I cringed. “I'm so not a sex kitten.”
“Don't you worry, we can change that,” Allie said with a wink. “Come on, let's get you dressed!”
Allie took my hand, yanking me from my bed and onto my feet. My textbook fell to the floor with a clatter and a rustle of pages as she dragged me down the hallway to her room. When we entered, Lauren – a stunning blonde girl with crystal blue eyes – gave me the stink eye. She was sitting at her desk, staring at herself in the mirror as she meticulously applied her eyeliner – acting for all the world as if she was painting the Sistine Chapel. Maybe in her mind, she was.
“She's going?” Lauren asked, not bothering to look up from the mirror.
“If we can get her the perfect outfit, yes,” Allie said with a smile. “Won't this be fun? A makeover for Maya!”
Yeah, fun. Right. I sat down on Allie's bed nervously. “Well if she doesn't want me to go, I can –”
Lauren turned around, one eye finished, the other makeup-free. It was sort of odd – yet magical – how she could do so much with makeup. Her eyes looked like they belonged to different people.
“No, I think it'll be fun,” Lauren said. “She needs to loosen up a bit, anyway.”
“Loosen up a bit?” I scoffed.
Both Allie and Lauren looked at me, eyebrows raised. They didn't need to say a word; I knew what they were thinking and knew they were right.
“I'll pick out the outfit,” Allie said, opening up the closet door and rummaging through it, tossing skirts and sparkly items I couldn't make out onto the bed next to me. “You get her makeup, Lauren.”
“Can you do that to me?” I asked, motioning toward her eye.
“Do what?” she asked, cocking her head to the side, confused.
“The thing – with your eyes.” I moved my finger around the corners of my eye. “The eyeliner, I mean.”
Lauren laughed, turning toward the mirror and getting to work on her other eye. “Wow, this is really going to be interesting, Allie. What a nice little project this one will be.”
I wanted to argue that I wasn't a project or a toy – but again, I knew they were probably right. I hardly ever wore makeup. Maybe a little lip gloss or powder, but that was it. I just didn't spend as much time dolling myself up as some of the girls.
As I stared into the big mirror across from me, my auburn hair was pulled back in a messy bun, my pale white face was covered in freckles. I had a hard time imagining myself looking like either of them – both Allie and Lauren were the perfect cheerleader types and every man's fantasy. Blonde hair, blue eyes, perfect makeup and hair, clothing and accessories not unlike what you'd see on a runway.
And there I was, messy hair, freckled face, in penguin pyjama pants and an old grey t-shirt. The exact opposite of the girls in front of me.
So yeah, maybe I was a bit of a project.
Allie picked out an outfit for me - a black skirt that hugged my hips and fell just below my butt and a sheer long-sleeved red top that showed off my black bra clearly. I stared in the mirror and gawked at my reflection. Sure, I had a nice figure from having parents that scrutinized every little thing I ate, but this was showing it off a bit too much.
“Lovely,” Allie said, beaming with pride. “What do you think, Lauren?”
“I think that top looks better on me, but whatever,” she said, rolling her eyes. “She looks awesome though. Can't even tell she's a bookworm.”
“Now for the hair...” Allie said, pulling my messy bun loose. My auburn waves fell over my shoulders and Allie looked impressed. “Nice. I'll just clean those waves up and that should work.”
Lauren pulled me over and applied makeup, but wouldn't let me look in the mirror until I was done. Allie stood over her shoulder, watching and commenting as she worked. I'd never had someone apply my makeup before, so it felt weird – as weird as wearing fake eyelashes and eyeliner, both a first for me. My eyelashes felt heavy, the makeup felt thick on my face. I almost felt like a clown, like these girls were playing a joke on me, but when Lauren turned me around – I didn't recognize the girl looking back at me in the mirror.
“What do you think?”
“It's – or rather, I'm – beautiful,” I said softly, touching my cheek. It was powdery soft.
My eyes were larger – almost too large for my face. The green in my hazel eyes shone brighter than before, thanks to the eyeshadow Lauren used. My lips were supple and red, but there was no sticky lip gloss in sight.
“You like?”
“I love it,” I said, a note of awe in my voice.
The two girls smiled proudly behind me. “See? There's hope for her yet.”