** The New Boy **
Cheryl yawned, stretched, and moved her feet to the floor, rising out of bed on a brisk and slightly cool late April morning. The Florida sun shone brightly into her bedroom. Cheryl and her younger Sister Tawnee lived in a three-bedroom apartment with their mother since their father had been killed in a bizarre and tragic plain crash 9 years ago. At 19, Cheryl was old enough to still remember and miss her father, but at 18, Tawnee wasn't much more than 4 at the time of their fathers passing. So it was harder for Cheryl.
Cheryl's mom Jane had loved the girls' father very much and mourned a great deal for him after he had died. She had simply refused to date for years following the ordeal. It was only in the last couple years that she had even considered going out again, despite all of her friends and family's encouragement. And it wasn't that there weren't a great deal of interest. Cheryl's mom was a very pretty, well built, young blonde woman who never failed to turn heads whenever she dressed up and went out.
Despite the interest in her, she politely declined any offers that came her way. She preferred, instead, to remain home with her girls and give the healing process a chance to work.
However, for Cheryl, today was a day filled with promise and hope. After Cheryl's dad had died, their family had to downsize quite a bit. After selling the house, cashing in insurance, and paying off all the bills, there had not been a great deal of money left over, so they had to adjust their lifestyles to a more modest and scaled back lifestyle. This was sometimes difficult for both Cheryl and her mother Jane to deal with. They moved to a small apartment, which meant that Cheryl had to get used to an entirely new school.
The adjustment had been difficult, and making friends was a slow process, in spite of the fact that Cheryl was a very pretty and outgoing girl. At nineteen she was blossoming into a beautiful young woman. She had sprouted to a height of about 5'3" tall, and her breasts seemed to develop overnight. Her mom would tease her that they could now share bras, since they both healthy 34 Cs. Cheryl would likely eventually end up passing her mom in this category, since her breasts had developed to C cups upon turning 15, and certainly the girl was not done growing yet!
The hope that Cheryl woke up feeling today though was based on a surprising and wonderful turn of events that rounded out the previous week. School had been going just like any other year, nothing really exciting. However, a couple of weeks ago something wonderful happened, simply by chance. A new kid in school had been sat directly in front of Cheryl in her Algebra II class. (God, he was cute). His name was Chris. He was about 5'10, smallish guy, with dark hair and glasses. Cheryl thought he was the cutest guy she had ever seen in her life. Shortly after class began, he turned around and talked to her.
"Hi, my name is Chris. What's yours?" asked the young man in front of her.
"I'm Cheryl, pleased to meet you. How do you like Tampa so far?"
"It's OK. We're just trying to get used to the new town"
Cheryl could definitely relate to adjustments. She had certainly had to make enough of her own over recent years. And so it started. Chris and Cheryl got along fabulously from the very beginning. They became immediate friends, and it seemed that their relationship might go somewhere beyond a casual friendship.
The school days passed as any other as the year wound it's way to a close. The one thing that was looming over the high school kids was the fact that the prom was on it's way. Up until meeting Chris, Cheryl hadn't given prom a second thought. She was a sophomore, so she didn't really necessarily think she would even be going to prom -- unless someone were to ask her. However, with her new relationship forming with Chris, Cheryl couldn't help but wonder...
Chris didn't make her wonder for very long. Today he had asked her to accompany him to the PROM!! It was like a dream. Cheryl had been walking on air every since. She simply couldn't wait to pick out her prom dress. She was a little worried, because she knew her mom was on a budget, and was not entirely convinced that they would even be able to afford to buy her a dress for the prom!
** Picking out a Prom Dress **
Spring came early that year. The sun was shining bright on that beautiful spring day, ensuring that summer was just around the corner. Summer was definitely Cheryl's favorite season. The young blonde simply loved to be outside in the sun working on her tan. Every year she layed out as much as she could and was always a lovely dark bronze.
Cheryl was definitely an outdoor girl. She loved to lay out, run, play tennis, she even could be found hanging out with the boys some nights playing on skateboards. She was somewhat proud of the fact that she could do as many tricks as any of the boys and more than some.
Cheryl had definitely grown up as a bit of a Tomboy. In fact, most of her 'boy friends' thought of her as one of the guys. She wasn't uptight and squirrelly like many girls. She was more like one of the guys. That is, until recently -- when she seemed to grow into a young woman practically overnight. This didn't really seem to phase the boys though. They still treated her as one of their own.
With summer just around the corner, on a bright clear Saturday morning, Cheryl set out to begin shopping for the dress she would wear to her first prom. She refused to feel the least bit sad about the fact that her mom wouldn't be able to come along with her this morning. She was going to, but then her mom's boss had called last night to inform her that she would need to come into work this morning due to an emergency in a co-workers family.
"You're welcome to wait until next week for me to come with you," said Jane to her daughter.
"It's OK mom, I can go out looking on my own tomorrow. I'm sure it'll take more than one trip to decide anyway!"
"True. Just remember, we ARE on a budget -- so we can really only afford $75 - $100."
"I know, I know," said Cheryl.
Cheryl stood in the window, looking up in awe. The dress was simply amazing. She knew, in an instant, that it would be perfect for her. Then she looked down at the price $375!!
"Ummm...look again," said Cheryl to herself as she opened the door, walking into the store.
The store was a small and simple store. Behind the counter stood a happy and safe looking large middle aged Italian man. Cheryl half suspected that it was his wife that owned this store and that he was helping her out on a Saturday morning. Cheryl was immediately struck by the store and convinced herself that she would like to buy her dress from these small store owners.
"Good morning," beamed the large Italian man from behind the register. "How can I be of service to you today?"
The pretty blonde inched her way into the store, suddenly feeling a bit timid. "I have to find a dress to wear to my prom."
"Oh, a lucky young man is taking you to prom this year, huh?" smiled the man.
