Saturday morning was gray and drizzly. Tess stood in her stockinged feet and looked out of her bedroom window into the back yard. She tried not to be disappointed, telling herself that the weather didn't matter much; she and Isaac were going to be indoors at the movies, so a little rain wouldn't hurt.

Still wearing her pajamas, Tess flopped down into her desk chair and rummaged through the books and notebooks that littered the top, searching for a mechanical pencil. She had some Calculus left to finish, and then she wanted to get a head start on her Lit assignment before she went to the movies with Isaac. Getting homework out of the way would allow her to relax, and maybe she'd be lucky enough to have half a weekend to enjoy without thinking too much about school.

Tess passed her morning doing homework, taking only a short break to have a late breakfast with her parents. When midday rolled around, she took a shower and then began the long, stressful process of deliberating over what to wear. As she stood contemplating her closet, she heard footsteps in the hall.

"Tess?" Her mom's voice.

"Yeah, I'm in my room."

Clarette poked her head into Tess's room. "You okay, honey?"

"Just trying to decide what to wear."

"Well, I suggest something other than your rubber ducky bath robe."

"Ha, ha," Tess replied. "Seriously, Mom. I don't have anything to wear. Maybe this, I guess?" She reached into her closet and pulled out a lacy coral dress.

"Ahh, I do not miss those days." Tess's mom flopped onto her stomach on Tess's bed and propped herself up on her elbows. "Does it help if I tell you you won't give a damn twenty years from now what you wore on your first date?"

"No."

"That you won't even remember it? Or how much it stressed you out?"

"No. That doesn't help."

"That if he's worth your time he's going to be way more focused on talking to you than on what you're wearing?"

"Mom!"

Clarette studied Tess for a moment. Then she smiled and rolled off the bed. "All right. You aren't wearing that dress. Step back, girlfriend." She moved around Tess and began to flip through the clothes hanging in the closet; the plastic hangers snicked as they were shoved one way, then another.

Turning round, Tess's mom held out a gray tank top and a blue plaid button-down. "This. And your light jeans, and those purple flats you have."

"This?" Tess took the shirts. "Mom, this is my favorite shirt—"

"Exactly."

"But it isn't nice enough. I thought I should wear a dress or something."

"Honey, this top looks so cute on you—and you're going to be at the movies, for Pete's sake. Can I give you some advice that you'll ignore?"

Frowning, Tess sat on the bed, hangers in hand. "I don't ignore your advice."

Her mom crossed her arms and cocked her head. "Right. Look. If I could speed up one lesson about life for you, baby girl, it's this: being comfortable in your own skin is the single most important thing you can do for yourself. It means a lot of different things to a lot of different people, but one thing I know about you, Tess, is that you're not a frilly-dresses-and-high-heels girl. Do you remember when you were a junior bridesmaid in Alicia's wedding? You were beautiful in that dress, but every time I looked at you I thought, 'She's so uncomfortable right now.'"

Tess shrugged. "Yeah, but I don't want to look sloppy. I want to look good."

"You will, baby. Confidence looks good. Wear something you'll feel yourself in. You won't have to worry about if you have lipstick on your teeth or focus on walking in heels. Besides, I bet you $20 that when Isaac shows up he's going to be in jeans and the same old sneakers he wears every day. I repeat: you're going to the movies. The fashion police don't typically patrol there—not that this isn't a great outfit."

Uncertainly, Tess looked again at her favorite top. "All right. I'll wear this."

Clarette leaned down and kissed Tess on the forehead. "Great idea. Can I help with anything else?"

"I was going to ask you to curl my hair, but you've kind of changed my mind."

Fingering Tess's strawberry blonde locks, her mom said, "Just wear it down with a bit pinned back, like you did yesterday. It'll look perfect."

Although her outfit was about as low-maintenance as it could get while remaining socially acceptable, it took Tess a while to get ready; she stood in front of the mirror for several minutes, examining herself from every angle and second guessing herself. As she turned this way and that, her ballet slipper necklace glinted in the light. She tucked it inside her tank top and laid a hand over it, looking at her reflection with a sigh.

Then, she brushed her hair and pulled back a section, pinning it into place with simple bobby pins. The finishing touch was a swipe of clear mascara.

She looked...like herself.

And that was kind of weird, right? She was going on a date. She should at least look like a slightly more attractive version of herself. But at the same time, her mom had been right; she felt comfortable, and she wouldn't spend the whole night trying to make sure her skirt was not creeping up.

Tess grabbed her phone and checked for messages.

[REBECCA] hey u goin on that date today right?

[TESS] I am freaking out.

[REBECCA] send me pix what does he look like

[TESS] Maybe we will take a pic idk I don't have any pics of him

[REBECCA] dont be nervous ur just gonna be watchin a movie you dont even have to talk to him! lol

Well, she did have a point. Tess tapped into the other text exchange, this one with Jacqui.

[JACQUI] AHH 30 MINUTES AND COUNTING

[JACQUI] DID HE TEXT YOU

[JACQUI] DID HE CALL YOU

[JACQUI] IS HE THERE

[JACQUI] SEND ME A PIC

[TESS] No he did not text, no he did not call, no he is not here, you already know what he looks like he goes to our school!

[JACQUI] Girl he is so cute tho!

As she was typing a response acknowledging Jacqui's comment, a new message dropped down from the top of her screen.

[ISAAC] OK I'm an idiot

[ISAAC] Can u give me ur address?

[ISAAC] Here I am sittin in my car and I realized I never asked where u live lol

[TESS] I can't believe I didn't give it to you. It's 445 Onyx Avenue, the yellow house

[ISAAC] OK leaving now, GPS says 12 min :)

[TESS] See you soon!

Her heart doing somersaults in her chest, Tess made her way down the stairs to wait for Isaac in the kitchen. The minutes crawled by; it seemed like an hour later when, having ignored a number of new texts from Rebecca and Jacqui in the interest of keeping herself sane, Tess heard a car creeping into the driveway. She shot to her feet and went to the window. Isaac was behind the wheel.

"Is he coming to the door?"

Tess was startled by the sound of her father's voice near at hand. She looked up to see him peering over her shoulder at the car in the driveway. "He's just picking me up, Dad."

"Yeah, but if he's a gentleman he'll come ring the doorbell."

She peeked out the window again. A second later, her phone pinged.

[ISAAC] Please tell me I am in ur driveway, I dont want to ring some strangers doorbell?

With a giggle, Tess nudged her dad. He stepped back from her, giving her the space to edge around him, and she sprinted to the door. "I'll be back after the movie!" she shouted. "Tell Mom bye!"

And with that, she hurried out to meet Isaac in the driveway, ignoring the drizzling rain.