Chrysoprase Eyes

Prologue

"Ms. Lowell, are you ready?"

Yuno asked as he stood behind me and the lady that was still busy fixing my hair. I looked at him by the mirror, squinting my eyes in hesitation. Now that I'm being asked, I'm not sure if I was really ready to put up with this.

"Ms. Lowell?" He called me again.

This time, I gulped anxiously. "Do I really have to look exactly like her?" I suggestively asked, staring back at my twin's photograph taped onto the mirror as if to remind me of the hell I'm about to go through. I guess I thought I could maybe change their minds if I asked that. Looking at their reactions, I'm pretty sure there was no changing-their-minds for me today. Maybe I can try after week to see if that changes anything.

"I'm not sure what you mean, Miss Cali."

I can never get used to miss.

"Are you, perhaps, backing out?"

I sighed, looking down in dismay before grabbing the photograph for Yuno to see. "Look at her!" I exclaimed unable to hide my frustrations, pointing at her oddly perfect puffy hair. "We can just say she decided to change her look and everyone would still like her for it. We don't have to—"

"Miss Cali, I thought we made it clear that you had to go through this?"

I froze, gripping the picture in my hand tighter. I let out a small grunt. "Fine, fine." I replied, scowling bitterly. I can't believe I got myself into something like this just because I need money. If the offer was bad, I wouldn't even dare say yes to this humiliation.

As soon as Yuno gestured the lady to start, she parted my hair into sections and started brushing a dark color over my blonde colored hair, which by the way, took me four times to bleach myself with cheap hair stuff—now it's getting back to dark just because my uncultured sister lives an apparently boring rich typical life.

While my hair was being heated in a corner, Yuno walked up to me with a box. I grabbed it from him with my brows creased in curiosity. A part of me was scared of what the box might contain, but I was way too adventurous to not find out.

"What's this now?"

Yuno just pointed at the box and stepped back a little, watching me open the lid.

I glanced down the fancy looking box he handed me and my nose immediately scrunched up in disappointment. I shouldn't have assumed they were chocolates or food I can enjoy because this is just straight up mortifying.

"You are instructed to use those during your days of replacement."

"Are you freaking kidding me?" I asked in disbelief, rummaging through the other things that were inside the box. Maybe I was still hoping I'd see chocolates hidden elsewhere, but all I could see were thick glasses, contact lenses, ugly teeth cover with braces—a lot of things that wouldn't make you feel good about yourself. I can't believe this is actually happening. "Is this a welcoming gift?" I joked, but when I glared back up to Yuno, he looked like he was going to tell me it wasn't a welcoming gift but things I must use to cover-up my lost twin. I immediately frowned. "Do I really—"

The lady that was taking care of me suddenly pulled up the heating machine that was in my head and pushed me back to face the mirror.

I slouched down staring at the things that were inside the box which I planted on top of the desk she used for me.

"Let's review, Miss Cali."

Review, my ass.

"Birthday?"

"November 1st 1999." I replied, my head being dragged to different directions with a hush of wind ringing all over my ears. A lot was happening and I can barely handle all of it.

"Parents?"

"Sera and Julius Lowell."

"Grandparents?"

"Dominic and Olivia Lowell. Phylis and Marcus Alderidge."

"Younger brother?"

"Darius Lowell."

"Best friend?"

"Sadie Emersyn."

"Fiancé?"

"Matthew Vela...our..." My eyes roamed around the room, thinking of how I'll pronounce the odd surnames they all have in here. "Lore..." I glanced at Yuno, hinting that I was having a hard time remembering how it's said. "De?" I finished off with a questioning tone as I continued prolonging day.

"Velarde."

Ooh. So you say it like Mellark as in Peeta Mellark. Vuh-lar-d, like with a British accent. "Velarde." I grinned, arching a brow, as I copied Yuno's sophisticated accent. What fancy last name that was. I refuse to believe they're from this area. They could be French or Russian, for I know.

"Sir Matthew's parents?"

"Amelia and Henry Velarde."

"Very well done, miss Cali."

About an hour later—after all the drying here, brushing there my head's been through—my final look was finished. Yuno told me to wear the accessories he just gave me from the box to see if it would be an effective approach to fixing the problem with my sister, so I did, otherwise all the dyeing my hair dark would be all for nothing.

I put on the dress Yuno bought for me and stepped out of the comfort room to meet back the team that was helping me with my transformation.

As soon as I stepped out, slouching as instructed by him, the three of them—Yuno, the hairdresser, and some assistant helping the hairdresser—turned to me in shock. I guess it turned out pretty well for them to react this way.

"How do I look?" I asked in a muffled voice. These teeth cover with bulky stupid braces they got me made it hard to speak. I seem like I was eating my words and saliva just kept filling in the spaces the retainer couldn't fill. I can barely understand myself really. If they were so rich, I don't understand why Isla won't ask for her teeth be fixed.

"Like your sister."

I spun back to see myself in the mirror and holy shit—curly puffy hair, green eyes with thick spectacles my nose can barely hold... I let out a forced smile to see my teeth and for the love of God—I can't even bring myself to stare at myself for how bad yet accurately similar I now looked with my sister.

"Like Isla Lowell."

Transformations were supposed to make someone look better, more beautiful, and attractive, but this transformation... made me look ugly.

I redid the prologue for this. It's not a big change but there is change - minimal change. I hope this first part sets the mood of the story. And show the type of person Cali is with just the way she thinks and talks. There will be a lot more drama in the future chapters so... that's that. I'll try to update this as frequent as I can manage.