With the Spin of a Bottle

Prelude

Prelude

Leena P.O.V.

I had just graduated high school, top of the class, I might add. I'd managed to complete all four high school years without one negative mark against me. There had never been any detention for me. I'd never attended a keg party either and my cousin, Madeline was determined to rectify that tonight. She claimed that I had to experience a little fun before the big-bad college world had a chance to swallow me whole. I don't know why she thought I wouldn't be able to survive once I went to college. I was very bright and had common sense. What was the big deal? Ok, so maybe I wasn't really the social butterfly that Maddie was. While I had been in the library or at home, reading in my room, Maddie had been at cheer practice or partying. Maddie was the tall, leggy, blond, gorgeous girl who most people envied. I was the quiet, shy, nerdy girl whom most people didn't know existed. Even though my cousin and I were complete opposites, we were really close. Maddie was always trying to pull me out of my shell and I was always trying to tame her down. Somehow our friendship worked.

Tonight, however, I was ready to kill her. Maddie, of course, looked awesome in her flaming-red, body-hugging, strapless dress. It barely covered her butt and her four inch, black heels made her legs look miles long. Maddie had left her honey blond hair down, framing her heart shaped face, and with its natural waves, I was jealous of the thick, golden locks. She looked at home in the over-the-top ensemble. I, on the other hand, felt completely uncomfortable. Somehow I let Maddie talk me into a black mini skirt, knee high black boots, and a sparkling blue halter top. Maddie had done my hair and makeup. My dark brown hair was plain, in my opinion, and I usually wore it up in a tight bun, for convenience purposes. Tonight, the bun was nowhere in sight and Maddie hadn't let me even put it up in a ponytail, saying something stupid like, "men loved dangling long hair". Why did I care if men loved long hair? It wasn't like anyone would notice me, right?

We lived in a tiny Kansas town, where everybody knew everybody. Potawatomie, Kansas could be annoying at times. It only had a couple thousand people, one street light, and nothing ever seemed to happen there. At least, in the opinion of the teenager that I was. I hated how everyone knew my every move. I can remember one time, Maddie talked me into sneaking out of the house one sunny, Sunday afternoon. We had stopped at the gas station for soda's and when I got back home later, dad was waiting, ready to lecture about sneaking out when I wasn't supposed to. Apparently, a lady at the gas station saw us and then ran into my dad at the grocery store. Of course, she hadn't known she was ratting me out when she expressed to my dad how grown up I looked and she had barely recognized me at the gas station. She hardly recognized me and yet I was still the tall, plain girl I'd always been.

"Would you just stop doubting and look at yourself?" Maddie broke into my thoughts and forced me in front of the full length mirror behind her bathroom door.

I opened my mouth to ask her, again, how she'd talked her parents into letting her have the bedroom with the attached bathroom. She was an only child, yes, but allowing her to have the master bedroom was taking spoiled to a whole new level. My mouth remained opened, but I couldn't get the words out. I was literally speechless. Who was that stranger in the mirror? With a curling iron, Maddie had worked magic on my straight, brown hair, making it look like it actually had life to it. My face looked different too. Maddie hadn't gone crazy with the makeup, thankfully, but she'd applied just enough to draw attention to my big brown eyes. Making them look anything but dull. My light layer of blue eyeshadow matched my shirt and the mascara made my lashes look incredible. I allowed my eyes to finally look at the outfit, which had felt ridiculous only a moment ago. Now, I was rethinking everything. Maddie's clothing actually fit me better than I thought and showed that, while I wasn't a size zero, I was slender, but with a little womanly flare. I was so used to hiding my figure behind baggy sweatshirts and jeans, that I hadn't even been aware that I'd turned into a woman.