Cora pulled at the hem of her dress for the thousandth time today. The floral print was beginning to get very dirty from her fidgeting with it. Her mother would never let her live it down if she ruined yet another dress this way.

Sighing, she grabbed her dark brown hair and pulled it behind her shoulder to look at the damage her anxious tics had caused. It was a mess, but not ruined…yet.

Maybe if it wasn’t her eighteenth birthday, she could control her nerves. Maybe if she didn’t have to be seen in public. Her nervous tics were bound to get worse around that many people.

Despite what her mother said, her heart-shaped face and sweet high pitched voice was not going to endear her to all these people once her stuttering started. It wasn’t fair!

She looked back down at the dress she wore. Coral pink and red flowers printed all over it. She very much loved this print. She wished she hadn’t already ruined it.

She wished her mother had thought better about making her have to go to a birthday party.