Tess had never been very interested in clothes, but dress shopping turned out to be a blast. At the last minute, she thought to invite Rebecca, who was planning to attend her school's homecoming dance with her boyfriend, too. It was great to see Rebecca again after a few months apart. The four girls spent nearly five hours at the mall in search of the perfect dresses for the homecoming dance. Truth be told, they spent more time talking and giggling than actually trying on clothes. After they finished shopping, they celebrated their success with ice cream at the food court.

Even Tess had found something she liked; it was a simple knee-length, sleeveless dress in dusty blue. Had it been made of cotton, it might have been a sundress, but it had an overlay of chiffon and a ribbon belt embroidered with beads. It was just the right balance of simple and fancy for Tess, and she loved it.

The Friday following the dress-shopping expedition, Tess headed into Senior English with Jacqui.

"Have you seen Isaac today?" Jaqui asked as they settled into their seats. "I didn't see him with his crew at lunch."

"He texted me this morning. He's sick," Tess replied.

"Oh. Poor guy. He better get well before next weekend." Jacqui set out her pencil and highlighter. "Did he say what it was?"

"He didn't, but it sounds like a cold. I'm glad he's resting at home. He'll get better faster, and he isn't here spreading germs."

The bell rang, and Ms. Keene raised her hand for silence. "Good afternoon, class! You'll be glad to know that I have finished grading your article critiques," she said.

Jacqui did look glad, but Tess was anything but. Their most recent assignment had been shorter than a research paper, sure, but it had been just as hard in many ways. She'd spent enough time working with Miguel that she almost felt good about the assignment, but thinking critically about a published author's work was something Tess had really never done before. Tess watched Ms. Keene make her way through the rows of students' desks, antsy with anxiety.

Ms. Keene placed her paper face-down on her desk. Tess glanced over at Jacqui, who was already reviewing her own graded assignment. Drawing a breath, Tess flipped her paper over.

At the top of the page was a circled A. Beneath it, Ms. Keene had written, Great work Tess — keep it up.

Her heart soaring, Tess restrained herself from hugging the paper to her chest. She couldn't wait to tell Miguel about her success. Just knowing that she'd pulled a better grade than any so far, and on such a tricky assignment, put her in a good mood for the rest of the class.

When the final bell rang, Tess walked back to her locker with Jacqui. She was eager to text Isaac to check in on how he was doing. She didn't even pack her backpack before snatching up her phone and shooting him a quick text.

[TESS] how are you feeling?

She didn't know if he'd respond; maybe he was asleep. She began to pack up her books for her homework. Once she'd zipped up her bag, she checked her phone again. Isaac's response flashed across her screen.

[ISAAC] ur so sweet Tess. Im feeling a lot better

[ISAAC] I slept like all day and now I wont sleep tonight im sure

[TESS] I'm so glad. I was worried about you. LMK if you need anything :)

[ISAAC] ur the best ty so much :)

[ISAAC] hey unrelated Q

[ISAAC] what do u think ull wear to the homecoming dance

[ISAAC] I should match u right? thats like important to girls when we do the whole dress up thing?

Tess's smile faded. The thought of color coordinating their dance outfits put her in mind of her mother's family picture tradition, which Julia had always loved. It wasn't a bad memory, but it stung; it was one of those out-of-the-blue moments Miguel had described.

"You heading out, Tess?" Jacqui asked, breaking into her thoughts.

"In a minute," said Tess. "Have a good weekend, Jacqui! I'll see you on Monday."

"You too, girl!" Jacqui swung her bag onto her back and waved, then headed off down the hall.

Trying to push aside the unexpected pain of Julia's memory, Tess responded to Isaac quickly.

[TESS] You dont have to get anything special

[ISAAC] aha, I wont fall for that trick

[ISAAC] Pick ur color any color

[TESS] I actually don't really mind, but if you want to match the dress is blue

[TESS] Ill send a pic so you can see :)

She flicked through her photo gallery until she found a picture of the dress. All she had was a snapshot from the dressing room; it wasn't the most flattering photo, but it showed the dress to good advantage, and the color seemed true to life. She sent it to Isaac with a few taps of her thumb. Then, she headed down the hall toward the front courtyard door. By the time her phone buzzed in her pocket, she had seen her mother's car out front, so she waited to check Isaac's response until she was in the car.

"Hey honey," said Clarette. "How was school?"

"It was great, Mom. I got an A on my article critique!" Tess buckled in, then unzipped her backpack. She snatched out the graded assignment and handed it to her mom with a grin.

"Oh, Tess! Well done! Miguel will be so glad to see it." Clarette smiled at Ms. Keene's comment on the front of the paper, then handed it back to Tess. "So will your father."

Tess sank back into her seat, content. "Thanks, Mom." Then, she reached for her phone to check Isaac's message. When she saw it, she giggled.

[ISAAC] wow

[ISAAC]

[ISAAC] 12/10, cant wait to see u in that!

"What?" asked her mom. "Why the giggles?"

"Nothing," said Tess, and she giggled again, holding her phone to her heart.