Hannah successfully transformed me within two hours. Most of the time was devoted to straightening my curly hair. And while I wouldn't bother wasting so much time on a temporary fix again, I had to marvel at the ease in which I could run a comb through my hair. I was instantly envious of every girl who bemoaned her straight locks that refused to hold a curl.
Straightened, my hair reached the top of my jeans. Even I gaped at how long it was when it lost its curl.
She'd also somehow magnified my eyes. I'd never worn makeup before and couldn't justify the cost of items you'd just clean off at the end of the day, but I had to admit the effect of large, outlined eyes made my face almost pretty. As long as it was paired with some kind of foundation to cover up my freckles, that was.
To complete it all, Hannah added some blush to my cheek bones (as if I didn't redden enough naturally), a sparkly peach eye shadow, and a clear lip gloss. Then she let me look in the mirror.
I stared at this other girl who was undeniably me, but also foreign. More sophisticated, older, tamed. "To be honest, I thought you were going to do something a lot more..."
"Garish?" Hannah supplied. "With bright purple eye shadow up to your eyebrows and black lipstick?"
I nodded.
"What do you take me for, an amateur? The natural look suits you best, not some bold look meant for the club." She was applying lip gloss to herself, and she made smooches to herself in the mirror.
She may have vastly improved my appearance, but I thought her touches to herself really brought out her beauty. With her fairer hair and unblemished skin, she needed less work and thus seemed less "fake." Her dangly earrings would glint in the firelight, I knew, as would her lip gloss with its wet shine.
"Now, time for the finishing touches. Ta-da!" She opened her closet and spread her arms wide to display a set of clothes on a hanger. I had to stare at the outfit for awhile before I realized what it was.
"A dress? In this weather?"
"Don't worry; you'll have leggings, and the dress is wool or something like that. It's too bad you don't have knee-high boots, though." Hannah almost chewed her lip, but she must have remembered the lip gloss, because she quickly released it from her teeth. "What size shoe are you?"
"Five," I answered.
"That's tiny! Sheesh, I'm an eight. Well, you could try a pair of mine with some thick socks added to try to make them fit better." She held out a long pair of boots complete with heels.
Thinking of how easily I tripped wearing simple platform shoes, I opted to forgo the boots, even if it completely ruined Hannah's outfit. My scuffed-up hiking boots would suffice. She relented after I reminded her of my sprained ankle that was still recovering. I didn't limp when I walked anymore, but the fading green of the bruise and the dull ache when my ankle was in certain positions ensured I didn't forget the injury. Besides, this event was a bonfire. Comfort was key, not appearance. I wisely kept that thought to myself, though.
Despite my trepidation, I wore Hannah's wool dress. It felt a little tight in the hips, and I couldn't believe how snugly it held my body. When I glanced in the mirror, I began taking it off.
"What are you doing? Leave that on!"
"I look terrible!" I didn't need my classmates to see so precisely what shape my body was. I wasn't as slim as Hannah, and my pear-shaped body did not align with model beauty standards. Anyone who looked like this didn't want attention drawn to it. I preferred baggy clothes for that reason.
"You're going to ruin my makeup. Just stay still." Hannah tugged the dress back into place and put her hands on her hips. "Now, what's so bad about this?"
Helplessly, I gestured down my body. It was well and good for Hannah to wear something like this: she had the enviable body of a twig. But I had curves in all the wrong places, and this dress simply accentuated that. Better to hide it under a bulky sweatshirt and loose jeans.
As I tried to explain this, Hannah's lips thinned. "Typical amateur mistake," she said when I finished. "Sure, maybe you have a big ass, but guys love that. You have to show off your small waist, not hide it under some balloon sweatshirt!" She produced a belt to drive home her point, but I wasn't caving.
Finally, she sighed. "Look, you'll be in a coat all night because of the cold anyway. Okay? That'll help cover up the dress. Not that you have anything to hide."
Hannah herself wore leggings, boots, and a shawl drapery atop a sequined tank. She was adamant that being cold was worth the price of looking good, and said that she'd only add a hat and mittens to the mix. I made her promise to bring her coat, even if she didn't wear it, in case she froze.
"It's a fire, in case you've forgotten." She held a hand to her chest. "Plus, I'll be hot and sweaty just thinking of asking Ryland to the dance." She fanned herself in anticipation. "Do you think he'll say yes?" Immediately, she held up a hand. "No, don't jinx me. Or get my hopes up. Or anything." The hand she was holding up tightened into a fist. "This time, Hannah's taking control of her life, not just leaving things up to chance."
I smiled. "With an attitude like that, you're bound to make some results." I just hoped Ryland was as impressed with her determination as I was. And I firmly stopped any thoughts after that one.
The sky had already darkened when Hannah led us back downstairs. Curtains in mismatching colors covered all the windows, and a man sat on the sofa in front of the television now. Hannah didn't lead me inside to introduce me, for which I was grateful. All I had a chance to notice was that he was also Caucasian. So maybe Rhia hadn't been joking when she said she was the only black person in town.
"Girls, eat." Hannah's mother had a piece of apple crisp in front of her on the table, and at first I thought she wanted us to eat that dessert. Then I spotted the hot dogs and buns sitting on the counter, dogs still steaming.
"We'll eat on the go. Where's Rhia?"
Her mother gesture upstairs, her mouth full of apple crisp.
"So is the whole school really going?" I asked. That'd take a big area and a lot of mental preparation to face them all. Hopefully no one brought up my transfer tonight.
Hannah had a mouth full of hot dog, but that didn't stop her from replying. "No, the freshmen and sophomores have their own gathering. Usually the freshman aren't coordinated enough to even know what's happening, and the sophomores switch off what they do. Last year we just went to a Halloween hay ride. It's the juniors and seniors who do the fire, but even then, only half probably attend, if that."
"So how do you know Ryland will be—"
"Faye! I said don't jinx me!"
"Sorry." I quickly took a bite of hot dog to avoid laughing or saying something else.
As I finished eating, Hannah stood in the kitchen, carefully packing up her cookie in saran wrap and placing it into a flat Tupperware container so it wouldn't crumble and break. Then she placed it into her messenger bag.
Hannah's hot dog was devoured, her boots were zipped up, and she had her bag over her arm. "Rhia! Get down here!" She rolled her eyes at me. "She doesn't even have the excuse that she's getting ready. She'll just be wearing the same old clothes she wore at school."
"I heard that," her sister said, coming down the stairs. "For your information, I not only changed, I even took special care in my outfit for tonight."
If she had, I couldn't tell. Not that I cared—I was already beginning to regret letting Hannah do me over. Rhia glanced at me from top to bottom, and as I waited for a teasing remark, she simply smiled.
"You look great."
"Thanks," I said, hoping the foundation Hannah had applied was hiding my blushing cheeks.
Rhia grabbed a hot dog and bun, squirted on an excessive amount of mustard, and flung on her coat. "Ready, then? Let's get hiking."
Jesse gave us wet goodbyes as we filed out of the house, and howled as we trekked across the deadened meadow, as if we had set off on a journey across the world and would never be back. Someone had chained him up, however, so he couldn't follow after us very far.
"Jesse! Quiet!"
He whined, but stopped his howls. When I glanced back, he had become a black shadow, a quivering gargoyle resting on the earth.
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Cover image credit: https://pixabay.com/photos/pink-magazine-gloss-zephyr-sweet-2791366/