She slipped on her pale green and yellow print baby doll dress and her cutest flats, fluffed her hair, then swiped on a touch of the lip gloss she’d bought yesterday with Shannon and Val at Benson’s Drugstore. She’d picked the shiny raspberry gloss, Shannon had chosen whipped strawberry, and Val bought the sweet berry fusion. Studying herself in her bedroom mirror, she thought she looked okay, but not great. She wished her boobs would start growing already, like Shannon’s had. And she wished her chin wasn’t so baby round, and that she was shorter by at least three inches. She bet she was already taller than nearly all the boys in her grade. Including Nate. Last year she’d been the same height as everyone else, but this year she was going to tower over them like some stupid giant. Her stomach hurt just thinking about school. Think about the shower, she told herself. School doesn’t start until Monday. And today will be fun. Not only would she get to help unwrap the baby gifts and see all the cute presents for her new cousin, she’d finally have the chance to taste Sophie’s famous cinnamon buns, the ones Aunt Liss had been raving about ever since Ivy could remember.
