When Fingers Fail

A Stranger in the Mirror

It took me 2 hours and 43 minutes to get ready for that date. I know this because I spent the last 11 minutes staring anxiously at the clock. And even after the hours of preparation I hardly looked different from normal.

"Stunning! Absolutely gorgeous!" Anne yelled from the top of the marble staircase.

Anne Is my best friend. We've been friends since pre-school, but after the death of my mum, I needed her, more than ever. She never left my side. She would pick me up when I was feeling down, no one else could lift my spirits like she could. She has a smile that can light up a room, a personality that brings anyone she meets to their knees. She has a way with words, she's beautiful, kind, charming; everything I'm not, but I wish I could be.

Oh, and did I mention she's rich? I remember walking into her house for the first time. To me, it felt like Buckingham Palace. Compared to the dump me and my dad inhabit, It is a palace! She has a balcony and her own bathroom, and a whole collection of clothes. She was the person I had always dreamed to be. Her life was the one I'd envied.

I never thought we would end up being friends. I never thought she would want to be friends with me. But somehow we clicked, like two pieces of a puzzle; completely opposite, but somehow perfect.

"You think so? Really?" I yelled to to her.

"Yeah, for sure! The blue really brings out the colour of your eyes," she said, slowly making her way down the staircase.

"Are you sure you don't have anything else?" I asked, cringing at the bright blue, floral sun dress I had on.

"Ugh! You're so fussy!" She yelled at me as she collapses onto the couch. Her patience finally broken.

"Are you sure you don't have anything at your place?" She asked and I give her an icy look.

She sighed and got up with a groan, slowly making her way back up the stairs.

"Come on then!" she yelled back.

The whole process of getting ready was torture. "I hardly look any different!" I lie, smiling at my reflection in the mirror. Anne gives me a satisfied nod, ignoring what I just said. I grin; at her, at this stranger standing in front of me, she's beautiful, and she grins right back.

"This guy better be worth it" Anne said, pulling on the stiff waves of hair cascading down my back. Maybe she went a little over the top with the hairspray but she was just excited for me, and she did a way better job than I could manage. "Where's he taking you again?"

She's asked me this a million times already. "I already told you; I have no idea! If I did, you know I would tell you!" I reply.

"Okay!" She smiled finishing up my hair with another coat of hairspray. "All done."