Ride On

Chapter Nineteen

My alarm blared in my ears. I grimaced. It seemed like only moments ago when I had closed my eyes.

Rubbing my eyelids, I yanked my phone off of the charger and stared blankly at it's light. When my vision adjusted, I put on some slippers and headed out to meet Paula, who was already waiting. She was clearly ahead of schedule today.

"Are you excited?" She asked, buzzing with energy. I chuckled, shaking my head.

"Nope. Just tired." I responded. She frowned in disapproval, and drove off without a word.

It was less than ten minutes before we got to the church, what with Paula speeding and all. I dozed off until she shook me awake and shouted to hurry. This would be a long day. Thank gosh she isn't making me wear huge heels, just some comfy but beautiful flats. We came to a mutual agreement on those.

Paula sat me down in front of a pale girl with black hair who's name was Tina. She had a lip piercing. I inwardly threw up.

Her personality did not match her appearance. "Hi, I'm Tina, and I'm going to do your hair and makeup for your big day! Aren't you excited?!?" She squealed. I blinked. "Come on, let's get started. This will take a long time!" She beamed, spinning my chair around. Paula and my highschool friends started to chit chat about something, so I zoned out.

I could feel her fingers plunging through my hair, washing and drying it to prepare it for the up-do. Closing my eyes, I imagined being massaged.

This wasn't nearly so relaxing. After a short while, she brought up these evil devices known as bobby pins. They're like little knives that scrape the skin off of the top of your scalp. Each time she stuck a new one in, a dull pain ripped across my head. Eventually I grew used to the sensation and my skin was numbed from it.

There was so much hair spray I almost died from inhaling it. But it was worth it when she swiveled me around to see what she had done.

There were flowers and curls and it was all tucked in near the base of my head in some intricate roll. But it hurt really bad sitting like that. My eyes watered up, and some tears spilled as my scalp throbbed. Paula cheerfully chanted in the background, "Beauty is pain!"

Luckily Tina didn't take offense and thought I was crying tears of happy. My scalp was numb after a minute anyway.

Next came the makeup. The awful part where I have to keep my face utterly still, look up, look down, rub lipstick in, etcetera. She began by smearing my face with creams and powders. Yep, I'll definitely break out tomorrow.

Once she was satisfied with my even tone, she applied pink blush all the way up my cheeks. Tracing my eyes with eyeliner, she made a thick wing. She darkened my eyebrows and eyelashes with some sorcery, and then traced my lips with a pen. Once that was done, she gave me the lipstick.

Now I absolutely can't never touch my face until I wash it off.

Sighing, I tried to ignore an itch on my nose. The time went by in the blink of an eye, and we had about ten minutes to go time now. My breathing rapidly increased with each passing second.

Paula and the girls were already in their dresses, trying to comfort me as I hyperventilated in silence. The wedding procession was starting, since all the guests were seated.

They coaxed me into my dress and out into the red carpeted hall with my various-shades-of-blue-bouquet and it's huge green leaves. My father was there, offering me his arm and a huge smile. I gave in, smiling back. The girls were already walking in with the guys, and it was almost our turn.

I shifted weight anxiously. My dad paused at the door, and you could feel everyone sitting in anticipation. Only Paula and the girls had seen my dress. It had a sweetheart neckline, and was mermaid style with rouching all down the rest of it. A short silky train, as well.