Yes, Sir

7.4

•- Laine Bennett -•

If you were to ask me what the most stressful day of my life was to date, the wisest answer would be my senior prom. The anxiety that flowed through me on such a day of last minute planning had kept me on my toes for a majority of what was my senior prom.

However, the fear of a high school dance could never meet the higher stakes of a socialite party that my friends and I would be attending on this evening.

Mahalia stood behind me with a curling iron in hand, as Thea attempted to glue what felt like butterflies into the tops of my lashes. I refrained from tapping, a typical safe haven for me to find refuge in during the most awkward and stressful of times but with the close proximity to potentially dangerous situations, I kept still with my breath sucked in.

Thea announces her finished product and I open my eyelids only to adjust to the newly added length to my face.

I was enthralled to see that Thea had kept to a more balanced and calm look. The warm brown downs cascaded into a deeper brown on the outer edge of my eyelid, and each color blended perfectly together into the golden sparkle plastered to the remainder of my lid. Her skillful hand flicked a long black line along the top of my eyelid only to be covered by the natural lift of individual lashes that had taken longer than necessary to glue into place. Finalizing the entirety of her look to my facial appearance, she glided along a matching shade of red lipstick to my lips, and from what I knew of the type of man Austin Wood was, upon arrival to his apartment early tonight, the sloppy disassembling of my makeup would go into effect.

Moments after Thea's announcement, Hails informs me that my hair had been finished. She had molded my hair into a lower updo with fallen strands cascading down the side of my face only to be met with a soft wave. I did not dare to touch her masterpiece as she compressed nearly the entire bottle of hairspray to my head.

In conclusion to her finished artwork, she places the matching headpiece from my gown onto the lower bun before looping smaller golden hair accessories through the loose braid moving down the left side of my face while keeping another stray strand fallen.

"Mahalia, this is absolutely beautiful," I announce as she shows me a picture of what the back looked like, "I love it."

She leans down and wraps her arms gently around my shoulders to keep from messing up the hard work that went into bettering my appearance.

"If Austin does not drop to his knees the second he sees you, you and I are flying away for a romantic get away and then we'll come back with adopted children."

Her joking manner eased my nerves ever so slightly, but I keep myself from showing true fear for the sake of my friends and family.

I stand from the desk where our makeshift vanity was created. Mahalia and Thea equally help me step into the floor length gown that was meant for such a high profile event. I felt a little silly being so formal, but I trusted Chris' words and judging by the pictures I'd found from Austin's previous years, I was on the right rack for outfit appropriation.

Austin had invited them so I would not be by my complete lonesome throughout the night. Austin would be by my side, of course, but too much close proximity could cause more than either of us could handle at this time. As for my grams and Thea, they were ensured a spot on the list the second Austin met them at Thanksgiving, that much was for sure.