TTW [OLD - HAS BEEN MOVED TO NEW ACCOUNT]

Chapter Eleven

~*~

When the doorbell rang, I was startled, and it took me a while to collect my thoughts.

When it rang again, and again, and again, I finally got up with a groan. “I’m regretting calling Ria over now.”

I had almost dozed off again, just lying on my bed, looking up at the ceiling, watching the little spots of light on the ceiling move whenever the branches outside of my room moved.

I hurried out of my room to answer the door, hoping not to disturb my mom, whose room was across the hall from mine. I wasn’t quite ready to face her yet.

“Geez, do you have to ring the door like the world is about to end?” I grumbled as I opened the door.

Ria said nothing, just staring at me appraisingly, with what I call her ‘designer’s eye’. “We’ve got some work to do, girlfriend.”

She stepped into the house and peered around cautiously, then walked toward my room, tugging me toward it eagerly, as if it were hers and not mine.

I peered at the Sephora bag in her hand warily, not sure what kind of disaster could spring out today.

“Relax, Al – you’ll be looking gorgeous by the time I’m done with you.”

“I still don’t trust you.”

“Just sit.” Ria motioned me toward the chair that was in front of my vanity set, and I sat down, just a little reluctant. I knew that Ria had no bad intentions, and she herself always looked gorgeous, but her definition of fashion and mine were quite different. Some of things she wore were just a little risqué, while I was more in comfortable in jeans, a t-shirt and some sneakers. I occasionally tidied up a bit, and wore some more in-style clothes, but that wasn’t often.

It wasn’t that I didn’t want to look nice, but it was just that, after a while, I found no point. I was always going to be surrounded by mostly the same people, and they didn’t even care what I wore. They were too used to me to care.

“Okay, close your eyes,” Ria said, totally in control. She could be nervous during tests, confessions, school, whatever – but this was her domain.

I shut my eyes, ‘staring’ into a darkness full of little pinpoints of static and light, while I felt Ria’s gentle hands tousle up my hair and tie it back in a ponytail, probably so she could have a better access to my face.

“Relax, Al,” she said, soothingly. “I’ll tell you everything I’m doing, even, if you don’t trust me that much.” A teasing tone entered her voice.

I snorted and smiled. “Just surprise me.”

Half an hour later, Ria told me she was done with my makeup. I wanted to open my eyes and see, but she wouldn’t let me. “You said it has to be a surprise.” I sighed a little, but was content with letting Ria work.

I felt my hair tickle my face as Ria pulled the ponytail out of a elastic band. With a rustle, she found something in her Sephora bag and uncapped it. A perfume of strawberry vanilla filled the room, suffocating and pleasant, if that was even possible. Her hands massaged my scalp, spreading the gel all through my hair. Probably heat protectant, I thought. Ria always took extreme care of her hair, and it figured that if she was doing anything for my hair, she would bring heat protectant.

The sound of a curling wand confirmed my suspicion. “Oh, Allie, you are going to look gorgeous. I feel so jealous!”

“Jealous? Why?”

“Because – you have fairly good complexion, and your hair is easy to work with. It’s easy to match outfits with, and,” she sighed, “you have the typical looks of an all-American girl.”

“I have brown eyes.”

“You don’t have to blonde-hair-blue-eyed, you know.”

“Hm, really?” I said, cynically.

“Just shush. When you open your eyes, and you see it, you’re going to agree with me. I won’t even mind how conceited you’re going to be.”

I huffed, but I couldn’t deny that Ria did work wonders, when she wasn’t fooling around. I’d seen the things she’d help her sisters with, and her everyday self was a testament to that.

The heat of the curling wand finally went away, and I knew Ria was finished – with my hair and face at least. There was a long hour of outfitting to go through.

“Now, open your eyes.”

I blinked and gasped, and I couldn’t regain speech for a while.

“It’s…it’s…it’s…beautiful,” I breathed, as I tried to come to face with the fact that the girl in the mirror was me.

I didn’t say it out of conceit, but rather because I was so amazed. The girl who stared back at me looked like she could’ve been a model. She was me, but not me.

 A waterfall braid crowned the loose blond curls that flowed around her face.

She had my brown eyes, but they looked smokier, darker, due to eyeshadow and eyeliner.

Her eyelashes were thin and defined.

Her lips were innocent and kissable, something that didn’t usually go together well.

“You like?” Ria asked softly, a hint of subtle pride in her voice.

“Who is this?”

“It’s you, Al. This is you.”

I reached out and touched the mirror, just to make sure it wasn’t an illusion or a dream.

“Alright, don’t turn into a Tiffany on me. Just because you’re beautiful doesn’t mean you get to become a mean girl.”

I laughed. “Alright, Ry. Now, just finish the transformation. She really looks beautiful.”

“She?” Ria’s eyebrows wagged. “You mean you.”

“But –“

“No, just accept what your fairy godmother has done for you. It’s rude to deny a gift, you know?” she said teasingly.

“Well, I was the one who invited you over.”

“Tut, tut, who was the one who transformed you?”

I pretended to pause and think about it, then said, “Oh, my dear old granny Ria.”

“Shush, or else your ‘old granny Ria’ will decide she’s going to change you back to normal.”

I silenced and pretended to zip my mouth shut and throw the key away.

“Okay, Cinderella, onto your wardrobe.”

I abandoned my vow of silence and laughed as Ria whisked me into my closet.

I had never felt beautiful before, but it was amazing what some makeup could do. It gave me a newfound confidence, that I could walk into school today and say that I felt worthy to be Jake’s girlfriend (even though it was secretly fake).