Awks. ✓

Chapter 19: Makeover? Me? As In, Make Me Over?

I guess I can't count on her for help.

***

Half an hour later, we were parked in the underground parking lot of the mall. We got out of the car and rode the elevator to reach the ground floor. It soon came to a halt and we stepped out of it. I looked around at the almost empty mall, questioning what on earth I was doing here so early.

Iyanu looped her arm in mine and began to lead the way. "You're probably wondering why you're here." She said, practically speaking my mind. "Well," she glanced over her shoulder and winked at Thomas, "we're going to give you a makeover!"

I stopped dead in my tracks at the sound of the word. "Make... Over?" I repeated.

Makeover? Me? As in, make me over? As in makeup me? Me and makeover? Change? Me?

"Are you calling me ugly?" I deadpanned, giving her an icy, cold look.

"Oh my god no, of course not!" She objected, shaking her hands in front of her in denial. "We just thought since you're starting a new chapter in your life, you might want a new look too."

Hmph, makes sense. But I don't like change. I don't want a makeover. But then again, I do want to step out of my comfort zone and experience life differently..

"Are you done debating with yourself Ria? We don't have all day you know." Thomas chuckled, ruffling my hair.

"Guys and hair god damn it!" I yelled, running my hand through the mess Thomas just happened to make even messier.

"And that's one of the main reasons why I shaved it all off." Iyanu said, pointing at her head. She wasn't completely bald; the roots of her hair were slightly visible, but it suited her so well I couldn't even imagine how she looked before she had shaved it off.

"What do you mean by that?" Thomas asked, looking very curious.

"About what?" I asked back, oblivious to what he was talking about.

"What you said." He replied. He looked at me, waiting for an answer but I never gave him one.

"You see I have short-short-short term memory loss. I don't remember what I said so, you either remind me or drop it." I said, not looking at him because I already knew what was coming.

Thomas burst into a fit of laughter, so loud that the few shoppers that were in the mall at the time all looked our way. I began to walk away from him faster. He was reeling in too much attention.

I don't do attention. I am allergic to attention. I like my life on the sidelines, it's more comfortable than under the spotlight. I do not need this right now. And to think that my life was so normal before I met..

"Marianne please, slow down."

I stopped speed walking as soon as I heard her voice. Iyanu was still linked to me by the arm and I hadn't even noticed that I had been dragging her behind me all along. She looked out of breath and only then did I look back to see Thomas' silhouette almost thirty feet away from us.

Damn I walk fast.

"Yeah, you do." Iyanu gasped, bending and clenching her knees in an attempt to catch her breath. I didn't mean to say that out loud. She looked up and glared at me, I mouthed a 'sorry' to her, holding back from laughing because I knew better.