The story of Jasmine and Chris Brown

           I open my eyes and a smile practically explodes onto my face. I'm getting married today! I think to myself. I prop myself upright in bed when my maid of honour, Roxy, rushes into the bedroom. She bounds past me, begins to get a load of cosmetics out of her make-up box and puts them onto the dressing table.

“Morning, Mango.” She says “ There's a very fit grooms-man downstairs who has just dropped off your hair grips. I am going to need that one's phone number.” She winks at me and I feel blood rush to my cheeks. “Trust you to be the blushing bride.” She smiles

“Where is everyone?” I ask her slowly, it's hard to speak when you have a smile so broad it feels like someone's shoved a hanger in your mouth. Trust me.

“Well, Emma and Shuqi are downstairs ogling at the grooms-men and your mother, well I practically had to wrestle her just to get through the door. She's so proud of you that she's sitting on the landing staring at your very expensive wedding dress.” She replies whilst still balancing cosmetics on the old dressing-table. “I still love the irony of having Zalma as a grooms-man, you're lucky yaw man has a sense of humour.” She adds in a hushed tone so no-one outside can hear. Just the mention of my groom makes my tummy flutter and my smile get even wider.

“Right, as your maid of honour I order you to get your ass out of bed and put these on.” She pulls a box out of her bag and lobs it onto the bed next to me. I fondle the box momentarily, a violet box with silver ribbon. I shake it, excited to find out what's inside. “What do you expect to find in there?” Roxy stops with the cosmetics and leaves the room, closing the door quietly. The sound of the door slowly brushing against the carpet reminds me of the days I used to sneak out the house and shut the door in the same manner at my old house.

            Before I even bother getting out of bed I open the box. The ribbon is undone with ease and I pry the lid off. Inside are some small bits of white cloth wrapped in purple tissue-paper, I unfold the tissue neatly to uncover the cloth. As it turns out Roxy had been thinking way ahead of me in the underwear department as inside the box is a white bra, a very frilly white garter and a tiny white g-string. I smile in approval and strip from my sleep t-shirt and shorts to put them on.

            Five minutes later there's a knock on the door. “You decent?” 

“Yes.” I reply to the voice before Roxy and Emma wheel the mannequin wearing my dress into the room. Followed by Shuqi, who carries an armful of bags in. I reach at the dress with longing

“You can look, but don't touch.” Roxy warns me sternly.

“What, not even now? On my wedding day?!” I ask in mock horror.

“Not until you're sweet, sassy and sexy on every other part of your body.” She says matter-of-factly. “So, what first?” I ask, excited as a shopaholic in a shoe shop.

            In just two hours there is not a hair out of place on my entire body. I am wearing something blue; sapphire hair grips given to me by my one and only groom. Something new; my dress and my sexy new underwear. Something borrowed; Roxys amethyst and rose quartz are tucked safely into compartments in my dress. Something old; my grooms-great-great-grandmothers engagement ring. And a heck of a lot of hairspray.

            Shuqi had been on hair duty, Emma on nails and Roxy on make-up. All at the same time. “Right, I'm calling for a break. We need to get ready.” Roxy says as she finishes my eyes.

“Okay.” I say, trying to sound calm. I'm desperate to find at least one of the mirrors the girls have kept hidden and locked away. I'm itching for just a sneak peak.

“You have half an hour.”  Roxy says, eyeing me suspiciously. The girls put down their tools and leave the room together, laughing and chatting. As soon as I hear the door click shut and the sound of their slippers against the carpet I feel myself relax. I guess they're going into Emma's bedroom where the dresses are kept. I get up off the comfy chair and go over to the wardrobe. On my hen night I had hidden a mirror in there when the girls were too drunk to notice. I swing the doors open desperately and move aside all of my clothes. I gasp, It's gone! One of the girls must have seen me put it in there! I walk quickly over to the dressing table. If I run the girls would probably hear me.

            I open the bottom drawer full of hair stuff. I pull my straighteners out and go to grab the mirror I normally use when doing my hair. But that's gone too. I put the straighteners back and close the drawer slowly. I try to think of where I keep any other mirrors. I walk over to the bed and pull out the box I keep under there full of bags. I look inside every single bag, but there's no mirrors. I did however find my cherry lipgloss I'd given up all hopes of finding months ago. I glanced up at the clock. It's been fifteen minutes, already! I go into the en suite, there's normally a mirror in there.

            When I get into the en suite I know straight away that it had been tampered with. The mirror had been taken off the cabinet. Even the huge mirror above the sink had been removed. How had I not heard when someone had undrilled it? I peek out the door and glance at the clock. Ten minutes until time's up. I search frantically through various drawers and cupboards,finding nothing of interest. I check the clock again. Five minutes.

            As the minutes pass I keep on my search. Then I hear as the door handle slowly turns. I look up like I imagine a deer in the middle of the road would. I quickly make my way back over to the chair and sit down. Feeling like something out of a movie. The door opens slightly and stays like that for a matter of seconds before the three girls come bounding in laughing and smiling.

“No Elaine, you cannot come in yet. I promise you it will be worth the wait.” Roxy says calmly in her persuasive voice. I hear my mum mumble something in protest as the door is closed. The girls barely say anything as they carry on with their own station. Each girl seems to be concentrating too much to speak. Every few minutes Shuqi gets me to hold a strand of hair or Emma asks me to shake my hands whilst blowing them but other than that hardly anything else is said.

             I take the quiet time to gaze at their dresses; long, skin-tight black dresses with a low cut front and back. Emma and Shuqi's dresses show off their even, summer tans. Whilst Roxy's contrasts with her pale skin so much she appears to be glowing. All three girls have their hair done in a similar fashion, loose curls and more volume than a concert venue. Shuqi had put a glittery spray on her hair, Emma had clipped daisies in hers and Roxy had put in a white bow, simply because it matched the shoes. White open toe heels.

“ How long until we have to go to the church?” I ask just before Roxy makes a start on my lips.

“ We leave for the church at ten, it's still only half eight.” Roxy says with a tube of lipgloss between her teeth.

            I play mannequin for a few more minutes when I notice something strange. Where's Shuqi? I open my mouth to ask where she is when the door swings open. In the doorway Shuqi is wrestling both my mum and another armful of bags.

“Can I see her yet?” I hear my mum ask, desperate to see her little girl all ready to get married.

“No, Not yet. Soon.” Shuqi says coolly, giving nothing away to either of us.

“But....” Is all I hear before she is cut off by the door closing.

            I feel myself slowly dosing back to sleep. Thinking of my groom and I going on our top secret honeymoon. Where will we go? The Bahamas? Hawaii? Paris? The suspense is beginning to make my head rattle. I can't stop thinking about how ratassed we got the other night, my hen night. I drift off thinking about it.