Not Your Cinderella

Chapter 4 - Part 3: The Look

Jess was sleeping in Steph's old room, although he hadn't lived at home for about five years. It was the second biggest bedroom in the cottage but it only had a tiny mirror hanging on the back of the door and that barely showed her face let alone the rest of her. She'd put her dress and shoes on but wanted to do something with her hair. She crossed the landing to the bathroom and pulled on the light. The mirror wasn't huge in here either but the light was better and the mirror let her see most of her upper torso. The dress looked great but the sparkly straps were covered by her hair.

She supposed she'd have to wear it up even though she'd bought a satin tube thing that would have curled her hair into lovely ringlets. Jess cursed the lack of time she'd had to try out her look. She grabbed a scrunchie and collected her hair into a loose bun. She stopped herself from pulling a few tresses out to frame her face. In all the pictures of balls she'd Googled, the women's hair had looked sleek and polished whether it was for up or down.

Now, the straps were glinting in the bathroom light but Jess thought she still looked a little plain for a fancy event. Luckily, she'd made a last-minute dash to Claire's in town and picked up some sparkly stud earrings. She got them out of her makeup bag, put them in and was about to turn away when she thought she ought to try on a bit of makeup too. She hadn't had time to practice before, and now she had.

Jess wasn't against makeup and she didn't sneer at those who did the whole look every day, fake tan included. She was actually a little jealous that she couldn't make it work for her. Every time she tried a tutorial she ended up looking clownish and, deep down, it made her feel like she was trying too hard. Some people made makeup look natural and effortless, she just wasn't one of those people. She knew it was down to practice – everything was. So she supposed it was on her if she looked crap with makeup – she hadn't practised enough.

Now, though, she had a few minutes before her family got fed up waiting. She'd keep it light. That was all she was capable of doing anyway. She took off her glasses, smudged some shadow, lined her eyes and put on mascara, used a little cream blush on the apples of her cheeks and a little highlighter higher on her cheekbones. She'd learnt that much from YouTube. She was going to leave her lips nude but slicked a bit of gloss on before standing back from the mirror. Jess smiled. She looked quite different like this – more grown up. She straightened her back before heading out to the staircase.

'I think I can hear or belle of the ball coming down the stairs, lads. Drumroll please.' It was Lucy, of course, her voice full of mirth.

Jess would have hated this kind of attention anywhere else, from anyone else, but here, with those she loved, she was at ease. She even felt a laugh bubble inside as she heard her dad and Jim begin drumming their hands on the kitchen table.