“I would really like that.” We exchanged phone numbers and started back towards our parents. They told us that they had decided to head to the salon in the plaza next to the mall. Keira’s mom was leaving the car in case we got done before they did. Once they left, we started our journey around the mall at a leisurely pace. We stopped every few stores, and flipped through clothing racks, not in any real hurry, and once our arms were full we would go to the changing rooms and show each other what we had found. At the first store I filled Keira in on my changing room secrets after hearing her struggling for a while before crashing to the ground while trying to change out of her skinny jeans and combat boots in the confined space.
One of the last stores we went into was the makeup store Sephora. Keira said that she needed new brushes, and while she located the ones she needed I wandered around. I had never been in there before, but I saw all the sample brushes that you could use to try on the different products. I was looking at different colors of lipstick when Keira found me.
“Hey, you should let me do your makeup!” she said her eyes sparkled in excitement as they roamed my face.
“I don’t really like makeup. I feel…fake with all those layers on my face.”
“Well then you’re doing it wrong” I jokingly glared at her. She laughed.
“No! that’s not what I meant!” She said holding up her hands in defense. “I meant that there was no reason for you to put all that on. All you really need is some eye shadow, liner, and mascara.”
“Fine,” I gave in. “As long as I don’t end up looking like a prostitute.” She laughed again, and led me over to where the eye section was. I stood patiently, all of our clothing bags at our feet while she went to work on my face. I heard her walk and then return a minute later. I jumped slightly when I felt her finger brush against my lower lip.
“Sorry,” she said. “Didn’t mean to startle you, but I found a lip color that would look great on you.” I felt her brush her fingers over my cheekbones, and I was going to protest, but I figured if she could get me to look half as amazing as she did on a daily basis then I shouldn’t argue.
“Ok, you can look now.” She said, stepping back from me. I opened my eyes and let out a tiny gasp. It wasn’t a big transformation; I still looked like myself just a little dolled up. She had given me lightly smoky eye makeup that made my green eyes stand out. My lips were barely a darker shade of pink then they naturally were, but they looked more plump, and dewy. There was a little color across my cheeks, and my fingertips brushed across them, surprised how much more vibrant my face looked, just from a touch of color.
“It’s the same thing that’s on your lips, I just added a little makeup primer to my fingers that already had some leftover color and just brushed it across your cheeks. If you like it, I’ll show you what to buy, and I can show you how to do it yourself sometime.”
“You want to come over after we leave here, and stay for dinner? I mean, I have to ask my mom first, but I think she’ll be so overjoyed that I’m finally making an effort to hang out with someone she’ll be ok with it.”
“Yeah, I’d like that” Keira smiled, a slight blush coloring her pale face.
We paid for her items and mine. She insisted that I leave the makeup on so I could show Theresa. Every time someone looked at me I blushed. When we walked into the salon Theresa gasped and her eyes started to get watery.
“Come on mom, It’s not that different” I said rolling my eyes.
“I know, I know,” she said waving a hand at me, “you’ve always been pretty, but now it’s just… enhanced.”
“Well I invited Keira over so she can show me how to do it myself. Is that ok?” I bit my lip hoping that she would say it would be.
“Of COURSE it’s ok!” Theresa gushed. Her eyes started to look watery again. I rolled my eyes at her again, and sat down next to Keira in the waiting area till they were done.
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I kicked Tye under the table and he glared at me over his fork full of mashed potatoes. I gave him a warning look. Geeze if he didn’t stop ogling Keira like that she was ever going to want to come over again. I looked over and mouthed and apology. She just smiled and shook her head. My parents made polite conversation, and my father commented my makeup. When everyone was all done, Keira and I tried to help Theresa with the dinner dishes, but she wasn’t having it. She shooed us upstairs. I took my new makeup out of one of the many bags of clothes that I hadn’t bothered unpacking earlier while I waited to Keira to get here from dropping her stuff off at home. I had been too busy telling Tye not to be creepy or gawk at her, something he clearly disobeyed.
I sat down in front of my vanity and laid everything out in front of me. My face a freshly washed clean palate for me to learn on. After an hour of Keira sitting next to me and instructing me on what to do, and taking it off and putting it back on about 5 times, I was confident that I could do it on my own.
While I was taking off my makeup for the last time I decided to tell Keira about the person that texted. I finished my story and sat cross legged in my computer chair facing Keira who was sitting on my bed.
“Is it weird that I kind of wanna text them back to see if they ever got ahold of whomever it was that they were looking for?”
“No, nothing wrong with being curious” she said
“I have been tempted to text them this whole weekend.”
“So why don’t you”
“Because how weird is that? Some random person texting you.”
“Well they did it first” She said, getting up to go get my phone off of my vanity where I left it when I had gotten home.
“What if they are a crazy person?” I said nervously as she handed my phone to me.
“There’s only one way to find out. Did you keep the message?”
“Yeah. It made my inbox feel less… empty” I blushed when she smiled.
“Well, I think you should do it.”
“Why?” I asked, wondering why she was so for me texting this person
“This person could end up being your best friend-you know, besides me.” I laughed, and opened my message app. I tapped the message and our previous conversation popped up on my screen. I tapped the space to write and typed in ‘Did you ever find who you were looking for? J’, but I couldn’t bring myself to press the send button. My heart thudded making my hands sweat. I hadn’t even sent the damn thing yet, and I was already afraid of what they would say.
“I can’t do this” I said, my voice shaking. Keira’s hand shot out and pressed the send button. My eyes widened in horror as the message sent and there was nothing I could do about it. I placed my phone face down as far away from me as possible so I couldn’t see the screen.
My phone dinged. My breath caught, and my heart stopped.
Chapter 4
Start from the beginning
