Prom Ever After. Dona Sarkar

still open. Armstrong’s cute, but kind of skinny, don’t you think?”

      Ash remembered how beautifully Lyra sang. When she finished “A Little Fall of Rain” with a whisper as Eponine had “died” in the middle of the final act, thunderous applause had rung through the school auditorium.

      “I’m Ash and this is Sebastian Diaz.” Ash gestured toward Seb, who looked uncomfortable.

      Ash noticed Lyra flash her dazzling smile in his direction a second longer than normal, her giant dark eyes lighting up with recognition. Of course she knew Sebastian. Everyone did.

      “We need some help.” Ash opened the garment bag and pulled out the lehenga. “This is my mother’s. We want to make modifications to this dress to make it look like this figurine.”

      Lyra’s eyes widened. “That’s some beadwork. Where was it made?”

      “India somewhere, I’m not sure. It’s my mom’s.”

      “It’s gorgeous. Why do you want to change it?”

      “Because it’s weird right now. Trust me.” Ash pushed the sketch and the figurine toward her, ignoring Lyra’s doubtful look. “I want to transform it and wear it to the prom.”

      “Wow. That’s a great sketch!” A few moments of silence passed as the enthusiastic girl touched the fabric in various places, examining seams and sleeves and who knew what else. She glanced at the sketches and the figurine.

      “This is complicated. Like, really complicated.” She tossed her waist-length curly black hair to one side and frowned. She turned the lehenga inside out and lay it flat. “Yes, this is very complex beadwork. See how each bead is hand-sewn to the fabric? If I cut into it, all the beads will scatter everywhere.”

      Ash and Sebastian glanced at each other. This was not a good sign. Ash had been hoping she’d look at it once and say, “Oh, that’s straightforward. No problem. It’ll be done in an hour.”

      “I think my mom and I can do it. She’s a costume designer for stage plays and things so she does beadwork a lot. I can do the bodice part. When do you need it by?”

      “Two weeks.”

      Lyra hesitated. Again, not a good sign.

      “My mom’s really busy, but I can make her do it. It’s a good thing you came in today, though. We’re about to go into bridal season and there is no way we could have done it if you’d come in any later.”

      Serendipity. It really was true.

      Ash practically cried with relief. “Seriously, you have saved my life.” She turned back to grin at Sebastian, who didn’t look half as excited. She wondered why, but before she could ask, he stepped up to the counter.

      “So...Lyra, how much is this going to cost? Because we do have a budget,” Sebastian spoke up.

      Lyra searched his face, as if gauging how he was going to react.

      “Usually we would charge around two hundred dollars for this kind of work—total transformation...”

      That wasn’t bad! Ash thought. Surely she could talk Laila into two hundred dollars. That was just a little over the budget.

      “...but because the beading is so complex and the fabric so complex, it’s going to be at least five hundred.” Lyra dished out the crushing blow.