Perfectly Imperfect

26

They weren't joking when they said they were helping. We went shopping the next day and they both argued on what looked best on me. On every store. All day long.

It was as exhausting as distracting.

I couldn't care less about the clothes. I was just happy tagging along. They were full of energy and were adamant on making me look, and feel exceptional.

It was refreshing after the torturous week I had.

Anne even wanted me to get a new haircut, but I put down my foot on that one. If there was something I loved about me, it was my long hair. I did let them style it in perfect soft curls that took over an hour to achieve.

I also got a few clothes just to keep them happy. For the dreaded exposition, they made me get a gray floral print dress, that had a layer of soft lace on top, creating a stylish effect. Cassie had suggested to keep it classic, despite Anne's complains.

My sisters didn't leave my side as I dressed up. We were all going to the expo together. They were pretty excited at the fact that her sister's random photo was going to be exposed. I have to say that between my friends and my sisters, I felt much better. I was still sad, but at least I wasn't crying at every corner.

They'd given me something to keep me busy with. Plus, looking at yourself and seeing a beautiful girl staring at you is a huge ego-boost.

Riley wanted me to try in my eyes the smoky effect she'd seen in a magazine, so we tried to tackle it. I say we, because she was reading the steps while I applied the shadow and Haley commented if it was like the picture or not. Their excitement faded when they wanted me to put makeup on them, but Mom didn't let us. I did sneak into their room and let them use my gloss.

The art gallery was located in one of the trendiest sides of town. Mom wasn't joking when she said that Michael was famous. He definitely was. The building where he'd summoned us was built only in glass. You could see right through it. Dad murmured that it resembled a cereal box and that there was nothing special about it, but Mom slapped his arm, shushing him and pretty much telling him to keep those remarks to himself, right before we walked through the main doors.

I had to disagree with my father for once. The venue was pretty amazing. Almost everything was made of the same material. It was also packed. So much that it was hard to find Cassie, but after a couple of text messages, we found each other. Anne was quite disappointed that she couldn't make it, but her boss had an emergency and needed her to cover for her at the shop.

"Hi!" Cassie smiled excitedly. "You look stunning!"

"Thank you," I answered shyly. A couple passed next to me and the girl pulled her boyfriend's sleeve, signaling at me. She said something before he glanced at me nodding.

"See? even strangers are gushing about you!"

Bewildered, I saw them walk away. The girl smiled at me once before she disappeared through the crowd. "That's weird," I mumbled, looking down on me and straightening an imaginary wrinkle off my dress.

"You look great," Cassie grabbed my arm and pulled me to the next room.

My parents steered away. I think Dad was making fun of the pictures and Mom was completely embarrassed. I could understand my father's point of view, though. Michael's pictures were as random as the ones I'd taken. The only difference was that he was famous and they were auctioned in thousands of dollars.

As we strolled through the different rooms, I couldn't help but look around trying to find Chris. He was bound to be close if he didn't want to fail the class. My stomach rolled uneasily thinking what could happen if I saw him again.