Kendra was surrounded by a flock of voluble girls.
One girl relayed the time while another frantically hopped around the rented hotel suite. The rest were huddled together, fingers knotting as they each intruded on the attempts of the others. They were all trying to move the same zipper, each in a different manner than the previous. All were frantic as each set of fingers tried to wiggle and shimmy the zipper up its metal track. They commanded that Kendra suck it in, and in reply, Kendra breathlessly reminded them that there was nothing left to suck.
"Those are my ribs! They don't get smaller!" she barked even as the air was quickly leaving her. Blood was in her head, lighting up the freckled complexion with intense cranberry hues.
The four girls, Kendra included, deflated and the fastening for a black, mermaid style bridesmaid dress retreated to its original starting point. In the front, the lip of the semi-sweetheart styled gown peeled forward in retreat and two time-slowing jugs of flesh spilled forward like they were ready for play. As if everyone shared a consciousness, each girl sighed in unison and made an offhanded comment about how absurdly large Kendra's breasts were.
"I swear to god I didn't gain any weight," Kendra threw up her defense as quick as she could. She knew that each dress was tailor-made for each and every person participating in Claire's wedding. If the dress didn't fit, then the blame had to go to the either the tailor or the girl stuffing her puffy body into the tiny black sleeve. Almost everyone else had perfectly form-fitting dresses, so the tailor couldn't have been the problem.
"Maybe you're just bloated?" came Teresa, the last girl that had tried and failed to get the dress to stay put.
"Maybe you just ate something this morning like you weren't supposed to. The fast started last night, Kendra."
Kendra focused her attention on the back of the room where she met the scowl of Claire's younger sister Jasmine. Of all the girls in the wedding party, Jasmine was the least fit to be wearing a 'semi-sweetheart' anything. This was because she was both a royal bitch and as flat chested as could be. She had spent more pins and tape to keep the dress over her small B cups than the average kindergartener does during art class. She could have passed as a kindergartener compared to the girls she would be standing next to while her older sister exchanged vows in front of friends and family. Being barely eighteen and thin as a rail, Jasmine looked less like a picture of elegance and more like she tripped and fell into her mother's makeup bag.
And the bratty kid treatment had been consistent all day long. On an average day, Jasmine's rage was tolerable as she was just a gloomy, grumpy teenager. But this time, inside Kendra's nutrient deficient, hunger striking mind, she concluded that the little punk needed to be taught a lesson.
"If you've got a better idea, then say it instead of being a bitch about this. I would ask to use some pins, but you probably used them all on yourself, right?"
"You're one to talk about being 'pinned up'. You look like a walking porno with tits like that. If I were you, I'd be afraid of coming within two feet of anything sharp."
"At least I don't have to worry about being around anything 'sharp' when I'm with you, Jasmine. You're the dullest person I know."
"I hope you trip and suffocate on those airbags," Jasmine stood, a fist full of the front of her dress in her hand to keep it from falling.
"I hope I trip and suffocate you!" Kendra spat back.
When the red film finally cleared from her eyes, Kendra realized that Jasmine had stormed out of the twin bedroom changing area. The front door slammed angrily and every other girl in the room was quiet. The weight of the moment felt like a body-sized blood pressure reader and Kendra was in its midst being squeezed. Did Jasmine have all of that coming? Probably not; she was just being fussy. Did Kendra regret it? No. In fact, she felt worse about how it made her look in front of all of her friends. They had never seen her this way before and she didn't exactly know how to feel about it.
"Maybe that was a little much?" Benny, the tallest girl said.
"'Maybe'?" Teresa added with wide sweeps of her hands. "One of our bridesmaids just ran out the door and the other can't fit her mammoth melons inside her dress. The wedding's two hours away, guys. We have a schedule to keep."
"This is my fault," Kendra said, though there wasn't much remorse in her tone. She tried to keep her feelings as subdued as possible, despite the satisfaction she felt from getting a rise out of Jasmine.
"Damn straight it is! Ugh, what do we do? What do we do?! First off, no one tells Claire," Teresa's pupils became pinpricks as the stress got to her.
Even if she was legitimately stressed, her animated bouncing and rubbing of her hands accidentally made it look like a sketch comedy routine. Teresa had always been like this, Kendra remembered, and it was actually refreshing to be reminded of how little things had changed with time.
"That's if she hasn't already crossed paths with Jasmine," Kendra added.
"That can't happen! This is her special day."