Dream

Chapter 12

"Gorgeous!" the lady exclaimed, using her hands to cup my face. Her emerald eyes looked me in the face, making sure I heard her.

A smile pulled across my face.

"Thank-" I responded, but was instantly interrupted.

"-Now alright. My name is Stacey," she said, pointing at her pin.

"Nice to meet-" I tried again, but the same situation happened. She cut me off.

"You have beautiful hair," she complimented, twirling my hair with her fingers. The other hand, occupied with combing my hair.

"Thank-" I attempted.

"-But, a darker shade of blonde would be nice. You would look nice as a brunet, it'll make your blue, ocean eyes pop," she interrupted. She made an action with her hands, showing an explosion.

It is amazing how fast she talked, it's hard to keep up with her. Before I answered, she spoke once again.

"Hello? Are you still there?" Stacey asked immediately after, aggressively waving her hand in my face.

I was comprehending and considering whether being a brunet would be nice. My hesitation, was seen as a yes in Stacey's mind.

"Alright Blondie, let's turn you into a brunet," Stacey declared, as she pumped my hair up, making it look fuller. Her face showed clear excitement.

"I'm fine," I quickly blurted, before she took action.

Her smile fell.

"Are you sure?" Stacey asked, breaking my confidence.

"Uhh" I stuttered, undecided. I want to keep my hair, but Stacey's words broke the confidence. Her job is to beautify me, but did I really want my change to happen in her hand?

"I thought so," Stacey ticked, disappointed.

"Listen to the girl," a brunet hair girl implored, "it's her hair."

I was thankful that she had added that sentence, it was assuring. I gave her a look that somehow expressed appreciation. She returned a smile with her red, painted lips. Her hair is pulled into a careless bun for the makeover. Her face is extremely pale, because her makeup wasn't complete.

"I'm Celeste by the way," she whispered into my ear.

"Higher class," she added. Immediately, I realized her warmness was all for an act.  There was no hint of friendliness in her voice, but coldness. It was supposed to be powerful, scaring everyone into intimidation. I, however was not intimidated; I was used to everyone looking down at me. Instead, I responded her with a response I would give to Ma. I smiled, forgave, and loved.

Annoyed, she threw the magazine in her hand at me and walked away. I stood up and gave the magazine back to Celeste.

"Celeste, you dropped something," I explained.

She seemed shock at my kindness and took the magazine obediently. Then, a sly smile returned, and her eyes gleamed with mischief. It could only mean revenge. Several other contestants turned their attention to our conversation, wanting gossip.

"No, I did not drop something. I was throwing out this," she shook the magazine wildly in the air. "Obviously in the trash can," she continued, like it pained her to say so.

My face turned red from her insult, my face flushed. I heard several snickers made by Celeste's comment. Giggles following along. This moment brought me to Gabriella's manly sneeze and the crowd. I instantly felt remorse for not helping her.

"I think you found the wrong bin, because you're suppose to recycle it," I innocently said.

Having nothing else to say, I walked back to Stacey, confidently. I know Celeste's fear; to not fear her and lose control.

Seemingly to get a cue, Stacey let go of the thought of turning me into a brunet.

"So, what's next?" She squealed.

Before I could answer, she spoke again. Although she got the cue of moving on, she didn't get one to not interrupt.

"Let's start with whitening your teeth," she passed me a jar of substance. "Put this on your teeth every night."

I twirled open the cap, inspecting the substance. It was black, as charcoal. Wait, is this charcoal?

"It's like a face mask for your teeth," she added.

"What is this specifically, li-" I asked.

"It's charcoal."

"I'll think about it," I pushed the jar aside.

"Alright. Let's wash your hair first and give it a touch up, trust me it'll be great." She described. "While doing so, I'll give you a face mask."

"Sounds goo-" I stated.

"-We have no time to waste." She urged, clapping her hands to hurry up.

As clueless as she was when it came to interruptions, I didn't know anything about beauty.

"What an I supposed to d-" I asked.

She pointed to the corner with cushioned chairs, with a circular tub.

"It's a washing station," she stated.

Several other girls were there, either reading a magazine or sleeping. I settled in, choosing to pick up a magazine on the nearest table. I figured I got enough sleep from the lockup of the dungeon, a magazine would be nice. I have never read one before, although I could easily access it. Ma reads many magazines, which I organize. If I took one, she wouldn't realize. She throws out the read ones out anyway.

My mind was full of questions from the past few days, I wanted to focused on something and forget it all for once. So, I chose the magazine.

The magazine's glossy cover had a very slim girl posing in a light, yellow dress. It is a happy colour, the colour that makes you smile for no reason.

Pager one, index. I skimmed through the index, seeing something interesting. The articles are separated into contradicting sections. The first section is: How to get slim, that hot-summer body you want. Then, articles telling you that you don't need any change to be beautiful. Following, baking recipes, that will definitely make you gain weight. I flipped to the first article, interested to find out more.

After reading the first section, I realized that I had so many flaws about my body. I had too much fat on my body, I need to become more slim.

Sighing at my flaws, I turned to the next section, natural beauty. I felt instantly stupid for thinking myself as someone ugly. I wanted something to concentrate on, but it only made things worse. The magazine brought so much confusion, and internal war between my confidence.

I decided that gaining a little beauty sleep would be the best idea. So, I closed my eyes as Stacey washed my hair, and the face mask gave a tingling sensation.

-
Author's Note

Do you like Stacey? Would you trust her or Celeste?
I wouldn't trust either of them; Celeste would be likely to stab my back, and Stacey would most probably spill a secret.

Thank you for reading so far. If you enjoyed this chapter, please give it a vote. Until next update (this Thursday)!