Her Teen Dream by Devon Vaughn Archer

remember the incident with Marcus, but know
Jayne’s mother as well.
    “That was a onetime thing,” she tried to
defend Marcus. “Does he have to be punished for the rest of his
life? Or Lesley just because she’s going out with him?”
    “No one’s saying Marcus doesn’t deserve a
second chance,” her father said. “And Lesley is free to date any
boy she chooses, if her mother doesn’t have a problem with it.”
    Josephine, who was sitting next to Greer on
the sofa, leaned forward and said, “This isn’t about them, it’s
about you , Karin. I don’t want you hanging out with the
wrong crowd.”
    “They’re not the wrong crowd, Momma,” she
stuck up for her friends. “Lesley is my best friend and Marcus and
Reese are my friends, too. They also happen to be starters on the
Spartans basketball team with good futures ahead of them. Please
don’t deny me the chance to go to my first high school Valentine’s
Day dance and have some fun.”
    After a moment or two of uneasy silence,
Karin’s father once again took the lead role.
    “She’s right, honey,” he said to her mother.
“This is a special occasion and Karin should be allowed to
experience it with her friends. We have to give her a little space
to grow up into the young woman we both know she will be.”
    Josephine smoldered, but begrudgingly came
around. “All right, you can go to the dance. Just don’t make us
regret this.”
    “You won’t, Momma,” she promised, and felt a
little guilty that she hadn’t been totally truthful about her
relationship with Reese. A little at a time, Karin told herself,
until her parents realized that they were a perfect high school
couple or could be, if given half a chance.
    * * *
    Karin and Lesley went to the mall to buy
dresses for the dance. It seemed as if everyone else had the same
thing in mind with all the shoppers crowding into the stores.
    “Remind me next year to come a month
earlier,” Lesley complained.
    “Need I remind you that last Valentine’s Day
we were dateless and very frustrated,” Karin said. “Isn’t this much
better, even if we have to worm our way through the entire city of
Crestview to get what we want?”
    “Yeah, you’ve got a good point there. If
you’d told me last year that I’d be going to the Valentine’s Day
dance with Marcus Payne, I would’ve thought you were crazy.”
    “Same thing if you’d mentioned that Reese
McKenzie would be in my future. Guess good things can happen to
teenage girls if they wait long enough and don’t settle for
less.”
    “That would be us!” Lesley suddenly grabbed
Karin’s hand. “Let’s go in there.”
    They made a sharp left, slicing through waves
of shoppers, and entered a boutique specializing in designer
clothes for young women. Almost as quickly, a petite saleswoman
asked, “Can I help you girls?”
    “Maybe,” Karin said. “We’re looking to
improve our wardrobes just in time for a Valentine’s Day
dance.”
    “Our lives may depend on it,” quipped
Lesley.
    The woman smiled broadly. “Well, girls, I
think you’ve come to the right place!”
     

CHAPTER FOURTEEN
     
    On Valentine’s Day, Karin and Lesley got
started early with their hair and makeup, working on each other and
trying not to overdo it.
    “It’s not too caked on, is it?” Karin asked,
looking in the mirror at her reflection.
    “Yeah, all we need now is some lemon frosting
and you’ll look tasty enough to eat.” Lesley laughed. “Your makeup
is perfect, silly. And so is your hair. If Reese doesn’t consider
you the belle of the ball, then he’s definitely blind!”
    Karin smiled. “You look perfect, too. Marcus
will be very happy to have you as his date.”
    “He’d better be,” Lesley declared,
“especially after I had to draw on my meager salary and a loan from
my Mom to buy a dress for this dance.”
    “Speaking of which,” Karin said, glancing at
the clock, “I’d say it’s time for us to get changed and pray that
nothing gets