Be My Juliet [on hold]

Chapter 1: Correction, Flatmate

"Oh shit."  I say to myself as I step out of the shower.  "What time is it?" I yell.

 "10:30... What time do you need to be there?"  Jess, my roommate, calls back.  She knows this is really important.  I have an audition today, and it is the entire reason I moved to England for the year.  Over the summer, I did an acting workshop in New York, and the director said that I would be perfect for his female lead in Romeo and Juliet.  He convinced me that this job will be my big break if, or rather in his words when, I get the part, and will open every single door I can possibly imagine.  So, I decided to pack up everything I own, take a gap year out of school, and move to London.  Luckily my childhood best friend Jess, or Jessica if I am calling her by her real name, had moved here years ago when her dad's job brought them out here, and is letting me stay with her for the year.

  "Noon."  I reply as I wrap my shivering body in a big fluffy bathrobe and walk into my bedroom.

 "You should be fine.  The theatre's really close, right?"

  "Yeah, it's practically right around the corner.  It should take me ten minutes to walk there."

 "Do you want me to help you pick an outfit?"  Jess enters my room, smiling.  Jess is a fashion major, and is the best person I know when it comes to clothes.  Personally, I could not care less.  If it were up to me, I would stay in my pajamas all day.

"Is that even a question?"  I tease.  She skips over to my closet, opening the heavy white doors gently.  She disappears into it, coming back with a stack of possible outfit choices.

 "Remind me again why I gave you the walk in closet?"

"Because you wanted the bigger in suite bathroom."  I laugh.  "And you knew I would let you store the other half of your clothes in there."

 "Oh, right."  She smiles.  "What's it for again?"

 "Romeo and Juliet.  I'm supposed to audition for Juliet, but that part seems too important for me.  I'm not good enough for it!"

 "Yes, you are.  There's no reason he would tell you that you are a perfect Juliet if he didn't believe it.  You're going to do great."  She smiles as she holds up black leggings and a blue sweater up to me.  "If you are supposed to be Juliet, you should look girly.  Agreed?"

 I nod, watching her as she rifles through the outfits she had previously chosen.

"Then none of these will work.  They are all too dark.  You need to look happy, feminine, and in love."  She turns back to the closet, this time emerging with a lot of color.  She holds up various choices, but doesn't like any of them.  After half an hour, she sighs.  "I'm going to pick some stuff from my closet.  I'll be right back.  Can you think of anything I might have missed in here?"

"I'll take a look, and pull out anything I think might work."  I reply as she walks down the hall to her room.  I enter my closet, pulling the dangling string to turn the lights on.  I start in the back, hoping to find something she missed.  Soon I find it: the perfect dress.  It is black, and made of a very stretchy material so I know it will be semi-tight.  It has a beautiful rose pattern printed all over it, with long sleeves to cover my ugly scar-covered arms, scoop neck, and a pretty circle skirt.  I pull it out, and come back into my room.  Jess is standing there, with about a dozen different options.

 "Well?"  I ask.  Her jaw drops as I put it up against me, picking up one of the sides to show off the skirt.

 "Perfect.  How did I miss that?"

I laugh.  "It must have been buried between your clothes.  Now I'll get ready.  Can you be amazing and find me a pair of shoes to wear?"

"Of course!"  She sings as she returns to her room.  I spin around, and take a seat in front of my mirror.  I brush through my long platinum blonde hair, trying to figure out what to do.  My hair is naturally this color, so I always dye it something outrageous.  Luckily, semi permanent dye is a thing, because I change my mind so quickly.  This week, half of my hair is its original shade, but the larger half, because I part my hair to the side, is a soft baby pink.  I decide to curl it, letting the twists join together at the ends, and waterfall braiding it back to meet at the center.  Once I was happy with my hair, I moved onto makeup.  I quickly apply foundation, followed by mascara and black eyeliner to bring out my boring grey eyes.  I throw on the dress and take a final look in the mirror.