“Ta-da!” announced Alicia, gesturing up at the small, downtown shop. A sign above the door read CLARK'S, in large, elegant cursive. Beneath this name, in smaller print, was: Dresses – Gowns – Tuxedos – Suits. The redhead continued, “If we can't find you a dress at Clark's, we're in big trouble.”

Chase was confused. “Why not go back mall?” This was where she'd bought her first dress, after all.

Lindsey shook her head. “The mall has okay stuff, but if you want something truly Harvest-worthy, it's gotta be a specialty store.”

“Also, prison isn't worth it,” added Caitlin. Chase had done other things at the mall, too.

It was the day after Chase had met Caitlin's mom, and they still didn't have a concrete explanation for why the police officer didn't arrest her. Was it possible she just didn't know about Chase and what she did? Considering they still hadn't seen anything about Chase in the news, it was obvious the SCPD was keeping their investigation highly secret. Maybe McBride had kept most of his own department in the dark, as well.

Alicia, Catlin and Lindsey decided fairly quickly that there was no reason to speculate. If Caitlin's mom didn't recognize Chase, they didn't need to look a gift horse in the mouth. But Chase was worried by it, for reasons she couldn't quite pin down.

A bell chimed above the door as the girls entered. When Chase saw the store's showroom floor, her jaw nearly hit it. Dresses everywhere! “Oh! So lots dress! Are see tons of coot!” she exclaimed.

The other three girls exchanged a knowing, worried glance. “Well, uh, feel free to look around,” skirted Alicia. “Just, y'know. Don't get your hopes up.”

Chase didn't get it. “Why no up hope? Much dress to choose!” she cheered, gallivanting off.

Caitlin sighed. “You'll see.”

While waiting for Chase, the other girls started browsing around as well, just for fun. Caitlin and Alicia stood admiring a headless mannequin's style, when Alicia asked, “So, how's it going with Marcus?”

The girl's tone answered the question better than her words: “I dunno.”

Alicia decided to press on while trying to keep things light. “What, no serious romance in the future for you two after harvest?” she teased.

“Doubt it,” Caitlin replied, conflicted. She turned and sat down on the base the mannequin was wired to. Its stiff, plastic legs rose behind the girl's back. “Look, he's a really good guy. I mean, you know him. Really sweet, really easygoing. It's just that...it's just I don't think he's really interested in my mind. I think he only cares about my body.”

Alicia winced. “Ah.”

“Eh. Welcome to teenage boys, I guess,” Caitlin shrugged. She was looking off at the other side of the store at nothing in particular. “I mean, we'll see what happens. I'm not gonna write anything off. But I'm pretty sure I don't wanna date the guy. Harvest is probably it for me. How about you, did Kirk ask you yet?”

A second, bigger wince.

“I guess not,” Caitlin deduced. She looked up at her friend. “Alicia, don't get me wrong. Kirk's great and everything, but he's a little, uh...”

“Clueless.”

“Yes, that's a good word. He could not have less of a clue that you like him. You really need to take the initiative on this and get the ball rolling on your own.”

Lindsey returned, wearing a rather cleavagey green dress with a plunging neckline. “I'm back. What do you think?”

“Why the heck are you trying stuff on? You already have a dress,” said Caitlin.

“Figured I'd get started on next year,” she answered. “So what were you talking about? I heard serious voices.”

Alicia gave a conflicted sigh, and sat down next to Caitlin. “What do you think? Should I make the first move on Kirk?”

Lindsey didn't have to ruminate on this very long. “Definitely. Sorry, Alicia, but if you leave this up to him it's never going to happen. Sometimes a girl's gotta take the reins.”

“But don't just come right out and ask him, obviously,” added Caitlin. “Get him to ask you. Catch his interest, engage him. Be subtle.”

“Yeah, what she said,” nodded Lindsey. “Just walk up to him and be like: 'Hey, Kirk. Your place, mine, or the restroom?'”

“That isn't subtle!” argued Caitlin.

Alicia giggled. Her spirits were starting to lift again. One of the best things about having cheerleaders as friends, she'd discovered, was that if she needed a quick cheering up, it always came in swift order. She looked back up at Lindsey. “How's your Harvest outlook, Lindsey? Have you picked a specific date yet?”

Lindsey looked weary. “I'm making progress. I'm narrowed them down to nine. Honestly though, I'm having second thoughts about ALL these guys.”

Caitlin looked surprised. “Seriously?”

“Yeah. I almost hate to say it, but sometimes I think they're not really interested in my body. I think all they care about is my easiness.”

“How terrible.”

Chase returned. In her arms was a stunning, floor-length red dress with a white beaded bodice. “Found!” she announced triumphantly, holding it out for all to see. “Love so! It best for Chase!”

Alicia gave it a pained look. “Yeah...that WOULD look really nice on you...”

“That red is really bright and eye-catching, but you could pull it off,” agreed Caitlin sadly. “It's perfect. Almost...almost tragically so.”

Chase held the dress up to her body and swiveled to the left, and then the right. It flowed beautifully through the air. “Must get! Must get!”

The three girls exchanged a reluctant look. “Well...I guess there's no harm in trying,” said Lindsey.

Chase couldn't understand why they were acting so weird. She'd found a great dress. All was right with the world. As they walked up to the front desk, Alicia put a tender hand on her arm. “Just...just remember, if something...HAPPENS, it's not the end of the world. You can always find another one.”

The woman behind the counter greeted the girls, then looked at the dress Chase picked up. Her eyes skipped over Chase to her computer, which she began typing on. “Do you go to Sunnycrest?” she asked.

“Yes, am school. Try learn. Like class where turn clay to bowls,” she explained.

“Right. And would this dress be for the Harvest dance?” the woman asked. Chase nodded eagerly. After a couple brisk keystrokes, the woman sighed. “I'm sorry. That dress is already taken.”

“Aw, man. Just what we were afraid of,” commented Lindsey. “Sorry, Chase.”

Chase looked down at the dress in her hands, completely perplexed. Then, she looked back up at the woman. “No it not. Am hold right now.”

Alicia gave her a soothing look. “What she means is that somebody else who's going to the dance is already wearing that dress. They keep track of it here to make sure no two girls are wearing the same thing. I'm really sorry, Chase. We'll help you pick out another one.”

Relieved, Chase went ahead and set the dress on the counter. “Oh, that fine. No care if wear same thing.”

A gasp was shared by her three friends, as well as the cashier. “Ch-chase,” stammered Caitlin. “Tell me you're not serious. You can't mean that.” The other girls' expressions voiced similar disbelief.

“What big deal?” asked Chase, confused.

“Chase...what you're describing is every girl's worst nightmare,” said Alicia in a hushed tone. “It's one of the biggest school dance disasters there is, a traumatic experience to be avoided at all cost.”

“I heard there were two girls at Irving High who wore the same dress to prom one year,” said Lindsey seriously.

“No way,” said Caitlin, eyes wide with fear. “You're making stuff up.”

“Their formalwear store wasn't keeping track of who bought what?!” asked the cashier, shocked.

Lindsey swallowed and said in a grave voice: “One of them bought her dress online.”

Caitlin uttered a terrified squeak. Alicia held her tight. “It's okay. She's just trying to scare you.”

“Hey, that's what I heard. I don't want to believe it, either. But that's what I heard,” said Lindsey.

Chase was completely lost. “No see why same dress bad. Please say more.”

They exchanged uneasy glances. They had never had to explain this to someone before. It was just something you were supposed to know. “Well, uh, look at it this way, Chase,” said Lindsey. “Harvest is your night. And on your night, you should be wearing YOUR dress. Do you really want to go to a dance and see some...some...” she clenched her fists, “some OTHER girl wearing YOUR dress?” Just the thought was enough to make her angry.

Chase considered this scenario for a moment, then gave a cheerful smile. “No sad for me! It good to share!”

For a moment, Lindsey looked defeated. Then, she tried a different tactic. “Okay, but what about the prophecy?”

“What prophecy?” asked Alicia.

“You know. The prophecy. If two maidens clad in identical garments are united beneath the Harvest Moon, they will summon elder god Mhyryloth, Consumer of All Things.”

“Oh, right. That prophecy,” said Alicia quickly. “Yeah, you don't want Mhyryloth, Chase. It's a nice dress, but it isn't worth having all things consumed.”

“Guys, come on,” said Caitlin testily. She looked at Chase and said, “Look, Chase. It's really nice that you want to share, but the other girl with this dress might not want to share. Harvest is your night, but it's also hers. She might be really bummed to see you in it. Especially if, god help us all, you wear it better.”

Chase thought about this, and gave a sympathetic frown. She was starting to get it. Then, she perked up hopefully. “What if I NO wear better?”

The cashier gave both her and the dress a quick appraisal, then took a moment to remember the other girl who bought the dress. “You're gonna wear it better. Sorry.”

Chase looked disappointed for a moment, then picked the dress up off the counter. “I put back,” she said sadly. “No want bummed girl, she got dress first.”

Alicia smiled at her. “That's very mature of you, Chase.”

“Yeah, now you don't have to incur the wrath of Mary,” said Lindsey, not done yet.

Chase didn't know any Mary. “Who that?”

…

What followed was the long, harrowing, toe-curling story of a girl named Mary Gless, who attended Sunnycrest in the late 1800s. Pausing only to offhandedly inform Chase that “She was a lot like you, really,” Lindsey explained that when Mary went to her Harvest Dance, she saw another girl wearing the same dress as her and was so distraught she committed suicide. Her angry ghost is said to still haunt the halls of Sunnycrest, waiting to exact its revenge on any young women caught wearing the same thing at a formal gathering. Apparently, to this day, the children of Sunnycrest still say the old schoolyard rhyme the girl inspired: Mary Gless, Mary Gless, wore the same dress.

Caitlin then told Lindsey that Mary Gless sounded like a really made up name and she probably just invented it because it fit into her stupid poem. Alicia then added that the fact that none of them had ever heard this supposedly widespread rhyme only corroborated this accusation. But it was too late, Chase believed every word, and was thoroughly unsettled by them.

She didn't even know what a ghost was, but that element of the unknown just made it even more terrifying. Perhaps it was some kind of horrendous pet Mary Gless had owned: a huge beast with matted fur and glowing red eyes, skulking around on all fours like a large wolf or boar, except meaner. She didn't know why she hadn't noticed something like that wandering the halls at school, but she was definitely keeping her eyes open when they returned the following morning.

“What are we looking for?” startled Alicia, suddenly appearing behind Chase.

Chase, who had been peeking around her locker door to make sure the coast was clear before heading to third period, jumped in surprise and whirled around, fists up and ready for battle. When she saw her attacker, she lowered them. “Leash!” she exclaimed. “No sneak like that! Chase thought you ghost!”

Alicia frowned. “Cha-ase, don't tell me you're still thinking about that stupid ghost story! I'm gonna kill Lindsey. She shouldn't scare you like that.”

Chase was offended. “Not scared!” she insisted. “Just...just amped to KILL! And you no need kill Lin, she big help. Glad she tell of ghost threat.”

The redhead sighed and shifted her books from one arm to the other. “If you say so. At least it's keeping your mind off this whole dress fiasco.”

After putting her first choice back, Chase had searched Clark's for another suitable dress. Just as her friends feared, all the ones she wanted had been taken. “No, mind not on,” smiled Chase. “I know find one somewhere.”

Alicia had to smile back. Chase would go far as a cheerleader with an attitude like that. Seeing her squadmate's unwavering optimism gave her a spark of inspiration, as well as a burst of energy to express it with. Setting her books down in Chase's locker for a moment, she wrapped her fingers around imaginary pom poms and began doing arm moves. “D! R! E-S-S! Chase is gonna look her best!”

Chase laughed, so Alicia repeated the chant. This time, on the word 'look,' her arm collided with something, and she heard an “oof.”

The two girls both looked at the oof, just in time to see a stack of flyers unstack itself all over the hallway.

“Oh, great,” said their former carrier in a male voice.

Alicia covered her mouth. “Oh no! I'm so sorr-” When she looked at her victim, she froze. It was the tall scary kid they'd seen in the parking lot at Caitlin's apartment. Her voice withered into a small, terrified whisper. “I'm so sorry.”