to her to sit down.
    “English,” she says.
    “Oh no! I totally forgot about the English test. Something more to worry about.”
    Angela sighs. “What are you worried about?”
    Now that she’s asked, I’m not sure I want to talk about it, so I say, “Dance.”
    “I figured, but what specifically?”
    She still sounds grumpy, almost like she was expecting me to complain, so I don’t say anything until she says, “Lila? If you don’t have anything to say, I’m going to get back to studying.”
    “It’s the costume,” I say. “I hate it.”
    “I thought you always loved Dana’s costumes,” Angela says.
    “Usually, yeah, but this one’s different. It’s all white and gold. It’ll make me look like a ghost. Plus, the skirt has a huge slit up the side, and”—I take a deep breath, because this is really the part I have a problem with—“the top’s a bra.”
    I expect Angela