Rags to Riches

I hadn't really had a reason to be in a tuxedo shop since Connor's senior prom, when I tagged along so Liseph could watch me and help Connor with his tuxedo shopping at the same time. The last time I was there, I was barely ten years old and running around causing trouble. Nearly eight years later, the shop owner still kept a close eye on me as I sat on the plush couches outside the fitting rooms and talked to my father over the phone, as if he expected me to hang up and start wrecking the place again.

I did my best not to make awkward eye contact with him, focusing all my attention on what Dad was trying to explain to me on the other end of the phone. I could tell he was irritated from the sound of his voice, and pictured him sitting at his desk with his tie loose and his feet up on the desk, squeezing a stress ball in his free hand. More than likely there was a bag of candy open somewhere too, half empty. He ate candy when he was stressed.

"Anyways, thanks for doing this, Cal. He's a great kid and all, but he's not as comfortable around me as he is with someone... you know... his age," he said.

"I don't mind at all, Dad," I reassured him. "We're friends and all. It's fun."

"Alright, well, glad you're having a good time. On my end, I'm backed up on work," he sighed. "I'll probably have to skip dinner tonight. Tell your mother not to wait for me, you guys go ahead and eat. I'll have Kim get me some takeout."

"You sure that's a good idea?" I frowned. "You know what the doctor said about watching your stress levels. If you consider yourself 'too manly' for a yoga class or a spa day, the least you can do is come home around the same time normal people come home. It's nine to five, not seven to midnight."

"Watch that tone, Calliope Rosanne," he snapped suddenly, though his tone softened, like he felt bad about it. "I appreciate the concern, you know I do, but I don't want you to worry about me, okay? I'm not going to have another heart attack. I was in a bad time, and that time is long over. You just worry about yourself, alright? Anyways, I have to go. I'll see you later tonight. Oh, and remember to watch that credit card bill. Just because I'm letting Kenny splurge doesn't mean you get a brand new handbag."

I bit my lip, glancing at the three brand-name shopping bags on the ground next to me. Okay, so we may have made a couple of stops on the way to the tuxedo shop. It's just that these stores have some kind of magnet that is impossible to resist.

"Okay, bye Daddy," I said quickly, hanging up the phone before he had a chance to ask any questions.

"You guys are really close, huh?"

Upon hearing a new voice, I looked up to see Kenny standing there, fixing the cuffs of the brand-new tuxedo he was dressed in. I was amazed at how one well-fitted fine suit could completely change the way a person looked. And for him, it was a really good change. I stood up to examine a little closer, straightening out his collar for him and making sure all the measurements were right.

"Yeah, my dad has always been my best friend. He gets me, you know?" I said, turning him around so he'd look at himself in the mirror. "Anyways, it looks like everything fits just right. What do you think?"

He shifted slightly, shrugging. "I don't know. It's never really been something I had to think about. I guess I think I look kind of... mature?"

I thought for a moment, then removed Kenny's bow tie, instead picking a black skinny tie up from one of the displays. He had kind of given up on trying to take control of his own tuxedo shopping, and let me tie it for him.

"Skinny ties are in fashion again," I explained. "Fashion is going back in time. Personally, I can't wait until the 1920s come back."

"Pin stripe suits and tommy guns?" he frowned, clearly confused. He instantly shut up when I tied the tie a little too tightly around his neck.

"There's more to the 20's than the mafia, you know," I informed him as I loosened the tie a little bit. "Anyways, what do you think now?"

He looked at himself for a few moments, adjusting the tie and his hair a little bit before giving me the slightest half smile and nodding. "Yeah, I can definitely live with it."

We left the store and decided on hanging around the shopping center a little bit, since there wasn't much else to do. I caught Kenny staring at everyone and everything, almost in a childlike way. He seemed a little less afraid of it now, and a little more curious. I convinced him to come with me to this cute little frozen yogurt shop nestled in between a couple of stores and take a little break from life. We took the cups of froyo to sit on the edge of the fountain in the center of the outdoor mall, enjoying the sunshine.

"So, I never really asked. What do you think of TechNet?" I asked him, nibbling on one of the many gummy bears I had added as toppings.

He shrugged, stabbing the yogurt with his spoon a little bit. He didn't seem like he wanted to talk about it, and I immediately regretted asking, but he answered me anyways. "It's weird. I never really expected to work somewhere like that. It all kind of hit me in the face at once. I mean, I guess I can't really complain. My boss, well, your dad... he's pretty cool. It's better than what the alternative would have been."

I was tempted to ask what alternative he was talking about, but he really seemed like he was done with that conversation. I decided to direct it a different way, chewing on a gummy bear's delicious ear.

"Yeah, I hear that often about my dad. Apparently, he's laid back most of the time, yet somehow still enough of an authority to keep order," I said.

"I guess he knows what he needs to be strict about. What's important and what's not," he said, a little more comfortable with this conversation than the last. "He didn't care much about the tattoo rule."

I laughed, shaking my head and taking a spoonful of frozen yogurt. Kenny seemed confused, waiting for me to explain.

"Well, I'd assume the reason he's so laid back about it is because he's got a massive dragon himself," I explained.

"What?" his eyebrows shot up in surprise.

"Yeah, there's a dragon that covers his upper back and his entire left shoulder," I said, lowering my voice and leaning in a little bit. It had been a while since I'd been in a gossip circle, even if it was about my dad. "He doesn't talk much about it. It's not even colored. He never talks to me about it, but according to Connor, he got completely wasted on his nineteenth birthday and got the tattoo without really thinking about it. It's actually pretty well done, but he doesn't say much about it. Of course, you didn't hear it from me."

Kenny leaned back again, laughing. "Callie Seville, you and your family get more interesting by the minute."

I grinned, digging into the froyo again but freezing suddenly when I spotted someone over Kenny's shoulder. Kenny seemed to get a little concerned when he saw how pale I had gotten, glancing over his shoulder to see what I was looking at. Of course, he didn't see it. How would Kenny know the beautiful redheaded girl walking down, hand in hand with a boy I had seen only once in the dark.

"We have to go now," I said quickly, tossing the cup of frozen yogurt in the trash.

"Woah, hey, slow down. What's going on?" he asked, refusing to get up despite my tugging on his arm. "Did the witch hunters come after you or something?"

"Very funny," I said sarcastically. "I'll explain- oh, crap."

It was too late. Avia had spotted me, and was now whispering something to the boy she was with. The same boy who had tried to move on me at that party I had gone to with her. So I guess he'd ended up with my best friend instead. Go figure. She plastered an amused smile on her face as she approached us. I quickly sat back down next to Kenny, making sure there was enough space between us so that she didn't make any assumptions.

"Callie, I haven't seen you outside of school in ages", she gushed, though her tone wasn't exactly friendly. "So you finally decided to leave the house, huh?"

"Yeah, I guess I did," I muttered, looking down at my feet.

I could see Kenny out of the corner of my eye, glancing between Avia and I. He was smart enough to piece it together pretty quickly.

"And look, you've finally got yourself a boyfriend that exists," she smirked, turning her attention to Kenny. "Let me guess, either you're so religious that you won't kiss girls until you're married, or you're her cousin from the deep south."

I could tell that her last comment had visibly pissed Kenny off, but he didn't say anything. If anything, he was waiting for me to stand up for myself. He seemed a little surprised that I just took it, without a word. Eventually, he was the one to respond.

"Either way, we won't be seeing you in heaven," he said, in a pretty impressive southern accent.

Avia narrowed her eyes at him, then turned her gaze back to me. It was almost as if she realized she couldn't prey on Kenny like she could with me, and decided to stop trying before she embarrassed herself. I closed my eyes, letting out a sigh, and finally made a half-assed attempt at defending myself.

"Listen, if you and your one-night-stand are done picking on two people who made no effort to bother you, we have to go. It was nice, but we have things to do, and you have your roots to touch up," I said, standing up with the bags.

Avia's smile dropped as her hand flew up to her head, where faint brown roots were showing in her otherwise fiery red hair. I didn't stick around to hear her respond, and Kenny followed after me.

"Why didn't you say anything to her?" he asked, jogging to catch up to me.

"Because that's my business, and my business only," I told him, my tone a little harsher than I intended. "Besides, you're one to talk. We all know you're the god of standing up for yourself, right?"

Kenny stopped in his tracks, a little stunned by my response, but he swallowed his words. I sighed, guilty about what I said. I wasn't really capable of being mean.

"Look, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it," I admitted. "That girl's name was Avia, and she and I have a history that I will explain to you in the car. She's like Voldemort. We don't speak her name out of fear that she will appear."

"Right," he said slowly, walking with me again. "Yeah, I guess I can see that."

"But hey, she doesn't matter anymore. What matters is that in a couple days, you get to see the finest TechNet has to offer," I grinned.

"Oh. Great."