To My Dearest Roseanne

Chapter 18

Roseanne picked up the phone that night eventually and calmed down Robert with yet another string of made-up lies. The reason why Roseanne was unable to answer the cell straight away was because she had to make a trip to the supermarket to grab what was needed for the plan she envisioned.

It took Roseanne a good chunk of an evening and the following morning, but she managed to achieve what she wanted. She dyed Cho's hair, so they could match her own red-dyed colour. Next, Roseanne worked on the hairstyle. Cho originally wore a single braid, like her, but Cho's braid looked weird. It's like the hair at the top of her neck formed a knot, and the rest of the hair resting on the neck was loose. Roseanne corrected the whole thing, forming a traditional French plait that she used to have. In addition, by using a comb and fingers, she formed tiny fringes over the forehead. As she placed a mirror in front of herself and Cho, the two were virtually indistinguishable.

"One more thing," Roseanne said and applied gold-brown lipstick.

"Woah! I've never worn lipstick before. Military students can do that?"

"Girl, were you living under a rock? Light lipstick is allowed among female students, but you should never let your hair loose when you're in a uniform."

"I don't feel comfortable in this uniform, as a matter of fact."

"Don't be silly. You look great! A wonderful paragon of a fighting woman."

Roseanne told Cho to get up. She straightened out the uniform that was hanging from her body like a bag of potatoes. Even though they were of the same height, Cho was a bit skinnier than Roseanne.

"We need to work on your diet, baby. You can't live on rice alone," Roseanne remarked.

"It's not the weight that worries me, but the general fragility of your gear. The belt is ordinary rubber with a snap. I'm scared the pants may drop at any time! And the leather shoes are too wide. I make one wrong step, and they'll fall off! How can you run in these?"

"Stop tripping about the whole thing. You'll be fine!"

"Easy for you to say. You find that amusing, don't you?"

"To tell the truth... yes!"

***

There was so much haste that Roseanne had to wipe sweat from her forehead. She wrapped sandwiches in protective foil and put them with bottles of water in the backpack. Additionally, she made sure to print out the timetable, so Cho wouldn't get lost in high school.

Having finished all the preparations, Roseanne saved the cherry on the cake for last. She straightened out the loose uniform on Cho once more and placed a red beret on her head.

"Now you like me!" Roseanne exclaimed with pride. "Roseanne Juzynski 2.0!"

"More like Pablo Picasso 2.0. Does this beret have to be crooked?"

"It's army etiquette. Don't mind that. Let's go, or you'll miss the bus."

Indeed, the moment the girls turned up at the stop, the bus arrived. Cho stepped inside and Roseanne gave her final instructions.

"Remember, you step out on the 8th stop. That's Yard Street. The school is a large white building with purple panels and huge flag poles near the entrance. You can't miss it from the street."

"I'm really scared. I don't think I'm gonna make it."

"Don't worry and just do as I said. Everything is airtight."

Suddenly, there was a warning sound and the bus doors automatically closed. Roseanne tried to say, "Good luck!" but Cho didn't hear her through the engine noise.

As the bus was riding away into the distance, Roseanne couldn't shake an uncanny feeling that overwhelmed her body. It was surreal for her to admit it, but she felt like her mother who used to prepare the backpack and walk little Roseanne to the bus stop every day.