Previously: Tessa is wearing a grandma dress to a party.
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Samantha: We pick up this chapter approximately 15 minutes later. Tessa has curled her hair! Oh my god! I really wasn’t sure what she was going to do after that curling iron cliffhanger!
Marines:
Samantha: Steph offers Tessa her makeup, like a nice person. Tessa tells us that she’s a member of the Big Eyes club.
She asks for some eyeliner and Steph gives her brown, black, and purple. Steph also suggests that the purple would look pretty with Tessa’s Big Eyes but Tessa isn’t a slut or something so she can’t use purple. She puts on a little bit of black and Steph is proud. This has all been a literal 1/4 of this chapter.
Mari: Obviously the point of this scene is to let our MC gaze in the mirror and describe her beauty while being all, “I’m so plain though.” As an added bonus, though, the under-current of slut shaming has now extended to make-up choices. Sorry all you hussies that own purple eye liner.
Samantha: It’s pretty!
Nate arrives, blasting generic rock music. Tessa is super embarrassed.
I keep my head down and just as I look up, I see Hardin lean up in the front seat. He must have been bending down. Ugh.
The phrasing “lean up in the front seat” is so awkward to me. I had to stop and really try to imagine what that would be.
Mari: What the hell was he doing bending down so far in the front seat that Tessa didn’t see him? I mean, maybe he dropped something, but that just seems weird that Anna Todd decided to have this dude literally pop into this scene. Good writing, girl.
Samantha: Tessa gets in the car and Hardin makes fun of her dress. Listen, we’re all agreed that it’s a weird dress to wear, still a douche move to make fun of her, dreamboat. He also calls her Theresa and she “warns” him not to. Of course, he still does because nothing is sexier than people not respecting your name wishes. I’m looking at you, Tristan from Gilmore Girls and Gansey from The Raven Cycle. (M: UGH, that bothered me SO MUCH about Gansey. I hated it. I’ll also add Christian Grey, obvs, because of course. Grey did all the awful things.) Also, every boy who has ever gotten a kick out of calling me “Spam” or “Sam-I-Am”.
They pull up to the house and it’s, you know, a frat house. Tessa panics because there are people dancing right out on the lawn with red solo cups.
She wonders how many people are here and Hardin sneers at her some more. She first notices that everyone is only saying hi to Nate and ignoring Hardin. She then notes that, hallelujah, there are people here not covered in tats and piercings! She condescendingly thinks that maybe she’ll be able to make friends here afterall.
Mari: I wouldn’t hold my breath, girl.
Samantha: Alright, I dragged the 2 page chapter out as long as I could, but we are at the end. Chapter 6’s cliffhanger is that Tessa smooths her dress… again!
Next time on After: There are actually people with tattoos at this party in Chapter 07.
I'm a 28 year old graduated English major and almost librarian. I can often be found singing too loudly (poorly) in the car or spending some time (hours) on Tumblr. I am a lover of Harry Potter, the Spice Girls, and too many other things.
I'm a 30-something south Floridan who loves the beach but cannot swim. Such is my life, full of small contradictions and little trivialities. My main life goals are never to take life too seriously, but to do everything I attempt seriously well. After that, my life goals devolve into things like not wearing pants and eating all of the Zebra Cakes in the world. THE WORLD.
