Transitions

Chapter 5

I sit having my hair washed and wondering if it's possible to be more relaxed. My feet have been scrubbed and polished, my finger nails are drying and the hair dresser is rubbing her fingers firmly over my scalp, rinsing out the conditioner. I nearly doze off, but force myself not to. I'm so relaxed, though.

She leads me over to a chair and I sit, being careful not to bump my nails. She beings twisting and turning my hair, drying it at the same time, flicking her wand here and there, creating a curtain of curls around my head. It's magic, in both senses of the word.

I watch in the mirror as my hair is pulled into a masterpiece. She fixes small gems through it, causing it to glint and glitter in the light. I glance over at Lisa who gives me the thumbs up. Her hair is being twisted in to a braided updo.

I close my eyes as the lady starts on my makeup. I can't wait to see the finished product. I feel liquids and powders dusted over my face and neck, soft lipstick brushed on.

"There, have a look."

I keep my eyes closed for a moment, then open them. In front of me is me, but not me. This version of me has a soft chin, high cheekbones and eyes that pop. I let out a long breath.

"Wow," I whisper, turning my head this way and that, hardly able to believe it, "this is amazing."

"Bet your butt it is," Lisa says, coming over to me, "but we've got to go. We've got less than an hour!"

We thank the beauticians and hurry up to the castle. In the dormitory the other girls are still fixing their hair and makeup. We carefully undress, not wanting to ruin out hair or makeup, and put on our dress robes. Mine are a soft, forest green, Lisa's a burnt orange only she could pull off.

"Right, picture time," she says. She snaps a picture of me, then hands the camera to me so I can take a picture of her. She gets one of the other girls to take a picture of both of us, then smooths her robes.

"Let's go," she says, sounding nervous.

We descend the stairs in silence. I can feel Lisa's nervousness radiating off her. She looks like she might be sick.

"You'll be fine," I tell her, "it'll be awesome, remember?"

"Yeah," she says, exhaling hard, "thanks, Megan."

I give her a reassuring smile and we walk down the marble staircase.

"Now to find Lee," she says, her voice tight.

We stand and look around us. The Hall is packed with people, dressed in all different colours. I feel very small and very nervous. Lisa is gripping my hand so hard that I'm starting to lose feeling in it. She moves through the crowd, trailing me behind her.

"I can't see him anywhere," she says, "what if he stands me up?"