BREATHE FOR ME

Chapter 5: Little Blue Dress

By the time that the BBQ comes around, later on that day, George, Gran and Mom are all in the downstairs apartment, cooking, cleaning and setting up outside. Maddie and I have been sent to our rooms to make ourselves look presentable. The clock on the wall reads five o'clock which indicates that we only have half an hour before the guests begin to arrive. Me being my organised self, I had all of my boxes unpacked and the contents of each neatly arranged an hour ago. With all of my familiar fairy lights, candles, pictures, art tools, books, clothes and decorations back around me, the huge room starts to feel like home. My space.

Wandering over to my floor-length mirror by my art desk, I take one long, last look at myself before I head downstairs to help set up. Following Gran's promise that this move was going to change things for me, I decided to dress up a little and put some effort into my appearance, even if it is just for the neighbours. I decided, in the end, on a baby blue, cotton sun dress that ends mid-thigh. It has a simple, sweetheart neckline and two thin straps that disappear over my shoulders. It shows off my newly tanned upper body and legs nicely. On my feet, I decide to wear some simple white sandals over my newly painted blue toenails. Nervously, I convince myself that I actually look pretty. My long, dark hair has been pulled back into a loose braid, with some random stray hairs escaping around my face. The shampoo and conditioner that I found in the shower, presumably left over from Maddie, has made it sleek and glossy which contrasts to its normally dried-out effect. On my face, I decided to add a few layers of mascara, a tiny bit of golden highlight and some lip gloss; trying to keep myself natural-looking.

With a quick spritz of floral body spray, I pick up a white cardigan and begin to make my way down the corridor. As I pass Maddie's room, her door flies open and a very stressed-looking Maddie grabs my arm and pulls me into her room. Unlike mine, her room is still covered in boxes, spewing clothes and shoes everywhere. All of her other belonging have found a new place in the room, she must have run out of time when it came to her clothes.

"You look different." She says as she closes the door behind her and ushers me over to the bed. I sit down and start running my fingers through the many different throws that decorate the bedding. Maddie moves to stand in front of me, only now do I realise that she's stood in nothing but her underwear, wearing a very anxious expression. Her make-up is done naturally, like mine, and her short hair is loosely curled around her shoulders. Very artsy, I think to myself.

"I could say the same to you," I say back, raising my eyebrows. "Very minimalistic."

"Gen stop it. I need your help, we don't have long left and I can't decide for the life of me what to wear!" she snaps, pacing backwards and forwards in front of me. Confusion floods my body, she's never asked me to help her decide what to wear before. Ever. Not even before my tenth birthday. She's always been the confident one between the two of us, always so sure of herself.

"Um... well, what were you thinking? Do you have any nice dresses? It's very warm out there and you don't want to sweat off all of your make-up." That's it Gen, be the voice of reason.

"Good thinking." She makes her way over to the large windows and picks up a closed box, bringing it back to the bed. Opening it, she spills the contents onto the bed and looks at me expectantly. It takes me a few seconds to realise what she's asking of me.

"Oh, right. You want me to pick one. Okay, cool. Hold on." I say quickly, jumping off the bed and rummaging through the different silks, sparkles, cottons and velvets that lie, entwined, in the heap. "Geez Mads, you could dress the town with these." I joke. 

She doesn't laugh, only taps her foot anxiously and begins to bite at a nail. I return my focus to the dresses at hand, throwing the long ones back into the box and sorting through the short ones. They range from silk to denim to cotton, all of them beautiful and unique. In the end, I pick up two casual dresses that would suit the occasion best. Turning around, I hold them out to her and watch as her eyes flick between the two, a serious mental evaluation going on in her head. After a few moments, her eyes settle on the floral, skater-style dress that stops half-way up the thigh. Passing it to her, I take my seat upon the bed again and begin folding the other dresses, neatly putting them back in the box. She slides the dress on behind me, grabbing a pair of white sandals, similar to mine.