When the Wallflower Blooms

She wasn’t the kind of girl you really noticed. Not quite a wallflower, but not exactly outgoing. She was the friend, the extra, the filler, that person you invited along because she was easy to get along with. She wasn’t one of those people who tried to fit in, or was awkward and out of place. She just was. 

Her name was Tobi. If you asked her about it, she’d smile sheepishly and explain that she didn’t much like the name. Her mom had explained that it was like Terri. Add an ‘i’ instead of a ‘y’ and that made it a girl’s name. The explanation didn’t change her mind about it though.

Through middle school and on into high school, she found her place in a clique of young men and women much like herself. They weren’t the in-crowd, but they weren’t the geeks and freaks. They usually got invited to the parties. Several of them had good connections; an older brother willing to buy or a house with a pool. Several just had a car and were willing to suck it up and stay sober for the night in exchange for the glimpse, a taste of popularity. 

Tobi had her own role in the party going scene. Those who were too drunk to think straight, lonely, depressed or new in town, they were sure to find their way to the unimposing girl with a boy’s name. 

One such night, she was savouring a good quality ale she’d found stashed in the back of the fridge behind the soda cans. A stunning blonde with impressively long hair and even longer legs stumbled in her direction. Her mascara was smeared, her bottom lip trembling. 

Tobi stood, intercepting the wobbling girl before she was noticed by some of the less savory of the drunken crowd. She was sure to be seen as easy prey, and as pretty as she was, it wouldn't take long. Tobi caught her by the arm and steered her to the couch.

“Hey, you okay?” she coaxed, searching through her pockets for a tissue. 

“Yeah,” the girl sniffed. “Gawd, I’m such a mess.” 

Tobi gave her a sympathetic smile. “You’re fine, really. Things get crazy at parties. Don’t sweat it.”

The girl nodded, dabbing at her eyes with the tissue Tobi had managed to produce. “I... it’s just that...” she tried, twisting the flimsy bit of paper in her hands. “You know... I got dumped. Prom is next Friday. I’m a senior and I haven’t been to Prom. What kind of loser am I?”

“I don’t have a date either.” It was a statement of fact, little else.

“Oh, Tobi, I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean...”

Tobi stared. She hadn’t expected the girl to recognize her, let alone know her name. Nobody from these parties ever remembered her, and they rarely spoke to her at school. Tobi knew the girl’s name of course. 

Calista was gorgeous, and yet, somehow she never seemed to be able to hold onto the position of popularity granted to those with such looks. Instead, the leggy blond stumbled about at the edge of the popular circles. It was tragic to watch, yet watch was what Tobi did best. 

“No, it’s fine, Calista. Prom doesn’t mean much to me.”

The blonde sniffed again. “It does to me...” she whimpered. “I already bought my dress... I worked all summer to save up for it...”

Tobi patted the girl’s hand. “You’ll find a date, I’m sure.”  

“No, I won’t. There’s no one left, and I can’t go alone.” 

“I’ll take you, then.” The words slipped from her lips before she’d realized it. Her heart began pounding furiously in her chest.

“Really?” Calista asked sweetly, her voice brimming with hope.

“Sure," Tobi replied with a hesitant smile, still wondering why she’d even thought, let alone offered such a thing.

#

Dressed in a black pantsuit, picked out after long and arduous consideration, Tobi parked her father’s car outside the weather worn house. She half expected to be stood up, to be left waiting on the curb, unable to work up the courage to even walk to the door. 

“You came! You actually came!” Calista bounded out onto the cracked sidewalk that parted the sea of brown, untended lawn. Tobi felt her breath hitch in her throat. Calista’s hair streamed out behind her, shimmering and golden as it caught in the light of the setting sun. Her dress was simple and short, a pale, icy blue that accentuated the warmth that the girl seemed to radiate. 

The next moment, Calista was in the seat beside her smelling of vanilla and hair spray, a cluster of baby's breath and a pair of light blue delphinium in her hand.

“For you!” Her slender fingers worked to fasten the flowers in place. 

Tobi felt a flush rise in her cheeks. “A corsage, I didn’t even think...”

Calista giggled. “Oh, it’s fine. I bought my own.” She leaned across the seat and gave Tobi a kiss on the cheek. “Thank you again for doing this for me.”

They arrived early, and the mood was light. With Calista, Tobi wasn’t allowed to be a wallflower. The blonde pulled her out onto the dance floor time and time again. As the night drew on, and the fashionably late arrived, it was hard to miss whispers and sneers. Calista withered under their gaze, faltered at the hiss of every whisper. 

A protective, furious rage bubbled up inside Tobi. “Don’t mind them,” she whispered into Calista’s ear, and pulled her back out to the middle of the floor. “You are beautiful. You shine in a way that reveals just how fake they are.” 

Calista beamed, her blue eyes glistening. “How... how are you so... brave?” 

Tobi shook her head, and reached up to catch a single tear from Calista’s pale cheek.  “I’m not.” She studied the glimmering pearl of moisture. "I'm just not afraid to be myself." She smiled at Calista. "And you shouldn't be either."